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Thriller (Eddie and the Hot Rods album)

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Thriller
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 9, 1979
Recorded1979
StudioAbbey Road, London; mixed at Roundhouse Studios, London
GenrePub rock, punk rock
Length43:25
LabelIsland
ProducerPeter Ker
Eddie and the Hot Rods chronology
Life on the Line
(1977)
Thriller
(1979)
Fish 'N' Chips
(1981)
Singles from Thriller
  1. "Media Messiahs"/"Horror Through Straightness"
    Released: January 19, 1979
  2. "The Power and the Glory"/"Highlands One, Hopefuls Two"
    Released: March 9, 1979

Thriller is the third studio album by pub rock band Eddie and the Hot Rods, reaching No. 50 on the UK Albums Chart.[1][2] Released in 1979, it was produced by Peter Ker.[3] Shortly after the release of Thriller, the band was sacked by their record company and forced to join EMI Records. The album was reissued in 2002 with two bonus tracks: "Horror Through Straightness" and "Highlands 1 Hopefuls 2". These songs had been the B-sides to the singles released on the LP.

The album featured two singles: "Media Messiahs" and "The Power and the Glory", neither of which charted on the UK Singles Chart.

Linda McCartney provided backing vocals on "The Power and the Glory".[4] Reception of the album was muted.[5]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[3]

Trouser Press wrote that "the album reeks with bitterness; although competent, it has neither the freshness of Life on the Line nor anything substantial to replace it."[7] In 2002, Goldmine noted that "it's the sound of a group realizing that history had left them behind and even their old fans had drifted away."[8]

Track listing

[edit]
  1. "The Power and the Glory" (Graeme Douglas) – 4:16
  2. "Echoes" (Paul Gray, Steve Nicol) – 2:54
  3. "Media Messiahs" (Graeme Douglas) – 2:54
  4. "Circles" (Dave Higgs) – 2:55
  5. "He Does It with Mirrors" (Dave Higgs, Graeme Douglas) – 4:12
  6. "Strangers" (Graeme Douglas) – 2:46
  7. "Out to Lunch" (Dave Higgs) – 4:48
  8. "Breathless" (Graeme Douglas, Paul Gray) – 3:33
  9. "Take It or Leave It" (Barrie Masters, Graeme Douglas) – 4:12
  10. "Living Dangerously" (Dave Higgs) – 3:36
  11. "Horror Through Straightness" (Dave Higgs, Steve Nicol, Paul Gray) – 4:25
  12. "Highlands 1 Hopefuls 2" (Dave Higgs, Barrie Masters) – 3:00

Personnel

[edit]
Eddie and the Hot Rods
  • Barrie Masters – vocals
  • Graeme Douglas – guitar, backing vocals
  • Dave Higgs – guitar, backing vocals
  • Paul Gray – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Steve Nicol – drums, backing vocals

with:

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1979) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 50

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sweeting, Adam (9 October 2019). "Barrie Masters obituary". The Guardian. Music.
  2. ^ "Official Albums Chart Results Matching: Thriller". Official Charts. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 229.
  4. ^ Harry Castleman, Walter J. Podrazik -The end of the Beatles? 1985 p 294 "However, for the 1979 Thriller album by Eddie and the Hot Rods (recorded at Abbey Road studios), only Linda made the album credits as a backing vocalist. Though the liner notes did not offer a track-by-track listing of personnel, she most likely appeared on the Power And The Glory cut, also issued as a single...."
  5. ^ Peter Buckley The Rough Guide to Rock 2003 "Eddie and the Hot Rods .... THRILLER (1979) was a disappointment, and when Douglas left, the writing was on the wall."
  6. ^ Thriller at AllMusic
  7. ^ "Eddie and the Hot Rods". Trouser Press. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  8. ^ Greene, Jo-Ann (28 June 2002). "A Broad Abroad: Punk's 25th Anniversary Brings Out the Imports". Goldmine. Vol. 28, no. 13. p. 19.