MAD ANTHONY – Party Heaven, Hell, Whatever! [Eonian Records remastered + bonus] (2021)

Hailing from San Francisco, California, MAD ANTHONY was hands down one the best unsigned melodic hard rock band of the mid-’80s packing massive grooves and killer hooks from stacks of Marshall amps.
While shopping labels, MAD ANTHONY released their debut album ”Party Heaven, Hell, Whatever!” by themselves in 1987.
But this wasn’t just demos but a professional, multi-track recording handled by Grammy-winning producer, mixing engineer, songwriter, and arranger Steve Fontano whose endless recording credits include Cher, David Bowie, Huey Lewis and the News, and INXS.
MAD ANTHONY songs are very, very good, and the sound quality top notch, even more with this fresh remastering job by Rob Beaton which include recording credits with Guns n’ Roses, Sammy Hagar, Y & T, and many more. Now 2022 “‘Party Heaven, Hell, Whatever!” includes 8 extra tracks as well.
A ‘lost’ killer ’80s melodic hard rock band from America.

The Bay Area has remained an important musical epic center since the rise of the counterculture movement in the 1960s. From musical experimentation to thrash, San Francisco and its neighboring areas have produced some of the most important musical groups in the last handful of decades from The Grateful Dead, Journey, Metallica, Night Ranger, Sammy Hagar, Y & T, just to name a few.

From this musical epic center, MAD ANTHONY stood at the top of the mountain of rock bands. They conquered the Bay Area music scene with a vengeance and then started chipping away at the L.A. music scene.
But, the Bay Area was home and there was no other. MAD ANTHONY shows often sold out beyond capacity. In fact, MAD ANTHONY was the only unsigned band to ever sell out the famed Omni which had a 900+ capacity.

MAD ANTHONY was also all about a huge party, good times, the prettiest ladies, and always ended the night by pulling the crowd onstage for ‘Big Ole Long Red Hot Rod!’
Club owners would lock their bars at 2 AM and let the band party all night long …no holds barred! The crowds never left and only got bigger. MAD ANTHONY loved their fans and their primary goal was to give them the best hard rock show the Bay Area had to offer.

The album gets off to a powerful start with ‘Just My Type’. It has the right kind of glam and sleazy vibe that brings me back to the time I first heard bands like Babylon A.D., Wildside, and XYZ’s Hungry album. A definite early 90s vibe that also carries over into tracks like ‘Mother’s Helper’ and ‘Face To Lace’, both with awesome gang vocals in the chorus.
Then there’s a tonal change for some songs where there’s more of an emphasis on love and relationships rather than sleazy sex. ‘Stay With Me’, ‘When We Touch’, and the sole ballad ‘Falling Out of Love’ were written and designed to tell the girls in the audience that these bad boys cared about more than just sex (sure they did!).
All joking aside, all of these songs are really solid representations of the era right before the bottom dropped out around 1992.

Lyrics are typical from the era. If you’re a big fan of the first two Poison albums (as I am), this won’t necessarily be an issue, but what was fresh back then is incredibly cliched now. Lots of references about sex and double entendres.
‘Big Ole Long Red Hot Rod’ is supposedly about a car (sure it is!), with references about driving 69 MPH. ‘Face To Lace’ throws out this Shakespearean line: “I like to fuck!”. I wonder how long it took the singer to come up with that gem?
‘I’m the One’ is heavier, with the solo borrowing George Lynch’s finger tapping on Dokken’s ‘It’s Not Love’. ‘Rock Me’ is a great little ditty with a punchy rhythm section and nice vocals.

Production wise, for being an independent recording financed by the band back in the day, the quality is remarkably good and recorded utilizing decent equipment. The remaster makes things clear and vibrant.
‘Party Heaven, Hell, Whatever!’ delivers what promises in the title: this is late ’80s / early ’90s American melodic hard / glam with a party focus.
Too bad MAD ANTHONY somehow missed the boat, but better late than never.
Highly Recommended

You’ve seen it first at 0dayrox

01 – Just My Type
02 – Party Town
03 – I’m The One
04 – Mother’s Helper
05 – Falling Out Of Love
06 – Backstage Boogie
07 – Face To Lace
08 – Stay With Me
09 – Tonight We Ride
10 – When We Touch
11 – Big Ole Long Red Hot Rod
12 – Rock Me
13 – Nadine

Rick Burnell – Lead Vocals
Ralph Longo – Guitar / Acoustic Guitar
Mark ‘Freeze’ Freseman – Guitar
Bryan ‘Coach’ Lujan – Bass
James Bohn – Drums

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www.eonianrecords.com/new-products/mad-anthony-party-heaven-hell-whatever