Wild Horses – Wild Horses & Stand Your Ground (Remasters)
Rock Candy Records
www.rockcandyrecords.com
Rating:
Wild Horses: B
Stand Your Ground: B
Wild Horses was formed by ex-Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain and ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson. Their debut album was produced by Trevor Rabin, who would go on to write and perform with 90125 era Yes.
The band was formed by the out of work musicians, Bain and Robertson, who were sharing a flat in London at the time. Originally rumored to include drummer Kenny Jones, the band ended up with Clive Edwards from Pat Travers band.
Wild Horses music was guitar driven and loud. The debut featured rockers “Reservation” and “Street Girl.” The album was on the charts in the UK when their record company, EMI, actually pulled the plug on the album. The band floundered, once poised for success, now they were struggling to survive. It is very strange that the record company changed their mind as the band were hard rocking and star studded, the song “Dealer” was co-written with Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham while “Flyaway” featured Phil Lynott.
The band went back into the studio to release their second album, Stand Your Ground. The title was very fitting as Robertson and Bain, in a cloud of substance abuse were now arguing on the musical direction of the band. Perhaps the angst this caused was able to push the pair as the sophomore effort is every bit as good as the first, even if the music is not as uniform. Songs like “I’ll Give you Love” and “New York City” both are great examples of how good this band was and how big they could have become.
Rock Candy has done an amazing job breathing new life into these releases. There are excellent liner notes written by esteemed UK rock scribe Malcolm Dome. There are great unseen photos and a bunch, and we mean a bunch of bonus tracks on each release, including a great live rendition of the Joe Walsh classic “Rocky Mountain Way” on Stand Your Ground.
Wild Horses Track Listing:
"Reservation" - 3:47
"Face Down" - 3:30
"Blackmail" - 2:25
"Flyaway" (Bain, Phil Lynott) - 3:33
"Dealer" (Bain, Robertson, Scott Gorham) - 4:56
"Street Girl" - 3:28
"No Strings Attached" - 3:56
"Criminal Tendencies" - 3:46
"Nights on the Town" - 3:21
"Woman" - 4:01
Bonus Tracks:
The Rapist"
"Reservation" (demo)
"Blackmail" (demo)
"Flyaway" (demo) with Phil Lynott
"Dealer" (demo)
"The Rapist" (demo)
"Retribution" (demo)
"Breathe On Me" (demo)
Stand Your Ground Track Listing:
"I'll Give You Love" - 3:44
"In the City" - 4:44
"Another Lover" - 3:26
"Back in the U.S.A." (Chuck Berry) - 3:50
"Stand Your Ground" - 3:36
"The Axe" - 4:20
"Miami Justice" - 5:00
"Precious" - 4:36
"New York City" - 3:26
"Stake Out" - 3:40
Bonus Tracks:
"The Kid"
"Everlasting Love"
"Because I Care" (demo)
"Are You Ready" (demo)
"The Kid" (demo)
"Saturday Night" (live)
"Rocky Mountain Way" (live)
By Jeb Wright
