SPREAD EAGLE – Subway To The Stars [Japan Edition +1] (2019)

Titled “Subway To The Stars“, this is the first SPREAD EAGLE album in over 26 years to be released by Frontiers Music on August 9th. just appeared in Japan today with a bonus track. The songs for “Subway To The Stars” were put together in the Music Building in NYC, which is the exact same place where the songs for their cult-classic hard rocking debut album were rehearsed and written.
Recording took place at Studio E in Brooklyn, New York with Grammy Award-winning engineer Tom Camuso.

Spread Eagle burst upon the hard rock scene of the late 80’s / early 90’s playing a brand of rock that hailed
straight from the mean streets of New York City. When Paul DiBartolo (guitar), Rob De Luca (bass) and
Tommi Gallo (drums) moved to NY and met up with Ray West (vocals), Spread Eagle was born.
The group was quickly snatched up and signed to MCA / Universal Records, then sent straight into the
legendary Record Plant studios to record an album.

Their self-titled debut was produced by Charlie Gambetta and featured a gritty and dangerous sound with wailing vocals and razor sharp guitar, as heard on songs such as ‘Switchblade Serenade’, ‘Scratch Like A Cat’ and ‘Broken City’.
Four years later, after therelease and touring of their second album, ‘Open To The Public’ (also produced by Gambetta), the band took an extended break and went about their own personal projects.
Spread Eagle reformed in 2006 under the direction of Ray West and Rob De Luca (who has also worked
with UFO and Sebastian Bach), plus new members in Ziv Shalev (guitar) and Rik De Luca (drums).

The band has been together ever since but did not start making a new album until their recent signing to
Frontiers Music. The recording then took place at Studio E in Brooklyn, NY with Grammy Award winning engineer Tom Camuso.
‘Subway To The Stars’ does not disappoint and picks up right where Spread Eagle originally left off all
those years ago.

Title track “Subway to the Stars” blasts since the first bits with a modern guitar sound and a hard hitting rhythm section, while the vocals are open and clear. Follower ’29th of February’ is highly melodious, catchy yet razor, there’s a rollercoaster in ‘Sound of Speed’, then a dark atmosphere for ‘Dead Air’.
“Grand Scam” rocks with groove and a swirling guitar line, then they try a midtempo melody in ‘More Wolf Than Lamb’, ‘Cut Through’ makes justice to its title, while ‘Little Serpentina’ brings to my mind a Chris Cornell solo song.

‘Antisocial Butterfly’ is a pretty heavy, groove monster, I remember a Gilby clarke song sounding a lot like the melodious ‘Gutter Rhymes for Valentines’, then for ‘Solitaire’ Spread Eagle pick up the acoustics for a cool campfire song, however the lyrics are quite somber.

In my book Spread Eagle always was a different beast than the ‘regular band’ from the American Hard Rock scene, and on “Subway To The Stars” they remain faithful to this premise.
Their songs are not your ‘meat & potato’ rockers, there’s some kind of ‘subtle essence’ to this brand of hard rock, and that alone deserve a proper listen to all their albums. “Subway To The Stars” is not the exception.
Highly Recommended

01. Subway to the Stars
02. 29th of February
03. Sound of Speed
04. Dead Air
05. Grand Scam
06. More Wolf Than Lamb
07. Cut Through
08. Little Serpentina
09. Antisocial Butterfly
10. Gutter Rhymes for Valentines
11. Solitaire
12. Sound of Speed (Alt. Mix) (Japan Bonus Track)

Ray West – Lead Vocals
Rob De Luca – Bass, Vocals
Ziv Shalev – Guitars
Rik De Luca – Drums, Percussion

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www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/MICP-11483