Despite signed by a major record label having scored 2 considerable hit clips on MTV, TROUBLE TRIBE still is one of the lesser known bands from the American ’80s hair metal / melodic hard rock era. Perhaps the fact they hailed from New York, but mostly due to Chrysalis Records inept promotion, their sole effort, this self-titled “Trouble Tribe” never really made it ‘big’.
And it’s a shame; TROUBLE TRIBE were an awesome 4-piece; better songwriters than the average for the genre, skilled musicians, they got he proper looks – the perfect package for US rock 1990. As requested, here’s the Japanese edition of “Trouble Tribe“.
This record has darn good melodic hard rockin’ tunes including ‘Tattoo’ and ‘Here Comes Trouble’ -both singles / videos – ‘Gimme Something Sweet’, and the solid power ballad ‘In The End’. Production is clean and shiny as all the major label 1990 records (and we love it).
The ‘first side’ of the album is outstanding. By 1990, so much of the music from the ’80s hair metal heyday had become a bit repetitive by this point (about two years before Nirvana killed the whole damn genre).
While Trouble Tribe won’t go down as the most original band of all time, their music was pretty damn invigorating all the same and felt as if it was truly their own sound rather than following a blueprint laid out for them.
The songs “Tattoo” and “Here Comes Trouble” are the band’s two big singles and they lead off the album. You can find videos for the songs on YouTube. They’ve got the right sense of melody and hooks that should’ve made them, at least for a time, far more than one of the more obscure bands of the genre.
But the jam packed album (13 songs including two quick instrumentals and a cover of The Beatles song “Dear Prudence”) doesn’t stop there.
There’s a nice little bluesy intro on “Gimme Something Sweet” and the power chord driven ballad “In The End” sold itself well with me. “Back To Wall” has some standout guitar work from Adam Wacht. “Boys Nite Out” flat out rocks.
Throughout the album, singer Jimmy Driscoll gives a sublimely lights out vocal performance.
After the heavy rhythmic pounding of the instrumental “Tribal Beast,” the high energy rocking continues with “Red Light Zone,” another killer piece of music. That flows into the edgy rocker “(Angel With A) Devil’s Kiss”.
Nobody’s perfect, and that Beatles cover fell flat with me. But things get back on track with the rocking “One By One”. The band slows things down with “Cold Heart” which is another big power chord driven epic midtempo type of track. It’s not as good as “In The End” but the underpinnings of a memorable track are there for all to see.
The short fast paced instrumental “F’s Nightmare” kicks things back up briefly as the album comes to a close.
If this album had been released even just two years earlier, Trouble Tribe as a band might’ve had far more of a commercial impact. However 1990 the genre still had a big audience, so sorry, but I blame on Chrysalis.
Still, this is definitely an overlooked and underserved gem of a rock and roll album and you’d do yourself a kindness to get your own copy.
Trouble Tribe wasn’t ‘just another ’80s MHR band’. If you never heard them before, your expectations will be exceede
Tracklist:
01 - Tattoo
02 - Here Comes trouble
03 - Gimme Something Sweet
04 - In The End
05 - Back To The Well
06 - Boys Nite Out
07 - Tribal Beast
08 - Red Light Zone
09 - (Angel With A) Devil's Kiss
10 - Dear Prudence
11 - One By One
12 - Cold Heart
13 - F's Nightmare
Line-Up:
Jimmy Driscoll - vocals
Adam Wacht - guitars
Steve Durrell - drums
Eric Klaastad - bass
Trouble Tribe – Trouble Tribe 1990+FLAC , Japan Edition
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