Year : 1985 (Bad Reputation Records Edition 2025)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , AOR
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 84 mb
Bio:
First of all, I'd like to make it clear that since there are several bands with the name BILLY THE KID (there's even a hardcore band with that name from Costa Rica), the one I'm going to talk about in this review is an American band who were around briefly in the mid-80s. Hence the 1 in the bracket next to the band reviewed here, to distinguish it from the other BILLY THE KID bands who might appear on HR80 in the future.Formed in 1984 in Los Angeles, BILLY THE KID were lucky enough to land a contract with MCA and, at the time, must have been the envy of many. When the band entered the studio, they had the help of a number of producers, including Duane Baron. BILLY THE KID made their recording debut with Sworn To Fun in 1985, a year that saw US hard rock gain ground in terms of popularity and productivity.Sworn To Fun fits in perfectly with the context of the time, and can be likened to KISS in the 80s and Y&T period. Singer Stephen Fredrick's voice is quite similar to that of Dave Meniketti. The rather melodic mid-tempo ‘When Hell Freezes Over’ is a good synthesis of these influences, and remains within the bounds of correctness. The problem is that these influences show through too often, and the band find it hard to free themselves from them. In this context, the musicians are perfectly anchored in their era, but offer little more than average tracks such as the big-rock ‘Rock You Up’, the very ordinary ‘Even The Score’, the dull and wheezy mid-tempo ‘Woman Of Sin’ or ‘Off With Her Head’, more Y&T than nature, but without much inspiration. ‘Plenty’, on the other hand, is a track that could very well have been done by KISS during the 1984-1985 period. BILLY THE KID still manage to put on a good show on ‘Go For Your Guns’, an energetic, punchy Heavy-Rock compo, and ‘Heart Of Steel’, a Big-Rock/Hard US track in a Y&T/VAN HALEN vein that is saved by the energy displayed by the musicians. Fear No Evil’ is a darker, mid-tempo Heavy-Rock track, reinforced by discreet layers of keyboards, not too far removed from Ozzy OSBOURNE and not uninteresting, but it leaves a taste of unfinished business because it had the potential to be good.Their one and only album featured guest keyboards by renowned producer Pat Regan, but the record went largely unnoticed and the band quickly parted ways.Subsequently, 2 of the musicians bounced back: drummer Randy Delay played with THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS, DRIVIN N‘ CRYIN’ before passing away in May 1993 and singer Stephen Fredrick resurfaced in Finnish power metal band KENZINER.
Pat Regan is a music composer, keyboardist, music producer, audio engineer and sound mixer based in Los Angeles, California. He studied Music at UCLA. As a musician, he was the keyboardist for the new wave band Eyes which consisted of Nigel Benjamin on vocals, Bob Steffan on Guitar, John Telesco on bass, and Richie Onori on drumbs. The band released a four track EP titled Call in 1982. He also played the keyboard for the rock band Harlow, which released a self-titled album in 1980. The remaining lineup include Teresa Straley on vocals, Tommy Thayer (Black 'n Blue, Kiss) on guitars, Todd Jensen on bass and Steven Klong on drums. He played additional keyboards on the albums of many artists in the 1980s—including Billy Thorpe, Quiet Riot, Weird Al, Randy Bishop, Lion and Razor Baby—before launching a career as an audio engineer, producer and mixer. He was notably an associate producer on Black 'n Blue's 1988 album In Heat. In 1989, he bought New Century Media Recording Studio on Hollywood Boulevard. In 1995, he became owner of the owner of a record label and production company, Sonic Media Productions.
Album:
Bad Reputation Records will be reissuing ’80s US hard rockers Billy the Kids 1985 debut album.No matter how much you scour the internet, it's always a bit hard to find information on bands like Billy the Kid. Back in the mid-80s, we used to take risks by buying music we'd never heard. We were keen to find out more. We couldn't get enough. ‘Sworn to Fun was one of those opportunities. It ended up having a big impact, which lasted for years. What stands out most about this album is Billy L'Kidd's guitar work. Mention should also be made of Jeffrey Velvet, who did a great job on bass to complement L'Kidd's fast rhythms. Rock You Up' is a perfect example of this superb collaboration, with its lovely bass and guitar passages. Another interesting fact about this album is the guest appearance of Pat Regan (Quiet Riot) on keyboards. The album was produced by Duane Baron, who also contributed backing vocals. Randy Delay, the band's drummer, later resurfaced with the Kentucky Headhunters and Drivin‘ and Cryin’. Delay died some time later. Stephen Fredrick later resurfaced in the band KenZiner, then Firewind. Unfortunately, this album was never sufficiently promoted.The band still managed to make their mark with ‘Sworn to Fun’, but eventually had to break up. Other unmissable tracks on this album include the opening track ‘When Hell Freezes Over’, which sticks in your brain for days. Rock You Up', as already mentioned, “Go For Your Guns”, “Heart of Steel” and “Plenty” are all equally catchy. The album ends with a final blast, ‘Off With Her Head’. Billy The Kid had hit the ground running with his first album. It's a shame the story stopped there. Pat Garrett's fault?
Line Up:
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Stephen Fredrick - see also: See also: ex-Kinrick, ex-Kenziner, ex-Spike, ex-Firewind, ex-Pranks, ex-Ruud Cooty
Guitar – Billy L'Kidd
Bass, Backing Vocals – Jeffrey Velvet
Drums, Backing Vocals – Randy Delay (R.I.P.)
Keyboards – Pat Regan - see also: ex-Quiet Riot, ex-Eyes, ex-Harlow
+ guests:
Backing Vocals – Bob Gianetti, Jude Cole
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Alex Woltman, Billy Murray, Duane Baron
Backing Vocals [Additional], Tambourine – Llord Nakcor
Production:
Designed At – Steeleworks
Recorded At – The Pasha Music House
Mixed At – The Pasha Music House
Mixed At – Web IV Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Art Direction – Jeff Adamoff
Engineer – Hanspeter Huber
Engineer [Assistant] – Alex Woltman
Engineer [Remix] – Tommy Cooper
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman, Brian Gardner
Photography By [Front & Back Cover] – Ben Kitay, Dennis Keeley
Photography By [Group] – Mel Copeland
Producer – Billy Murray, Wynn Jackson
Producer, Engineer – Duane Baron
Tracklist:
01. When Hell Freezes Over
02. Rock You Up
03. Fear No Evil
04. Prelude
05. Go For Your Guns
06. Even The Score
07. Heart Of Steel
08. Woman Of Sun
09. Plenty
10. Off With Her Head
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
