753. Alcatrazz / No Parole From Rock 'n' Roll. 1983. 3/5

Graham Bonnet had had a long and varied career by the time this project arrived. Apart from various solo ventures and some time with The Marbles, he had had high profile terms with Rainbow and Michael Schenker Group, both of which for various reasons lasted for only an album in each term, which is a shame as both Down to Earth and Assault Attack are brilliant albums. Following this, he decided to form his own band, and alongside Gary Shea, Jimmy Waldo, Jan Uvena and a young and up-and-coming guitarist by the name of Yngwie Malmsteen, Alcatrazz was born and this was their debut album.

No Parole From Rock 'n' Roll is a very radio-friendly written album, though it was not to break for the band. Nor did the video for the first single "Islands in the Sun" garner huge attention, though for a while it was played often on MTV and other music video related channels. It relies very heavily on the keyboard sound that was dominant in the 1980's hard rock, mixed with the unique guitar sound Yngwie was bringing to the table. Yngwie's solo pieces are still brilliant to listen to today. Take any of those and you could place them on his Rising Force album and it would not lose a beat.
Upon this was layered Bonnet's singing, for the most part set to the highest vocal register, which worked well on some songs and not so well on others. What does seem to be missing from the vocals is the power that is evident in the songs from the two albums mentioned above. Bonnet's vocals on, for instance, Rainbow's "Eyes of the World" and M.S.G's "Desert Song" really thump through the speakers into your chest. Here they tend to try to be reaching levels for which he cannot project that kind of power. Sometimes it detracts from the quality of the song.
"Kree Nakoori" is certainly not one of those. It is a great rumbling song, dominated by Bonnet's crooning vocals and Yngwie's brilliant guitar break that punctuates itself throughout the song. No pretence at playing it safe here. This is then followed by the instrumental "Incubus" which again is dominated by Yngwie's guitar. Terrific stuff. "General Hospital" and "Hiroshima Mon Amour" are up there as some of the best songs on the album". "Too Young to Die, Too Drunk to Live" and "Jet to Jet" have a very Rainbow theme to them, with the keyboards heavily prevalent in a manner that is reminiscent of that band. Yngwie almost channels Ritchie Blackmore on guitar during both of these songs. "Big Foot" I would term a dreadful song. Truly. Why does Graham just go on moaning lyrics for ever and ever and ever. I don't get what they were trying to do here. "Starcarr Lane" is memorable for the solo, but the vocals just seem a bit too out of character with the song, going from a normal register to a high level register between lines of lyrics. Just a bit too much variation for my liking.

In the long run, this probably should be a more widely known album. All the elements are here to produce a really strong and heavy album. What it does end up is stuck in the middle of where it wanted to be and where it should have been. It wanted to be a radio friendly hit album, but enough of the songs are too hard rock to deliver that, and certainly the electrifying guitar of Yngwie Malmsteen took it beyond that market. However, it also didn't go far enough into the harder side of the music to set it alongside other bands that were beginning to break at this time, such as Motley Crue. The elements were there, but the songs just didn't have enough bite to be spectacular and break the mould. What you have instead is an album that is tied to the era it came from because of its production and writing, which will be enjoyable to those who listen to that style of music, but which will turn off younger and older people than that era for exactly the same reasons.

Rating:  How that wounds me, just leave me here to bleed.  3/5