Letectvi a Kosmonautika 1988 17

This Danish melodic hard rock quintet was formed in 1985 by vocalist Torben Schmidt and guitarist Jan Petersen. With the addition of Tommy Rasmussen (keyboards), Morten Munch (bass) and Alvin Otto (drums), they incorporated elements of Whitesnake, Night Ranger and Boston into their music. From AOR beginnings, they have gradually evolved into a heavier and more powerful group than their self-titled debut might have suggested. Schmidt’s vocals are reminiscent of David Coverdale’s: melodic, powerful and emotive, and Skagarak remain a fine band whose obvious potential has yet to cross the Scandinavian frontier.

Martin becomes involved with a black market gang when he attempts to find the people who supplied him with fake money. He deals in foreign currency for them and lives in a flat supplied by them with Eva.

This is a Sherlock Holmes story with a difference. Here Dr Watson is the ace detective and has been using an actor to play the part Holmes. Holmes is a drunken actor and gets on Watson's nerves. When Watson tries to go it alone, he doesn't have much success, so he is forced to let Holmes take all the credit once more.

Even amidst the already seedy underbelly of the late-'80s L.A. glam metal scene, L.A. Guns were the undisputed bottom-feeders. A ragged collection of outcasts from various other bands (guitarist Tracii Guns was the original "guns" in Guns n' Roses, drummer Steven Riley had recently vacated the stool with shock-kings W.A.S.P., and British vocalist Phil Lewis had done time with London glamsters Girl), they elevated the unrepentant sleaziness and undeniable tackiness of their environment to a new VD-encrusted low. The union of such an unsavory cast of characters could only result in a wildly over-the-top rock & roll album, and while it may not have been as successful as their latest efforts, this eponymous debut rocked with a bile and fury not seen since Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. Sh*t-kicking anthems like "No Mercy," "Sex Action," "One More Reason," and the marvelous "Bitch Is Back" slap the listener silly while still making room for slightly more commercial but equally hot offerings such as "Electric Gypsy" and "Down in the City".

Gone are the longtime Anderson images of the vagabond/sage (the group is clad in white jumpsuits on the cover) – also gone are the historical immersion of their music and anything resembling Dickensian, much less Elizabethan sensibilities. And nearly gone was Jethro Tull itself, for A started life as an Ian Anderson solo project but ended up as a Jethro Tull release, probably for commercial reasons. The difference is probably too subtle for most people to comprehend anyway.