GORKY PARK – Gorky Park [digitally remastered +1] *EXCLUSIVE*
Here we go with the requested GORKY PARK self-titled international debut album from 1989, in its rare, hard to find remastered reissue. This Soviet (at the time) band was some kind of a curiosity in the late ’80s American melodic hard rock with their hit “Bang” having a mix of Russian and English lyrics and put into rotation on MTV.
Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora discovered the band and expressed interest in the GORKY PARK (both co-produced and performed on one song) and got them signed to Mercury Records, Bon Jovi’s label at the time.
Renowned Bruce Fairbairn produced half of the songs, and he & Mike Fraser mixed the whole thing. So expect melodic, polished, catchy melodic hard rock with that big sound from the era.
This remaster blast your speakers with a clear powerful output.
Maybe you remember back in the 80s when the Cold War was all over the news. Ronald Regan was U.S. president and vowed to end Russia / U.S.S.R. communist rule and eliminate any possible threat against the United States of America. Maybe you don’t remember — either way, if you’re from generation X, Y or Z, then you know that history always produces music to fit the changing times.
Back in 1989, the hard rock/metal world was wowed by The Moscow Music Peace Festival which took place at Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russia. For the first time, some of the biggest names in hard rock (Skid Row, Cinderella, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, and Bon Jovi) would join forces and perform a benefit for substance abusers in Russia (go figure). In exchange, we got Gorky Park sharing the stage with them.
By the end of the ’80s, the then open minded president Gorbachev allowed Gorky Park to travel to the U.S.A. to secure a record deal, with Bon Jovi’s help. Much like the 60s artists who started the music revolution, Gorky Park was almost a novelty act if it weren’t for the history that surrounded them.
They displayed all the hair metal cliches and you probably would have never even given them a listen if MTV hadn’t boasted that they were the first Russian band to be aired on their channel.
They had the traditional hair and glam rock appearance but they still secured a bit of Russian lore into their music. Listening to this album over 30 years later, it’s really amazing to me how fun and still unique this album sounds.
Gorky Park took elements of their homeland’s percussive sounds, the balalaika guitar and even their gang-like chanting background vocals. Lead singer Nikolai Noskov had such powerful and unique voice that I still feel like I am hearing something really special.
The hit “Bang” still sounds cool and is a really neat way to open the album. I don’t think it’s anywhere near as strong as some of the other songs on the album but it’s still a cool song mixing American and Russian lyrics to create something really different.
Gorky Park seems to teeter more on the mellow/melodic side of things with some really beautiful songs like “Try and Find Me” and “Child of the Wind” and the song “Sometimes At Night” reminds me of something that could’ve been an Ozzy Osbourne song circa 1986, and you can hear Fairnbairn’s touch here.
The album does have strong rocking songs like “Hit Me with the News” and the bonus “Action” but it’s their cover of The Who’s “My Generation” that really blows me away. I love nothing more than when a band can take a song by another artist to totally make it their own. I feel like this song is probably met with a lot of hate but I love what Gorky Park did to this song. They kept the spirit of the song while totally making it a metal anthem complete with Russian chanting to make it relevant to their own people.
“Gorky Park” (the album) sold well, but the band established in homeland because the musical climate already started to change in America, and continued active releasing more albums.
Highly Recommended
Only at 0dayrox
01 – Bang
02 – Try To Find Me
03 – Hit Me With The News
04 – Sometimes At Night
05 – Peace In Our Time
06 – My Generation
07 – Within Your Eyes
08 – Child Of The Wind
09 – Fortress
10 – Danger
11 – Action [Bonus Track]
Nikolai Noskov: lead vocals, background vocals
Alexei Belov: guitar, balalaika, all keyboards, background vocals
Alexander Minkov: bass, background vocals
Yan Yanenkov: guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals
Alexander Lvov: drums, percussion, background vocals
additional musicians:
Jon Bon Jovi: vocals on “Peace in Our Time”
Richie Sambora: guitar and background vocals on “Peace in Our Time”
Tico Torres: drums on “Peace in Our Time”
Out of print
www.micrec.lv/en/node/11518
Thanks a bunch! I still have this on Cassette. LOL
I had the original LP lol