Atomic Playboys
| Atomic Playboys | ||||
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| Studio album by Steve Stevens | ||||
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Publication |
1989 |
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| Label (s) | Warner bros. | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
50:25 |
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| occupation |
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Beau Hill , Steve Stevens, Ted Templeman |
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Studio (s) |
Right Track Studios, The Enterprise Studios, The Village Recorder |
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Atomic Playboys is the first solo album by the American guitarist Steve Stevens , released in 1989 , who gained fame primarily through his collaboration with Billy Idol .
background
Steve Stevens was the songwriting partner of Billy Idol and had made a significant contribution to Billy Idol's albums Billy Idol (1982) and Rebel Yell (1983) and while recording Whiplash Smile (1986) he met Harold Faltermeyer , who recorded the keyboards for the album. From this collaboration, Faltermeyer and Stevens also participated in the soundtrack to the film Top Gun in 1986 , to which they contributed the title Top Gun Anthem , for which they were awarded a Grammy . As a result, the musical relationship between Billy Idol and Steve Stevens fell apart, and Stevens did not take part in the Whiplash Smile tour. For this he worked u. a. with Michael Jackson , for whom he recorded the guitar solo of the hit Dirty Diana in 1987 . In 1987, in addition to working for Steve Lukather and Joni Mitchell, he began working on his first solo album with the singer Parramore McCarty.
Stevens didn't put together a full-fledged band for this: In addition to the guitar work, he played the bass and also took over the vocals for the track Woman of 1,000 Years , while McCarty sang all the other tracks. For the album, Phil Ashley (keyboards) and Thommy Price (drums) were also engaged; however, neither played a role in the external representation. Kasim Sultan (bass) and Anton Fig (drums) also performed as guest musicians ; Producer Beau Hill ( ZZ Top , Winger ) involved his then partner, the singer Fiona , in the songwriting and let her take part in the background vocals for the song Desperate Heart .
Similar to the previous collaboration with Billy Idol, Stevens relied on an external presentation that was focused on the guitarist and the singer. So only Stevens and McCarty are shown in the CD booklet.
The title song was released as a single , which contained the song Warm Female written by Stevens and Iggy Pop as the B-side . For promotional purposes there was also a remix (7:41 minutes) of The Sweet classic Action, the cover version of which was the third track on the album.
The album cover, which shows a Medusa head half covered by a guitar neck, was designed and painted by the Swiss artist Hansruedi Giger .
Atomic Playboys was remastered by Rock Candy Records in 2013 and re-released on CD with the title Warm Female and the remix by Action .
Track list
| Atomic Playboys | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | title | Songwriter | length |
| 1. | Atomic Playboys | Steve Stevens | 5:48 |
| 2. | Power of suggestion | Stevens | 4:37 |
| 3. | Action (Cover Version ( The Sweet )) | Andy Scott , Brian Connolly , Mick Tucker, Steve Priest | 4:44 |
| 4th | Desperate Heart | Stevens, McCarty, Beau Hill, Fiona | 4:32 |
| 5. | Soul on Ice | Stevens | 3:57 |
| 6th | Crackdown | Stevens | 5:44 |
| 7th | Pet the hot kitty | Stevens, McCarty, Hill | 4:03 |
| 8th. | Evening Eye | Stevens, McCarty | 3:56 |
| 9. | Woman of 1,000 Years (vocals: Steve Stevens) | Stevens | 4:21 |
| 10. | Run Across Desert Sands (Instrumental) | Stevens | 3:52 |
| 11. | Slipping Into Fiction | Stevens | 4:43 |
| Overall length: | 50:25 | ||
reception
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Holger Stratmann judged in Rock Hard that professional is probably "the word that best describes the record of Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens". With the ex-Warrior singer Perry McCarty, Stevens has "landed one of the hottest US singers" who "immediately demonstrated his skills" on the title track. After this "perfectly presented cracker" follows "the stark contrast": Power Of Suggestion is "a disco number enriched with brass and slightly trimmed to rock", with the third number, a "not uncool version of the Sweet classic Action ", is then all right. The album is "an unusually varied hard rock disc" on which from time to time "excursions into commercial and rock'n'roll realms can be recorded", which are "definitely the attraction of the LP". In addition, "the production of the disc" is correct. Stratmann awarded eight out of ten possible points.
Musikexpress wrote that Stevens was "not only offering heavy rock a la carte on his solo debut, but also defying the lazy Billy Idol, who did not come across with his long overdue record". In the eleven songs, the "agile Ax-Wizard" let "his weakness for the filigree virtuoso side of modern rock run free", bring in "sometimes funky sequences on the bass", and cover the sweet evergreen "Action" with "downright agile bravour ”and in the instrumental run Across Desert Sands don't shy away from any trick of “ reading the riot act to my colleagues Meola, Lucia & Co on the acoustic guitar. ”In addition, Stevens has“ a competent troupe behind him, ”especially singer Perry McCarty, who feed his heavily styled mainstream rock “always with feeling and sentiment”.
Web links
- Atomic Playboys at Discogs
- Atomic Playboys at Allmusic (English)
- Atomic Playboys on YouTube , accessed May 31, 2020.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b booklet of the CD
- ↑ Maxi-Single Atomic Playboys , Warner Bros. Records 921349-0 D
- ↑ Entry on discogs.com , accessed May 31, 2020
- ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
- ↑ Review on rockhard.de , accessed on May 31, 2020
- ↑ Musikexpress, Issue 9, 1989, page 94