Blue Murder - Blue Murder

Details: 1989, Geffen, CD

Another album to emerge above others in the late 80’s was this superb effort from the John Sykes, Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin collaboration. Sykes, still smarting from the success of the “Whitesnake 1987″ album that he played such a big role in creating yet no role in promoting, unleashed a selection of songs that are every bit as good as his Coverdale co-writes and perhaps even more surprisingly after initially working with the likes of Black Sabbath’s Tony Martin chose to perform the lead vocals as well as the guitar heroics.

There are so many great tracks within this disc that you can’t help wondering why he’s now resigned to performing only Thin Lizzy songs. “Riot” is a thunderous opener that offers the same bombastic introduction that “Still Of The Night” gave “1987″ (at least on the UK issue of that album!), “Valley Of The Kings“, a co-write with the aforementioned Tony Martin is an epic complete with Egyptian trappings and “Jelly Roll” offers a unique folkie intro reminiscent of Zeppelin III, then turns into a definite stomper before a powerful conclusion. The sound of the whole album too is impressively powerful. The rhythm section of Appice and Franklin were already of course serious names in the rock world with Appice’s track record dating back as far as the sixties with “Vanilla Fudge” and Franklin recently cropping up as part of Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers “The Firm”. Sykes himself of course, with a point to prove, apparently laid so many guitar tracks onto the album that its no surprise the final sound is so bloody big.

Of course, “1987″ also boasted the huge hit ballad “Is This Love” which Sykes echoes strongly with his own “Out Of Love“, and when the three members of Blue Murder actually co-wrote they did it in style. Only two three way compositions make the album but in “Blue Murder” itself the band get a storming signature tune and with “Black-Hearted Woman” a fittingly impressive album closer.

The only thing that stops this album getting a full 5/5 is the simply banal lyrics of “Sex Child“. Musically it’s great but “Gonna slip ‘n’ slide, gonna come inside” and “see the love flow out of me”. Come on please! Coverdale would never stoop to such low levels of innuendo… would he?

Seriously though, a new Coverdale-Sykes project was much mooted a couple of years ago and perhaps would have happened if Coverdale hadn’t had as much success with his latest Whitesnake line-up and Sykes hadn’t returned to Arena headline status with his Thin Lizzy tribute band. Personally if they could match the material and sound presented both here and on “1987″ then I’d still like to see it. To summarise “Blue Murder” though… a fine album that deserved to sell so many more than it did.

Highlight: Jelly Roll

Score: 4.5/5

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There are plenty of clips for this album on You Tube but I’ll go for “Valley Of The Kings” as the perfect example of the power of Blue Murder….

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BL

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