Johnny Rogers

REVIEW: Brighton Rock – “Can’t Wait For the Night” (Remix) (1986 single)

BRIGHTON ROCK – “Can’t Wait for the Night” (Remix) / “We Came To Rock” (1986 WEA single)

Niagara Falls’ Brighton Rock had a knack for rockers and ballads in equal measure.  Though “ballad” was often whispered as if it were a dirty word, Brighton Rock released a couple as singles over their career.  “Can’t Wait For the Night” was the first.  With a soft keyboard backing, the guitar melody by Greg Fraser sketches out the hook of the song.  Gerry McGhee shows a tender side to his voice, while unleashing the scream on the chorus.  His voice takes on a third texture as the chorus goes out, a grittier version.

On the 7″ vinyl format, the song was given a remix and an edit.  It was taken down from 4:25 to 3:56, and labelled as the “single mix with guitar solo”.  Presumably all that means is that the guitar solo wasn’t chopped for the edit, since the album version seems to have the same solo.  The edited music is mostly outro, and it’s hard to discern exactly what the remix adds.  Keyboards and guitars seem to be the same.  Vocal is the same.  But here it is; the “single remix with guitar solo”!

On the B-side is the rocker “We Came to Rock”, which to me was always the “first single” because of the great music video they used to play on Much.  This dramatic little number mesmerized us as kid.  It began soft and ballady, with keyboards and the sound of violins seemingly being plucked on the verses.  Then, Gerry McGhee released the beast that was his scream on the captivating chorus.  McGhee’s voice had tremendous diversity within single songs, and this is a prime example.  Finally you get to Greg Fraser’s solo, which as always was a composition unto itself.  This is the standard album version.  Simply awesome as-is!  It is one of those rare songs that is a treat to play on repeat.

This awesome little picture sleeve single isn’t hard to find nor expensive to buy.  Highly recommended.

4.5/5 stars

Tomorrow on a Grab A Stack Special Edition, new co-host Len Labelle and I go through our entire Brighton Rock collections. Don’t miss this!

REVIEW: Brighton Rock – Take a Deep Breath (1988)

BR TADB_0001BRIGHTON ROCK – Take A Deep Breath (1988 WEA)

Legend has it that Brighton Rock hated this album. Singer Gerald McGhee was on record saying that record company pressure forced his band to soften up the songs and his singing style. Yet, Take A Deep Breath is actually an excellent 80’s rock album, with unusual quality. Everything you loved about 80’s rock is here.

Brighton Rock’s sound was different from the crop of hair bands at the time. They always had a classier feel in their commercial rock. Witness, from the first LP, “We Came to Rock”. The synth strings made it different, a little more refined. Johnny Roger’s tasteful keyboard parts have always provided an interesting background texture to their vocal and guitar melodies. Gerald McGhee’s vocals were emotional and he had a powerful range. On this album, he doesn’t scream (that record company pressure), but that’s OK. It works out fine with these songs. His voice is strong enough, he didn’t need to show off how high he could go.

Strong songs:

  • “Can’t Stop The Earth From Shaking” (poppy, catchy and upbeat rocker)
  • “Outlaw” (dark and moody, great keyboards providing background texture)
  • “Rebels With A Cause” (guitars upfront, a good groove)
  • “Power Overload” (another guitar rocker with a great shout-chorus)
  • “Who’s Foolin’ Who” (best song on the album, sounds like we have some fretless bass here, a moody dark rocker)
  • “Love Slips Away” (dark and moody ballad, second best track here)
  • “Unleash The Rage” (the dark, metallic song that sounds more like the rockers on the first album)

Drivel:

  • “One More Try” (the unfortunate first single, a ballad…look at those doe eyes!)
  • “Ride the Rainbow” (the pop song Gerald says he wished he never wrote)

As you can tell, dark moods dominate Take A Deep Breath. You could probably tell that by the cover. Hugh Syme (best known for his work with Rush, although he’s also done Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Queensryche, and dozens more) did the picture of the little boy with the gasmask in the post-nuclear landscape. Because of this dark feel, Take A Deep Breath is unlike most of the pop rock records out at the time. Its darkness allows it to stand up to scrutiny today. When Brighton Rock ditched keyboardist Johnny Rogers so they could “heavy it up” for their next album Love Machine, it didn’t work. They lost that special quality and became just another band trying to sound like it was from LA.

Don’t listen to Gerald McGhee: Take A Deep Breath was an album for him to be proud of, not embarrassed by. It was the high point of this band’s discography.  Heck, Jack Richardson produced it — the same guy who recorded Universal Juveniles and the better Guess Who albums.   There is a level of quality here underneath the keyboards that is audible, even today.

4/5 stars