RECKLESS – Disorderly Conduct (2015)

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New York’s best kept secret, RECKLESS, hits back with a second and, until today, unreleased album that was recorded in 1990 entitled “Disorderly Conduct“.
Originally slotted for a release by major label Geffen Records the project fell through for different reasons and what we have here is the pre-production recordings released to the public for the very first time.

Reckless formed in West Harrison, New York in 1986 by bass player Gary Kriss. With some guidance from J.J. French and Mark Mendoza (of Twisted Sister fame) he found the rest of the musicians and Reckless born.
After playing some shows in the New York area and with a fresh batch of demos recorded they caught the attention of manager Phil Carson (the man responsible for signing Twisted Sister to Atlantic) and the Atlantic Records company.
Together they recorded a very good debut album called ‘No Frills’ which was released in 1987 and produced by Mendoza / J.J. French, filled with great melodic hard rock tunes that brings to mind bands like White Lion, Dokken, etc.

So, why was this album not a huge hit around 1987? Being released on a small Warner Bros. subsidiary label called Valentino, the album never got the promotion and marketing it deserved. The band lost their record contract and the members started to pursue their own interests, moving on.
But Gary Kriss formed a new version of Reckless to keep the momentum going. He recruited former High Risk and Under The Gun vocalist Lee Anderson and also Jeff Speede and kick-ass guitarist Ronni Jude (Lizzy Borden’s Master of Disguise record) to make the new incarnation of Reckless complete.

The band now started to record demos for a proposed second album, and Geffen Records offer a contract, but at the time their number one artist Guns N’ Roses exploded, and the label concentrated all their efforts to them.
So these pre-production demos – which sound pretty good – are now beingf released for the first time as “Disorderly Conduct”.
The songs here are more LA Glam, sleazy and garnering a more raunchy Hair Metal swagger than Reckless previous album, according to the style ruling these years. Think a mix of Motley Crue, WASP, Lizzy Borden, Poison, LA Guns and GNR.

The albums starts off in style with “Looks Like Hell” which is a huge hair metal anthem very much in the vein of early Motley. The song has a nice groove and a great chorus with the whole band joining in on the gang vocals. Definitely one of the strongest songs on the album.
“Shame On You” develops a sleazy vibe with a huge hook in the vein of early Skid Row, and Beau Nasty with some Guns n’ Roses sleazy thrown in for good measure. A great song.
“Honky Tonk Woman” is a kind of slow rocker, followed by the heavy and grooving “Ball Of Confusion” akin Tora Tora.
This influence continues on “Sin City”, then it is the time for the album’s ballad “Don’t Walk Away” which is a great song getting much heavier for the chorus. I can hear a lot of Poison vibes running through.

The fast sleazy rocker “Juicy Lucy” is a straight ahead rocker with a lot of rock n roll influences shining through. Then we’re at track number 9 which is called “Angelica”, a heavy song with some interesting guitar riffs and a bluesy and groovy bassline again from Kriss. The chorus has Andersson stretching his vocal chords to the limit.
The album rounds off with a bonus track recorded by the reformed line up that was slotted to play the Rocklahoma Rock Festival in 2008. This Reckless featured of course founder Gary Kriss, original singer Chris Cintron and former Drive She Said guitarist Ray DiTone.
This is a re-recorded song from Reckless first album called “Voices In The Night”. The overall sound quality and production is of course much better on this track. It shows the band has really got what it takes to compete with the best in the 2000´s.
Chris Cintron really shines with a great vocal performance and the tight band backing him in the best possible way.

2015 it’s finally time to release this shelved album from a band that deserved better luck, because they were very good.
“Disorderly Conduct” is a record much more sleazy, glammy hair metal compared to the very melodic hard rock oriented debut album by Reckless. There are some really strong songs on the album and Anderson’s rough vocal style fit the songs and the production perfectly. The re-recorded “Voices In The Night” raises the value of this release even further.
One has to take into account that this was a pre-production recording done in the early 1990’s – but those years the quality standard was very high, so the overall sound is really good.
“Disorderly Conduct” leaves you wondering how the hell the record company could pass on this great offering by Reckless.
If you are into late ’80s Hair Metal you will get your mouth full listening to this album, especially fans of Motley Crue, early Skid Row, Warrant, Trixter, Poison, etc.
Very Recommended.

01 – Looks Like Hell
02 – Shame On You
03 – High School Girls
04 – Honkey Tonk Woman
05 – Ball of Confusion
06 – Sin City
07 – Don’t Walk Away
08 – Juicy Lucy
09 – Angelica
10 – Voices in the Night (Bonus Track)

Gary Kriss – bass, vocals
Ronnie Jude (Lizzy Borden) – lead and rhythm guitars
Lee Anderson (High Risk) – vocals
Jeff Speede – drums

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