TKO – Let It Roll (1979/2008 reissue)

TKO – Let It Roll (1979/2008 reissue, Tribunal/Divebomb Records)

1. Let It Roll
2. Ain’t No Way To Be
3. Only Love
4. Gutter Boy
5. Kill The Pain
6. Come A Day
7. Rock ‘N Roll Again
8. Bad Sister
9. What In The World
10. Introduction*
11. Rock ‘N Roll Again*
12. Bad Sister*
13. What In The World*
14. Gutter Boy*
15. Kill The Pain*
16. Only Love*
17. Let It Roll*
18. Ending Outro*

(* Bonus tracks are from a radio taping, KZOK FM Live In Studio Sessions – 1978)

Band Lineup:
Brad Sinsel – Vocals
Rick Pierce – Guitars
Tony Bortko – Guitars & Keyboards
Mark Seidenverg – Bass
Darryl Siguenza – Drums & Percussion

Producer: Mike Flicker

Total Time = 1:06:27

TKO MySpace page
Divebomb Records
Divebomb Records MySpace page
Tribunal Records

TKO is another one of those bands that I discovered during hours of reading Rock magazines when I was a kid. Somewhere along the line, I saw an ad for the band’s second album, IN YOUR FACE, and I thought it looked cool. The next time I went to the record store I checked it out and noticed that the band had another album which turned out to be LET IT ROLL. I dismissed LET IT ROLL based on two factors: the album cover was silly, it had these homemade Rock’em Sock’em Robots and the album was released in 1979! At the time I made this discovery it was mid to late ’84 and I was convinced that “new” Metal bands only released albums in the ’80s. Sounds dumb doesn’t it? Especially since I had albums by KISS, Van Halen, Aerosmith, and AC/DC that were all released in the ’70s! I never ended up buying either album but I did enjoy a dubbed cassette copy of IN YOUR FACE I acquired from a trader. Over the years, I was able to hear LET IT ROLL but I never actually owned a copy. Fast forward to the digital age and both LET IT ROLL and IN YOUR FACE have been reissued by various labels…..all unofficially. Tribunal/Divebomb Records has worked closely with lead singer Brad Sinsel to finally release both albums officially on CD.

The Music:
The reissue contains the official nine song album plus a radio broadcast from 1978 where the band runs through seven of the nine songs in their set. The album is not remastered, it is reissued. The master tapes have long been lost since TKO’s original label, Infinity Records, folded in 1979. The audio tracks provided to Tribunal/Divebomb were from Brad Sinsel himself and could be either a copy from the original studio sessions or taken from the original vinyl. Other reissues have used the original vinyl for mastering but without the band’s consent.

Hearing LET IT ROLL for the first time in many years it’s amazing to hear the similarities that TKO had with Aerosmith, Starz, The Who, and UFO. The album was recorded in 1978 and released in 1979 so that ’70s Hard Rock sound is there that has that “Rock ‘n Rollsy” sound that Aerosmith perfected. Brad Sinsel sounds a bit like Roger Daltrey on a number of songs and ‘Gutter Boy’ sounds like it could have been a Who song. I hear a UFO connection when the keyboards/organ are more prominent in the songs (Listen to ‘Rock ‘N Roll Again’) but the group I identify TKO with the most is Starz. They both have that same laid back vibe and Michael Lee Smith (Starz’ Lead singer) and Brad Sinsel have a similar cool delivery.

The bonus tracks are a radio broadcast from 1978 of the band doing a local showcase playing most of the album. This is live in the studio but the band runs through the set well and the songs sound close to the originals on the album. It’s a nice timepiece and gives you an idea of where TKO was as a live band and how the Rock scene was different back in the late 70s/early 80s: they played a new local band’s live showcase on the radio! Before they released an album! You would never hear something like that today.

The Package:
The first thing that Tribunal & Divebomb Records did right was get founding member Brad Sinsel involved in the project. For me, there is more credibility to a reissue project like this when the band is contacted for input and permission to re-release the material. Like I mentioned before, various labels over the years have released this album on CD but never with involvement from a founding member. The second thing they did right was get one of my favorite Rock writers, Martin Popoff from Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, to write a quick band/album history. Add lyrics to all the songs, pictures of the original vinyl, and the bonus radio broadcast and you have a solid package that well worth buying.

Favorite Songs:
I like the whole album and picking a couple of favorites is tough. I’d probably have to choose ‘Gutter Boy’, ‘Rock ‘N Roll Again’, ‘Ain’t No Way To Be’ and ‘Let It Roll’. It’s an excellent album of strong songs…..I really do like them all.