HELIX – Smash Hits Unplugged [Perris Records reissue] (2016)

“Smash Hits… Unplugged!” was Canadian’s Hard Rock institution HELIX first acoustic album ever appeared some years ago, now reissued 2016 by Perris Records as the original edition is pretty exhausted, and strangely, never was released by an American label before.

“Smash Hits…Unplugged!”, the acoustic rework of Helix hits, was certainly a release that deserved more attention.
While Helix have continued to make albums (and good ones, too), many of them have been ignored by the media in general. Although an album such as The Power Of Rock And Roll kicked as much ass as Walkin’ The Razor’s Edge, it went largely unheard.
“Smash Hits…Unplugged!” was a more accessible version of Helix, but it still failed to garner the attention it deserved. I do hear the terrific “That Day Is Gonna Come” from this album on the radio from time to time, but this album is too good not to be heard by masses.

This, to me, was the real “classic Helix lineup” reunion album. Unlike Vagabond Bones, you can actually hear guitarist Brent Doerner and bass player Daryl Gray singing. Gray in particular contributes a lot to this album, including singing, bass, guitars, and more exotic instruments such as bodhran.
All five Helix members participated, including Kaleb Duck with his first Helix album. Old friends such as Crash Kelly’s Sean Kelly (co-producer as well) and Cheryl Lescom (one of the greatest undiscovered female singers in Canada) also dropped in.

Every song on this album was a hit somewhere in one way or another, and every song on this album had the potential to be a hit once again. Vollmer sang his butt off as always.
Some of these arrangements are startlingly original. Particularly “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin”, which shines with great harmony vocals and mandolin courtesy of former guitar slinger Brent Doerner. This excellent, energetic version is followed by a great single-worthy take of “The Kids Are All Shakin”.
The ballads are also awesome, in particular the shoulda-woulda-coulda-been hit “That Day Is Gonna Come” and their cover of “Dream On”.

There’s also a new song never appeared on any Helix album, a cover of James Leroy’s “Touch of Magic”. “I’ve always wanted to record this tune” states singer Brian Vollmer. Helix does a killer version, and Vollmer sings his very best on it.
This long forgotten song is a wonderful tribute to Leroy, an under-appreciated Canadian singer and songwriter from the ’70’s. His original version of “Touch of Magic” was a #6 charting single. While I can’t say that Helix have topped or equaled him, it is a nice tribute and let’s leave it at that.

Really in total honesty, every version on “Smash Hits… Unplugged!” is great.
I found some arrangements, such as “Rock You”, to be pretty faithful to the original, while others to be more adventurous especially in instrumentation. A sprinkle of fiddle here, some 12-string there, and you get a rich unplugged album much more interesting than most major bands.
Pick up “Smash Hits… Unplugged!” by Helix. It’s really good and enjoyable.

01 – Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’
02 – The Kids Are All Shakin’
03 – Heavy Metal Love
04 – That Day Is Gonna Come
05 – Dream On
06 – Deep Cuts The Knife
07 – Make Me Do (Anything You Want)
08 – Good To The Last Drop
09 – Wild In The Streets / No Rest For The Wicked
10 – Touch Of Magic
11 – Rock You

Brian Vollmer – vocals
Brent Doerner – guitar, mandolin, vocals
Daryl Gray – bass, keyboards, bodhran, harmonica
Greg Hinz – drums, percussion
Kaleb Duck – guitar, vocals
with:
Cheryl Lescom – backing vocals
Wendy Wright – fiddle
Sean Kelly – guitar, dobro, banjo

BUY IT !
www.nehrecords.com/
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