 |
ARTIST: Shakin Street
ALBUM: Shakin' Street
LABEL: CBS (UK, Europe), Columbia (USA)
SERIAL: CBS 84115, NJC 36499
YEAR: 1980
CD REISSUE: 2004, Bad Reputation (France), 640443 (with additional bonus tracks from 'Live & Raw)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: 
LINEUP: Fabienne Shine - vocals * Eric Lewy - guitars * Ross The Boss Funicello - guitars * Mike Winter - bass * Jean Lou Klinowski - drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 No Compromise * 02 Solid As A Rock * 03 No Time To Loose * 04 Soul Dealer * 05 Susie Wong * 06 Every Man Every Woman Is A Star * 07 Generation X * 08 So Fine * 09 I Want To Box You |
BackgroundThe French outfit Shakin' Street return for Round Two with 1980's 'Shakin' Street'. Fronted by the exotic Tunisian born Fabienne Shine, this band had the focal point at the front of the stage, giving them a headstart as a guaranteed live attraction. There's a certain amount of charm and naivety about their sound. Sure it's from the late great 70's and the influence of that pop/punk era is apparent for sure. However, when they get it right, they line-up alongside a band like
Storm (the Jeanette Chase fronted version) with ease, though without the
Queen influences. Melodic nonetheless. It's ironic that era bands such as
The Damned,
The Clash, and from an American perspective
The Dictators all seem to have rubbed off onto Shakin' Street, though with
Blue Oyster Cult mentor Sandy Pearlman at the helm, guidance of a melodic kind was always going to rule the roost. When the band decided to move to New York to take advantage of the good work done on 'Vampire Rock', ex
Dictators guitarist (and future
Manowar stringbender) Ross 'The Boss' Funicello joined them, replacing Armik Tigrane who stayed behind. Musically the band have stayed close to their good-time hard rock vibe, which contains lots of energy, a unique French flavor, and in some cases a boogie quotient accentuated by the likes of
AC/DC,
Krokus and
Status Quo, who were all thereabouts on the scene at the time. Many longtime fans will recall Shakin' Street's appearance on the 1980 CBS Compilation 'Killer Watts', where they were joined by that other French institution, the 'revolutionary kings'
Trust. But to be honest, their offering on that album, the title track 'Solid As A Rock' is not the best tune to be heard on this album.. surprisingly enough..
The SongsTake a listen to the reworked 'Nothing To Loose' (first heard on 'Vampire Rock') for pure rollicking energy! Even the opener 'No Compromise' and the cool Euro-metal of 'Soul Dealer' have more appeal. The latter could pass for early
Accept (their Brain Records material). Fabienne really lets go on 'Every Man Every Woman Is A Star' as we move into the middle of the song, while a faint
Lee Aaron holler or two could be detected on 'Generation X'.
In SummaryDespite encouraging sales with this album, the band found it dificult to maintain momentum, especially away from home. They certainly had the talent and a sound which stood them apart from many others in the same field. Shakin' Street never made it to album number three, though many of the band members are still recording music, including Shine, Lewy, and of course Funicello. The album itself, saw a re-release on Bad Reputation Records. Fans of period hard rock would be wise to throw caution to the wind and shell out a couple of bucks on Ebay, now that it is available.
Related ArticlesShakin Street - 1978 Vampire RockShakin Street - 1980 Shakin' Street
All written content on this website is copyrighted.
Copying of material without permission is not permitted.
Login
,
Shoutbox