Quiet Riot – Down To The Bone (1995)

Quiet Riot – Down To The Bone (1995, Kamikaze)

1. Dig
2. Pretty Pack Of Lies
3. All Day And All Of The Night
4. Whatever It Takes
5. Wings Of A Cloud
6. Trouble Again
7. Down To The Bone
8. Voodoo Brew
9. Monday Morning Breakdown
10. Live Till It Hurts
11. Twisted
12. All Wound Up
13. Hell Or High Water
14. Wings Of A Cloud (revisited)

Band Lineup:
Kevin DuBrow – Vocals
Frankie Banali – Drums
Carlos Cavazo – Guitars
Chuck Wright – Bass

Additional Musicians:
Matt Littell – Bass (on ‘Pack Of Lies’)

Total Time – 68:45

Kevin DuBrow official website
Frankie Banali official website

Continuing in the vein of TERRIFIED, Quiet Riot comes back again with another solid Hard Rock album for the ’90s. Classic Rock flavored, blues-based, and structured party anthems. It’s not all mid-tempo this time around, there are some faster tunes here that nod to the ’80s heyday, a combination of old and new.

Two things really jump out at me when listening to this record: Just like the previous album, DuBrow sings outside of his trademark delivery, it’s more soulful and bluesy in a Glenn Hughes sort of way. Second, Carlos Cavazo puts in another superb guitar performance showing that he is under-rated and overlooked in the scene.

Some solid songs here: ‘Dig’, ‘Pretty Pack Of Lies’, ‘Trouble Again’, ‘Voodoo Brew’ (interesting keyboards here), ‘Twisted’. All are very good, straight to the point, Hard Rock. The rest of the album is as straight forward as these selections except for the obligatory cover of The Kinks’ classic, ‘All Day And All Of The Night’, which is done well but unnecessary. ‘Hell Or High Water’ has that ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’/Pete Townshend type intro, a nod to the roots.

This was released in 1995 and I remember seeing the CD in the New Release rack at my local Circuit City for $9.99. Of course this was pre-Internet, my only news was the Rock mags and zines, I didn’t remember news of a new QR album. If you look at the cover, the band name is missing but the trademark mask is there, a casual fan might not give it a second glance. I almost missed out on this but that artwork really drew me in, one of the best I’d seen in a long time and the best the band has ever had.

Bottom Line:
Straight up Hard Rock done well. It’s the same sound that you identify as Quiet Riot but bluesy. Well worth checking out. Favorite songs: ‘Pretty Pack Of Lies’, ‘Voodoo Brew’, ‘Trouble Again’.