The premise of this kind of collection – that somehow an entire album’s worth of a band’s best material lay unreleased in the vaults – is often the fantasy of a label’s marketing department. In this case, however, it’s not too far from the truth. Covering the Scottish rockers’ career from their more metallic early period in 1982, through to their split in 1987, the 13 songs here range from the Accept-like frenzy of Speed Kills, to Keep On Believing (an atmospheric rocker a la TNT) and the superlative hair metal anthem Hot Women. It says something for the quality of the band that a song as commercial and catchy as the latter could gather dust on a shelf, rather than be released as a single.
Not every song here is a classic, but the majority are every bit as satisfying as the band’s best known work, and none are less than interesting. Nostalgic and informative sleevenotes by Malcolm Dome and guitarist Gordon Bonnar round off an excellent and attractively designed package. Altogether this is a musthave for fans of Scotland’s finest 80s rockers.
