Geordie

Geordie's second album, 1974's Don't Be Fooled by the Name, was a bit of a letdown after their debut, which merged the swagger of hard rock with the tuneful bombast of blue-collar glam acts typified by Slade. In some respects, Don't Be Fooled suggests Geordie were aiming for something a bit more mature and adventurous than they achieved on their debut, and they didn't entirely fail – they reveal a tough, bluesy side on their cover of "House of the Rising Sun," a number that suits Brian Johnson's industrial-strength pipes, and the "St. James Infirmary" lift in opening cut "Goin' Down" leans toward the same direction.

As the ‘70s wore on, British glam rockers Geordie were looking less like contenders and more like pretenders with each passing day. Their first two albums had yielded no certifiable hits, and thus the early promise they'd shown had been gradually overshadowed by accusations that they were nothing more than a second-rate Slade. So, needless to say, the pressure was on as the quartet prepared to release its third studio long-player – the falsely confident of named Save the World – in 1976, which may well explain why its songs pointed in several distinct directions.