Various – Lehigh Valley Rocks! The Best Of 1984-1994

VARIOUS ARTISTS
LEHIGH VALLEY ROCKS! THE BEST OF 1984-1994
Released 2007 (Fever Rock Records)

Track List:
Disc One:
01. Teeze – Party Hardy
02. Sweet Tequila – I Won’t Be Cryin’
03. Washed – Guilty
04. Destroyer – When Morning Comes
05. Shok Grafitti – Push Comes To Shove
06. Nasty Nasty – Deception
07. Idle Threats – Find A Way
08. Omynus – Don’t Ever Say Goodbye
09. Sapient – Lay Your Love On The Line
10. Mizery – Lost Without You
11. Dirty Blond – So Long
12. Jolly Roger – Lickity Split
13. Fantazy – Say It’s True
14. The Mob – In For The Kill
15. Washed – Alone
Disc Two:
01. The Mob – Angry Young Child
02. Vicious Barreka – Second Stage
03. Atom West – Perkins Club
04. Uncle Remus – Rage
05. Rock Haven – Centerfold Fantasy
06. Kings Chamber – Whenever I’m Near
07. Leviathen – Cry Wolf
08. Kraken – The Dark
09. End Zone – Think
10. Vic Missy – Terror/Cartoon Lady
11. Chaser – Leather And Lace
12. Red October – Someone
13. Apathy – Upon A Cross
14. End Zone – Rise
15. Slik Helvetika – High On You
16. Vicious Barreka – The Midway

Review:
When people think of 80s metal the bright lights of the famed Sunset Strip immediately come to mind, yet there were thriving scenes in every corner of the world. One of those scenes existed in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley which is being paid tribute in this ambitious double CD collection filled with bands that I’ve never heard of (except for Teeze), bands that never quite made the big time and bands that didn’t deserve to make it.

  It would be pointless to examine all 31 songs in this review (you can do that on your own), so I’m just going to touch on the best and the worst of Lehigh Valley Rocks! To generalize, disc one is by far the best. It is a hair metal fan’s wet dream and doesn’t contain a single crappy song. The second disc on the other hand is more diverse and includes some real stinkers. But for a compilation that is determined to showcase a decade long music scene, one can expect a few lackluster performances – yet performances that are needed to give a proper insight into what this local scene was capable of creating.

  On one end of the spectrum you have the sleazy Sweet Tequila (the best of the bunch, and with a slide guitar sound), the glammy Motley Crue-like trio Destroyer, Shok Grafitti with their fifteen year old guitarist, the melodic Idle Threats, the typically 80s Dirty Blond and Red October. On the less entertaining side of things are thrashy Atom West, the horrible rap-metal hybrid of End Zone, and the indescribable Vic Missy. This compilation has it all, the good and bad, rockers and ballads, rock, glam, traditional and trash – there is something for everyone.

  If you grew up in the Lehigh Valley area, or passed through it during the 80s metal craze, you need to buy this collection. Or you could be like me, someone that has never been or even heard of Lehigh Valley before, yet I love this album. The two guys that put together this project, Butch Maloney and Tom Lefevre, deserve a big round of applause for bringing back to life a moment in history with great care and detail. A movie of the Lehigh Valley scene is also in the works, and maybe we could talk the guys into tackling another long-lost sector of America next!

  www.lehighvalleyrocks.com – www.myspace.com/lehighvalleyrocks – www.cdbaby.com

Reviewed by Skid for Sleaze Roxx, January 2007.

Buy The CD:
Purchase at eBay.com