Year : 1986 (Rock Candy Remastered 2017)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + scans + Video
Size : 128 mb
Bio:
King Kobra was formed in 1983 when legendary drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart) approached Mark Free to add his vocals to some tracks he had previously written and recorded with guitarist Earl Slick (John Lennon, David Bowie). Three songs - "Overnite Love Affair," "Fool In The Rain" and "You Are My Life" - were strong enough to secure King Kobra a deal with Capitol Records. Producer Spencer Proffer, however, insisted on all new material for the band's major label debut, and the demos were scrapped, never to be released.With an album to make, Appice and Free started auditioning players and writing songs. Guitarist Mike Wolfe came aboard and immediately kicked in some song ideas of his own. Keel's guitarist David Michael Phillips was then brought in, followed by wild-man bassist Johnny Rod. Before he was able to record a single note, Wolfe bailed out to open a recording studio, and was quickly replaced by Mick Sweda. The line-up of Free, Phillips, Rod, Sweda and Appice would go on to record two solid albums for Capitol - Ready To Strike and Thrill of a Lifetime. For the next three years, King Kobra toured the world over, barnstorming North and South America - as well as parts of Europe and Japan - supporting such formidable headliners as KISS, Iron Maiden and Queensryche. During this time, the band attempted to re-introduce their original demos into the fold, adding Rod's basslines, but sidelining them again before they were able to include Phillips and Sweda.In 1986, Rod accepted an invitation to join W.A.S.P., and was replaced by Lonnie Vincent. Two new songs were cut - "Lonely Nites" and "Young Hearts Survive" - but were abruptly haulted when Free became dissatisfied with the direction of King Kobra was going. Stepping in for Free, vocalist Marq Torien, Appice, Phillips, Sweda and Vincent wrote and recorded six fresh tracks, including "Your Love Is A Sin." Unfortunately, the combination was short-lived as Torien, Sweda and Vincent went on to form Bulletboys, taking along tunes like "Kissin" and "For The Love Of Money" for their own major label debut.Undeterred, Appice and Phillips pressed forward and initiated vocalist Johnny Edwards (who would later migrate to Foreigner), bassist Larry Hart and guitarist Jeff Northrup - core members of a group called Northrup. Combining their ideas and talents, they recorded King Kobra III for Appice's own Rocker Records label. Songs like "Perfect Crime," "Mean Street Machine," "#1," "Red Line" and "Walls Of Silence" exhibited a new maturity and growth in the band's sound. But it was not to last. This time, Appice received a call from John Sykes and Tony Franklin to join Blue Murder, and after five years, King Kobra was solemnly laid to rest.When you think of King Kobra, a vision of four bleached blondes out in front with one of rock's preeminent drummers in the driver's seat may come to mind. Beneath the hype and heady days of the 80's hard rock scene, however, there were true, inherent surges of brilliance from bands like King Kobra who boasted strong songs, precision chops and exuberant performances. Amidst the shuffle, plenty of ideas would never see the light of day. For King Kobra, much of their most powerful material fell into a well of lost years, and is exclusively presented here for the very first time. For fans of a period when the hair was big and the notes were fat, it's a treat worth the wait.
Album:
Fronted by the unique Marcie (Mark) Free, KING KOBRA was one of the outstanding acts from the '80s US Melodic Hard Rock scene. Their two first, most celebrated albums have been 'Remastered & Reloaded' by Rock Candy Records for our pleasure."Thrill Of A Lifetime" is their second effort, a much more melodic oriented affair.On "Thrill Of A Lifetime", King Kobra, their management, their recording label and - truth to be said, founder member Carmine Appice - decided to drastically change the musical direction.The quite menacing hard rocking sound from their debut album morphed into a poppy AOR / radio friendly / keyboard dominated style, according to the mid-Eighties US trend.The album overall 'waterfall of synthesizers' sound alienated first time fans looking for a continuation of the debut.I think you need to approach "Thrill Of A Lifetime" from a new perspective: this is a record focused to a different audience. And that target were lovers of slick, poppy, wimpy AOR with a little edge and anthemic choruses.Seeing "Thrill Of A Lifetime" as a typical middle-80s keyboard driven album with FM radio orientation, this is a superb record. There's compressed electronic drums, synth galore and killer choruses.The material was spearheaded by the hugely infectious ‘Iron Eagle (Never Say Die)’, a hit from the 'Iron Eagle' movie soundtrack. This song is an immense anthem and if you love '80s pumping AOR this track alone worth the disc.We find a fantastic melody on 'Second Time Around' which always reminded me of Night Ranger, a Loverboy-like catchy winner on 'Dream On', and a stronger rocker on title track 'Thrill Of A Lifetime'.I hear some Foreigner touches in 'Feel The Heat', you can't go wrong with a song titled 'Only the Strong Will Survive', while 'Overnight Sensation' is pure fun.For those missing the hard rocking edge from the first album, 'Raise Your Hands To Rock' and 'Party Animal' (where Appice play his 'wood drums' with fury) will rock your socks off.Then there's the rap-rocker 'Home Street Home' mixing hard rock with an early, rapping rhythm / vocal style which perhaps is the song that most controversy generated.Its metal meets rap certainly was ahead of its time (Beastie Boys sold millions with this style later) but somehow disoriented King Kobra's fans and more traditional hard rock listeners.However, the song provides variation to the album and I always liked it, even more the very rare 'Home Street Home (Street Mix)', the extended remix featuring some wild guitar solos included in this Rock Candy reissue as bonus track.If you are looking for edgy melodic hard rock, grab King Kobra's brilliant debut (presented Here), but if you're as well a sucker for uber polished, fluffy, and even cheesy poppy AOR - read pure '80s - then "Thrill Of A Lifetime" is a mandatory listen.Perhaps not all songs are exceptional, but there's many tracks which are the true definition of pure US AOR from the era.
Line-Up:
Mark Free - lead vocals
David Michael-Philips - guitar, backing vocals
Mick Sweda - guitar, backing vocals
Johnny Rod - bass, backing vocals
Carmine Appice - drums, backing vocals
Duane Hitchings - keyboards, synths
Tracklist:
01. Second Time Around 4:03
02. Dream On 4:26
03. Feel the Heat 3:53
04. Thrill of a Lifetime 4:06
05. Only the Strong Will Survive 3:54
06. Iron Eagle (Never Say Die) 3:30
07. Home Sweet Home 4:21
08. Overnight Sensation 4:20
09. Raise Your Hands to Rock 3:47
10. Party Animal 3:53
11. Home Street Home (Street Mix) (Bonus Track)
+ Video "Iron Eagle (Never Say Die)" (Official Video)
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