As requested by many, here’s without a doubt one the finest works from Glenn Hughes’ fructiferous career: HUGHES / THRALL self-titled album from 1982. Including two previously unreleased bonus tracks and remastered from the master tapes by Rock Candy Records, the album sounds better than never.
When Deep Purple finally collapsed in mid 1976 beneath a blanket of fatigue and insurrection all bets were off as to which members would fly phoenix like from the wreckage. Loaded with talent, Purple was a breeding ground for a significant amount of lofty and successful spin off projects including Whitesnake, Rainbow and Gillan but it wasn’t until 1982, following a couple of low key solo projects, that bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes resurfaced with a unit that would quite rightly stop the Rock world in its tracks.
Teaming up with highly respected guitar maestro Pat Thrall (Automatic Man, Pat Travers Band, Asia) the duo formed HUGHES / THRALL, a collaboration that not only promised much on paper but would eventually deliver one of, if not the best, post Deep Purple records in that particular cannon of excellence.
Meticulously produced by seasoned studio guru Andy Johns (Free, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen) the record received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception from old and new fans alike.
Basking in clear cut melodies, razor sharp guitar chops and edgy production there’s some of the best Melodic Hard Rock songs crafted in the first half of the ’80s, on par with any Journey or Foreigner album.
The icing on the cake? Well, Glenn Hughes pipes, of course. The Voice of Rock has never sounded so confident and so well suited to the material displayed on this album.
Every song, every phrase, every lick; pure manna from heaven.
Songs like “I Got Your Number’, the AORsish ‘The Look In Your Eye’ (my favorite and a true classic), ‘Beg, Borrow Or Steal’, ‘Where Did The Time Go’, ‘Hold Out Your Life’, ‘Who Will You Run To’, ‘Coast To Coast’, just to name some, are timeless classy Melodic Hard Rock songs.
This remastered edition from Rock Candy is extended with 2 excellent bonus tracks that were especially prepared by Pat Thrall for this release.
One it’s called ‘Love Don’t Come Easy’, written for the second album that never was. In the ’90s they started to work in a possible ‘Hughes / Thrall 2′ and recorded this song. It’s really melodic highlighting Hughes’ vocals.
The awesome ‘Still The Night’ was also penned for the second album. Years after the great Phenomena project recorded a version, and also John Norum did one for his Face The Truth album. This original from Hughes / Thrall is much more groovy than these. I love it.
“Hughes / Thrall” is a magnificent Melodic Hard Rock record.
Every song is special, musicianship top notch – Quiet Riot’s Frankie Banali recorded most the drums – and production is simply brilliant.
Hughes remembers it as it was yesterday: “When we put Hughes / Thrall together, we immediately had this great sound. As a trio we sounded huge.
Pat had his synthesizer guitar back then, and we had this amazing depth to pull from. We wrote a lot of material too and we were in pre-production for maybe six months before we went into the studio”.
Hughes remarks; “I have lost count of the many people (and musicians!) who have put this CD at the top of their playlist. I am very proud of this project. There is a definite vibe on this gem”.
One thing is for sure: there was a certain chemistry between Hughes and Thrall that drove them to incredible heights.
Back in the day, “Hughes / Thrall” went quite unnoticed in America, but it was big in Japan & Europe becoming a classic in Melodic Hard Rock circles.
This is another Rock Candy re-issue that should be owned by every fan of the genre. The remaster is excellent and the great 16-page artwork with exclusive pictures and extensive liner notes with details of the creative process is truly juicy. There’s still some copies in some shop’s stock, but it’s officially out of print.
A Must Have
01 - I Got Your Number
02 - The Look In Your Eye
03 - Beg, Borrow Or Steal
04 - Where Did The Time Go
05 - Muscle And Blood
06 - Hold Out Your Life
07 - Who Will You Run To
08 - Coast To Coast
09 - First Step Of Love
BONUS TRACKS:
10 - Love Don't Come Easy
11 - Still The Night
Glenn Hughes: vocals, bass
Pat Thrall: guitar, guitar synthesizer
Frankie Banali: drums, percussion
additional musicians:
Gary Ferguson - additional drums
Gray Mallaber - additional drums
Peter Scheless - keyboards
HUGHES / THRALL – ST [Rock Candy remastered & reloaded +2 bonus] 2006+FLAC
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