STARZ – Starz [Japan mini-LP SHM-CD Limited Release remastered +4] *EXCLUSIVE*

As requested, here’s the really good, now out of print, remastered Japanese Limited Release on SHM-CD of STARZ debut LP “Starz“, produced by Jack Douglas of Aerosmith fame, including four bonus tracks.
STARZ was one of great American hard rock arena acts from the second half of Seventies on par with Aerosmith, Ted Nugent or Kiss, which despite a lack of major commercial success has a lasting cult following and has been cited as a major influence by bands such as Mötley Crüe; Poison, Bon Jovi and Twisted Sister.

In the second falf of the Seventies there just wasn’t enough room for hard rock acts to make impact into the charts, at least in America. There was a cocktail of styles and genres and only the likes of Kiss, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and Queen made it big speaking of Rock / Hard Rock.
There would be other bands fighting for their place in the spotlight. Some of them (Van Halen, AC/DC) would eventually push through.
But the environment was strangely hostile, in spite of the huge success of the aforementioned bands. Starz were as good as any of them, but after 4 very good albums they only enjoyed moderated success.

Starz should have been a perfect fit for their time. They were a combination of elements that seemed destined for success. They had Kiss’s Aucoin management behind them and Aerosmith’s production ace Jack Douglas behind the mixing console for this spectacular debut record.
They even had what must be one of the very best band logos ever designed. Ahh… but what about the music you ask?
Well, fortunately, that’s the best part. If you could literally mix Kiss and Aerosmith together in equal measure what would have resulted would sound exactly like Starz debut record.

“Detroit Girls” is as straight forward an ode to groupie-dom as anything wrought by Kiss, however with the opening chords to “Live Wire,” Starz announce themselves as having their own take on teenage rebellion that would stand up to anybody’s. This track alone is worth the price of admission with one of the best chord progressions ever constructed. Songs about rebellion never sounded so… rebellious.

“Tear It Down” builds on the same theme but with even more aggression and with the next track, “Boys In Action,” you arrive at, perhaps, the album’s highlight. The song builds up to an ending that comes off as a runaway improvisation but with the control of an arranged piece. Think Kiss’s ‘Black Diamond’ only in reverse.

“She’s Just a Fallen Angel” is as good as any of the power ballads you would hear endlessly played throughout the Eighties, however with “Monkey Business” Starz introduced us to something they would return to throughout their four studio releases: an impressive (and somewhat perverse) sense of humor. There is a powerful release here as stuttering verses give way to flowing choruses.
Starz would also show a tendency to revel in the atmospherics surrounding the commission of crimes. “Night Crawler” is our first introduction into this arena of subject matter as vocalist Michael Lee Smith sounds downright impressed with the idea of robbery. In fact, he almost sounds too empathetic in his first hand account of the excitement of it.

Next we find the heavily Aerosmith influenced riff-o-rama that is “Over and Over.” To this day I still think its the best track on this outstanding record. And yet, I have never seen any evidence to suggest that it ever made its way into the band’s live set. How could they miss this?

Starz managed to land themselves into a bit of controversy with the bluesy “Pull The Plug.” In those days the name Karen Ann Quinlan was often in the news and the plight of her permanent comatose state sparked a lot of discussion about euthanasia. This track gave guitarist Richie Ranno a chance to work some excellent blues licks behind Smith’s impassioned vow to “pull the plug on my love.”

The record closes with what was always, to me at least, a strange sounding song. “Now I Can” is a powerful and original sounding rocker that bears witness to the wonders of a second chance. “I couldn’t do it then, but now I can! Now I can! Now I can!” A fine way to end things.
As bonus tracks we find 4 bonus tracks, two interesting pre-production takes, plus two unreleased songs, including the rocking “Fallen Angel”.

In spite of the excellence of this record and being positioned to tour with the biggest bands of the time, Starz debut failed to put the band into the upper echelons of the rock establishment. It was, nonetheless, a fine introduction and they would soon follow it with an even better releases.
It’s great to see – and hear – all these albums on SHM-CD with a proper remastering, unfortunately this was a limited press, now out of print.
Highly Recommended

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ＵＮＩＶＥＲＳＡＬ ＭＵＳＩＣ ＪＡＰＡＮ ～ 【UICY-77823】
スターズ / 巨星＋4

01 – Detroit Girls
02 – Live Wire
03 – Tear It Down
04 – Boys In Action
05 – (She’s Just A) Fallen Angel
06 – Monkey Business
07 – Night Crawler
08 – Over And Over
09 – Pull The Plug
10 – Now I Can
JAPAN BONUS TRACKS:
11 – Sweet Jeremiah
12 – Fallen Angel
13 – Detroit Girls (pre-production version)
14 – Live Wire (pre-production version)

Michael Lee Smith – vocals
Richie Ranno – guitar
Brendan Harkin – guitar
Pieter “Pete” Sweval – bass
Joe X. Dubé (aka Jeff Grob) – drums
additional musicians:
Gary Coleman – additional percussion

Out Of Print
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UICY-77823