Baileys Comet - Judgement Day

Details:

• Year of release : 2001
• Label : Now & Then / Frontiers FR CD055
• Review format : CD

I remember too well getting taken in by the press for this release with big claims being made about the next big British rock act and a band that captured the essence of Thin Lizzy and the power of Whitesnake. So much so that I didn’t wait for the reviews before buying! To be fair the band had some form with Saxon’s Nigel Durham on the drums being the notable musical name whilst the band’s leaders were TV rock ‘DJs’ and Metal Hammer columnists The Bailey Brothers with Dez playing guitar and Mick on er… background vocals and effect samples.

I must admit that the booklet photos have them looking like a Milli Vanilli tribute act more than the next rock messiahs and on reflection they never had a chance of living up to the hype the promotion layed on them but despite shelving this pretty quickly after I bought I’ve been spinning it quite a bit lately and its not as bad as my memory was telling me.

The opening trio of Judgement Day, Spirit of Toumahai and One Life One Love all have something of merit about them that comes out after a few plays. Singer Alex Edwards does sound more than a little strained at times but Judgement Day rocks hard and is a reasonable set opener whilst One Life One Love has a great hook to it. The Thin Lizzy references really raise their head for the first time on Emerald Isle (Song For Peace) though and although the music has a favourable celtic flavour the track is let down greatly by some awfully cliched lyrics resulting in the song ending up more like a poor Eurovision entry. Track five, Revolution, is the track that gained most interest on release credited as it is to the late great Phil Lynott, one S. Johnson and Dez Bailey. It transpires that it was actually a Lynott/Johnson work in progress that Bailey later added to but whatever the lineage its a Lynott track that wouldn’t have otherwise seen the light of day I guess. It turns out to be quite a controversial call to arms lyrically and doesn’t sit too well after the “song for peace” but nevertheless does, perhaps unsurprisingly, capture that Lizzy feel with the singer in full Lynott tribute mode to boot.

The Saxon styled Stealin’ Your Love follows and is best desribed simply as “okay” before the excellent Seven Hills once again visits Lizzy territory to great effect. Unfortunately it is let down by a gruff vocal but the guitar solo complete with a Celtic jig stands out. The vocals are actually much improved for Good Lovin’ Gone Bad (not a cover of the Bad Company song) and seem a little more forward in the mix as a result but its the excellent guitar work in this track that really shines. Done with a vocalist of say Danny Vaughn’s ability this track would smoke! Should Have Been There again apes Thin Lizzy but to less effect before Wild One (Phil Lynott Tribute) manages to either namecheck or soundcheck so many Lizzy tracks it’s fun just trying to spot them! The lyrics are a little contrived and almost syrupy at times but its a decent tribute to a man who obviously is a hero to writer Dez Bailey. The mainly instrumental and pretty bloody good ode to the Celtic Warrior closes the album which is a little strange in a way as I’m sure the Bailey Brothers were from Sheffield in Northern England!!

A little internet research trying to find some context for this review lead me to discover a few live dates played to support this album with none other than Tony Martin (Black Sabbath) on vocals and I can’t help wondering how much better this album could have been if he’d been in the band at the recording stage. Unfortunately it appears the Bailey Brothers web site has had little attention for years other than a general rock news feed recently although there is a promise of “Judgement Day - coming soon”!

Summary : I’ll be honest and admit that I originally pulled this one out with a view to making sure it still played okay then sticking it on eBay with a hope of getting a few quid thanks to the Phil Lynott connection. I’ve since decided it’s actually a keeper because despite the thin production, at times strained vocals and some awfully cliched lyrics there’s a few tracks on here that are worth hearing now and again. The guitar work of John Hardman stands out and Dez Bailey comes out of this with considerable credit writing or co-writing every track. I wouldn’t be surprised if either surface again sometime in another band.

If you listen to one track listen to : Good Lovin’ Gone Bad

Score : 2/5