Review Summary: In their debut album, Julliet proved to be that rare thing: a fourth-tier glam band that actually wrote some good tunes.
Wow. Wow wow wow. I’m still in shock. Whod’a’thunk a reported rare “treasure” from the glam era would actually fulfill the promises associated with it? More to the point, who’d’ve thought a fourth- or fifth-tier hair metal band could actually write these many good songs?
The band in question is Julliet, and from the ridiculous, Cinderella-inspired moniker upward, it looked like I could have a little fun bashing them around a bit, like I did to Whitefoxx. But then I played their record, and my intentions bit me on the ass.
Julliet released this, their debut record, in 1990, a time when the grunge assault was still incipient, but already strong enough to ensure bands like this had no commercial success. This lot was no different, and their only other contribution to the world was a second album with Frankie Banali on drums, which was shelved for over a decade and a half before finally being released a couple of years ago. Now, with many bands of the period and genre, I would think this a fitting end; for Julliet, however, I feel genuinely sorry. Simply put, this is the best of all the “underground” glam bands I’ve heard so far.
The band’s first right choice is in their influences. Straying from the cheesier end of the Sunset Strip sound, these boys choose to model themselves after Motley Crüe and the ever-excellent Cinderella. In fact, the first time you hear the record, you think “hey, I know that riff!” Then “hey, I know that voice!” And finally “hey, I know that slightly loose, sloppy bass sound!”. After a few seconds, you pinpoint it and realize these guys are copying the Crüe. The resemblance is uncanny, especially in Kenny McGee’s vocals, who all but mimick Vince Neil’s distinctive wail. Further on, the group varies their sound a bit more, encompassing some more melodic influences, with McGee’s vocals also becoming more diversified.
Along with McGee’s vocals, the real standout here is lead axeman and group menthor Jimmy DeLisi. Throughout the album, he shows that he does have – rather considerable – chops, offering a plethora of solid riffs and attractive, if not particularly shredding, solos. Unlike many of his lacquered Sunset peers, he has class and manages to fit his solos to the demands of each situation, rather than just shred away mindlessly. A good example is the minimalistic, Kissian solo on
Spend The Night, which is going straight into my “coolest solos in hard rock” list. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the remaining two musicians, who merely go through the motions. Ty Westerhoff has a few chances to buzz along in the background, but Greg Pecka’s drumming is nothing but uninspired, with plodding beats and an annoying tendency not to use the crash cymbal, a la Tico Torres.
Fortunately, the overall quality of the songs overshadows these small flaws. And let me pause here to ask you this: what rating do you give an album where you can blindly recommend five out of the tem songs? Certainly a 5/5, no? But what if, from the other five, two are awful and one is unremarkable and somewhat listless? A 3, maybe? Well, I’m sticking in the middle and awarding it a four. If it hadn’t been for
No More Tears and
Little Bit Of Party, this wouldn have been an easy 4.5, maybe even a 5. But there’s just no excuse for such poor songs on such a kickass album.
In fact, Julliet’s debut is kind of like a rollercoaster ride: it goes up in the beginning, then steeps scarily downhill, goes up again, only to finish on a plain note. The first three songs are all really strong, if we excuse the somewhat generic riff on opener
Eight Lives Gone. That, by the way, is only the first of many strong choruses to come. Follow-up
Spend The Night falters a little in that department, but makes up for it with its snaking lead and awesome solo, as well as its irrepressible 80’s beat. Finally,
Help offers a more commercially-tinged bit of fun, which will later be continued in the album’s best track,
Something You Should Know.
These three strong tracks are followed by two atrocious ones.
No More Tears is so chorusless, it took me four listens to actually realize it had such a section, while {i]Little Bit Of Party[/i] is so bad it defies description. It does earn points by containing the line
”what does it matter what car I drive/it doesn’t really matter where I buy my clothes”, but then negates it with the woefully explicit
”you better loosen your lips before I loosen my belt”, a line which sticks out even in the middle of such overall poorness.
Even more ironic is that this piece of 80’s turd leads the way to the album’s best trio of tracks.
Revvin’ Me Up was the track I kept reading about online when I was reading up on the band, and as soon as I heard it, I understood why. That chorus? Instant standout. However, for some reason, the rest of the song is a little disappointing when compared to that humongous section. Still a standout, though. But the best moment on the album comes next.
Something You Should Know is a mammoth of a track where all the pieces combine perfectly to create a lost gem of the hair metal period. This track deserved to be on MTV next to Danger Danger or Cinderella’s finest, it’s just that good. And speaking of Cinderella, they rear their permed head on the next track,
Chip Away, a piano-enhanced ballad where even McGee’s wail takes on a Keiferesque quality. Despite some rather silly lyrics, this manages to become a standout as well, rounding up the mid-album trio with panache.
Smoothing out the ride are two meritory, if unspectacular, tracks. One is a cover of Joe Cocker’s
You Can Leave Your Hat On, which never srays too far from the original; the other is a solid, but insignificant and unremarkable power ballad called
Love Can Change You, which has its biggest merit on the clever lyrical ditty
”I thought love was a state of mind/where lonely people wasted precious time”. Still, it serves its function, and by the time we step out of the rollercoaster, we’re not so dizzy anymore.
Julliet’s debut is certainly not perfect. To all the flaws postulated earlier, add the tendency to end every song on a fadeout, so typical of the time For all its flaws, however, it is blow for blow, every bit as strong as
Night Songs or
Bon Jovi, and certainly better than main inspiration
Too Fast For Love. Julliet ultimately suffered from a typical case of “too little, too late”, but the fetching price this record can achieve on eBay is an indication of its value. It’s also become available for download in a few places, so if you have a chance, look it up. I have, and I haven’t stopped listening to it since.
Recommended Tracks
Eight Lives Gone
Spend The Night
Something You Should Know
Chip Away
