The Four Color Personalities For Mlm

For a brief moment at the start of the '90s, everyone seemed to be doing the retro-rock thing, and while most bands were digging back to the late '60s for inspiration, the Four Horsemen's ambitions went no further than the late '70s – more specifically AC/DC. There's not a single original riff on all of their first full album, Nobody Said It Was Easy, mind you, but the band's raunchy guitars and gritty delivery make up for this in spades. And had he not been arrested seemingly every six months for one misdemeanor or another, outlaw frontman Frank Starr may have even challenged Axl Rose for his "king of the bad boys" crown. Starr's whiskey and broken glass vocal style literally ignites the album's best moments, including the title track, "Can't Stop Rockin'," and the incredible "Rockin' Is Ma' Business." And while "Hot Head lifts its main riff directly from AC/DC's "Rock'n'Roll Damnation," the slightly more original "Tired Wings" actually received some MTV rotation thanks to its mellower Southern rock vibe and slide guitars.

Day by Day consists of 15 tracks recorded in 1962 for broadcast on a public-service program sponsored by the Navy. Though these cuts aren't as polished as the album versions, most of the Four Freshmen's best-known songs are here: "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring," the title track, "Route 66," and "Lulu's Back in Town." The arrangements are loose, and the solos are a bit more sprightly than their original versions. "Once in Love with Amy," recorded with Russ Barbour doing his best Donald Duck impersonation, will strike listeners as either hilarious or abrasive.