BRAXXTON – American Rock ‘N Roll [Metallic Blue Records remaster] *HQ*

“American Rock ‘N Roll” was the only release by American melodic hard rockers BRAXXTON, released by themselves on cassette back in 1986, and appeared on CD for the first time with this Metallic Blue Records remaster.
BRAXXTON was originally formed in 1984 by brothers Dan Smith (drums, backing vocal) and Tim Smith (guitar, lead vocal) along with schoolmates Jeff Alleman (guitar, backing vocal) and Erik Brinkman (bass, backing vocal). Both Jeff and Tim were into Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Judas Priest, all these amazing twin lead guitar bands and were wanting to do the same thing with BRAXXTON.
Erik was a very mellow and cool guy who really liked Van Halen, and provided a more melodic approach. This lineup stayed together until December 1985 when Jeff Bagford joined as lead vocalist. Tim left the band at that point, so they were still a basic four piece.

They had been looking for a singer for a while, because Tim wasn’t particularly thrilled with it and liked focusing on playing guitar more. Bagford proved to be a solid vocalist.
At the time, BRAXXTON had been planning to record a professional 24-track demo for a while, so as soon as Jeff Bagford joined, they started rehearsing for the studio.
Initially they planned to record just two songs, “Living in the Shadow of Your Love” and “In the Night”. Those were tracked January 6, 1986 at Audio Vision Studios in Lindon Utah by Sam Foster (The Osmonds).

When they (and their friends) heard how good they turned out, BRAXXTON started dreaming of EPs, then ultimately an album. Jeff Alleman was quickly writing new songs, so the band could get back into the studio and lay down some more tracks.
The remaining seven songs were tracked in two sessions in June 1986 and mixed in one session a couple of days later.

Fast-forward to 2018, “American Rock ‘N Roll” is getting a definitive release. Prior to this, it was circulated on cassettes from person to person, it was never officially duped on a professional scale. Now original guitarist Jeff Alleman has mastered the recording fro mthe original tapes.
The material here was very well recorded and mixed considering its indie genesis, and this digital transfer sounds very good.
Musically they are a mix of typically mid-Eighties American Melodic Rock with glammy Californian Hard Rock. Solid and fun songs akin Autograph, Icon, Blue Tears, etc, well performed and arranged, with nice hooks.
Highly Recommended

01 – Fading Away
02 – Shadow of Your Love
03 – In the Night
04 – Never Give up on Love
05 – Taking on the World
06 – Plaything
07 – Into the City
08 – Distant Thunder
09 – American Rock ‘n Roll

Jeff Bagford (lead vocals)
Dan Smith (drums, backing vocal)
Jeff Alleman (guitar, backing vocal)
Erik Brinkman (bass, backing vocal)
Scott Sneddon (guitar, backing vocals)
Tim Smith (guitar, lead vocal)

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www.metallicbluerecords.com/store/p6/Braxxton-American-Rock-N-Roll
www.amazon.co.uk/American-Rock-n-Roll-Braxxton/dp/B07GPSLCJL