SALTY DOG – Lost Treasure [Escape Music release]

Finally, the unreleased songs by Californian hard rockers SALTY DOG are being available today under the title “Lost Treasure“. Salty Dog formed in the mid-Eighties in Los Angeles and issued the album Every Dog Has Its Day in 1990. The band really did it very well, and at one point ruled the sunset strip and Hollywood. Things were looking so promising for this band but they were sadly lost in the shuffle when the grunge-rock movement hit in late 1991.

But before they fell silent they recorded some demos for a planned second release. I’m not sure if these are demos from that era or re-recorded. Now guitarist Pete Reveen resurrected these tunes and composed new songs for this fresh Salty Dog album.
We also find new vocalist Darrel Beach in place of original singer Jimmi Bleacher. The two do sound quite similar though to me and so an excellent fit.

“Lost Treasure” vaults into high gear right away with “Damned If I Do”. Musically, the song is total continuation of the 1990 album Every Dog Has Its Day. The track exudes that same catchiness and bluesy hard guitar riffs that we came to know from the debut.
Tracks like the mid-paced “I Need More” simply bang and crash their way through their runtime while “Walk Softly” displays some catchy hooks.
Probably my top choice for pick of the litter comes in track four, “Open Sezme”. Some excellent bluesy slide guitar, thundering drum beats, and Beach‘s venomous vocals all come together for a fantastic song.

A great low-end grind can be found in “All That Glitters”, “Woman Scorned” speaks of the same old adage and “Didju” simply pounds. There’s a little bit of a country flavor showing through in “Old Fashioned Love”, but not too much. It’s just a good foot-tapper of a song.
There are a couple of lighter moments to the disc in “Mission On A Hill”, “Honeysuckle Wind” and “When Fools Rush In”, and we have an acoustic, finger-pickin’ ballad in “Honeysuckle Wind” with that early Nineties feel.

I’ve long cherished Every Dog Has Its Day and now “Lost Treasure” upholds that perfectly. Some real barn-burning rockers collected here, American late ’80s American hard rock played just as it should be.
The songs on “Lost Treasure” should have been released many moons ago, but it’s so good that the band have proved that a good dog can’t be put down, this dog lives to fight another day.
Highly Recommended

01 – Damned If I Do
02 – I Need More
03 – Walk Softly
04 – Open Sezme
05 – Mission on a Hill
06 – All That Glitters
07 – Woman Scorned
08 – Honeysuckle Wind
09 – Didju
10 – Old Fashioned Love
11 – When Fools Rush In

Darrel Beach ­- Vocals
Pete Reveen -­ Guitar, Banjo
Khurt Maier ­- Drums
Hilljack Hannon – Bass

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www.amazon.de/Lost-Treasure-Salty-Dog/dp/B078XXZHLS/