MOTHER’S ARMY – The Complete Discography [3CD box-set remastered]
As requested, here’s “The Complete Discography“, the 3CD box-set including trio of albums from the sorely underrated Hard Rock super-group MOTHER’S ARMY, digitally remastered and released in America for the first time.
Mother’s Army was the brainchild of top class songwriter / bassist Bob Daisley and former Night Ranger guitarist Jeff Watson, a ’90s melodic hard rock outfit rounded out by the reliable talents of Joe Lynn Turner on vocals and Carmine Appice on drums (Aynsley Dunbar is recruited for album # 3).
Playing with huge names and top experience, Mother’s Army released three complete albums in all over the decade; self-titled ‘Mother’s Army (1993)’, ‘Planet Earth (1997)’ and ‘Fire On The Moon (1998)’, all showcasing varied songs and great musicianship. Blending the talents of Daisley and stupendous Appice, it’s hard to top the essential fusion that sets the base of the band. With hard guitar riffs & virtuoso solos from Watson and the soaring vocals from Turner, the music sounds straight from the ’70s/’80s, the real glory-days for arena rock.
ALL 3 albums were never officially released ever in the USA until this box-set – this type of rock wasn’t fashionable in America during that decade – but fortunately the Japanese marked embraced Mother’s Army’s music with open arms.
Watson and Daisley are responsible for all the writing on the first 2 discs, showcasing their versatility. There’s hard rock, fusion, progressive, with a lot of time changes. The musical diversity disoriented some fans of all members previous bands, but there’s where Mother’s Army turns interesting; the did something different.
Watson does pull off some great solos, Turner’s vocals are impressive at times, and Appice delivers his unique drumming / percussion.
Carmine Appice quit for the third album due some busy agenda, to be replaced by another drumming legend, Aynsley Dunbar. Which brings us to “Fire On The Moon”, the more accessible Mother’s Army LP.
This time around, Joe Lynn Turner took a hand in the songwriting process, and it was no surprise when it turned into a more melodic hard rock oriented album. There are some really good songs on offer here, with ‘Way Of The World’, ‘The Code’ and the title track falling into the category of lost gems.
It’s a little bit rougher around the edges than most of the records Turner has been involved with, and it’s an album worth owning for fans of his style.
That’s an interesting sticker on this 3CD box set: “Three never before released albums” – in America. The LP’s didn’t get a particularly widespread release first time out, living under the cloud marked “Big In Japan”.
So having all three in a box, fully remastered, and at the price of 1 CD, is great.
Highly Recommended
CD1 Mother’s Army (1993) remastered
01 – Mother’s Army
02 – Darkside
03 – Dreamtime
04 – One Way Love
05 – Second Nature
06 – Memorial Day
07 – Get a Life
08 – By Your Side
09 – Voice of Reason
10 – Anarchy
11 – Save Me
12 – Mother’s Army (Reprise)
CD2 Planet Earth (1997) remastered
01 – Circle of Hands
02 – Cradle to the Grave
03 – Misery Me
04 – Planet Earth
05 – For the Moment
06 – Seas of Eternity
07 – The Child Within
08 – One Common Law
09 – Mother Earth
CD3 Fire On The Moon (1998) remastered
01 – N.D.E.
02 – Way of the World
03 – A Day in the Night
04 – Fire On the Moon
05 – Do What I Like
06 – Common Ground
07 – No Religion
08 – Moruroa Atoll
09 – The Code
10 – The Lonely
11 – Another Dimension
Joe Lynn Turner – lead and backing vocals
Jeff Watson – guitars, keyboards
Bob Daisley – bass
Carmine Appice – drums and percussion
Aynsley Dunbar – drums on CD3
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www.amazon.com/Complete-Discography-Mothers-Army/dp/B004RJZ9T2