This a very difficult question to answer, as there are so many albums, that could qualify.
With that “said,” off the top of my head, the two that came to mind are Blue Murder‘s Blue Murder and Lynch Mob‘s Wicked Sensation. But, if I could only pick one, shockingly (sarc), I am picking Blue Murder.
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Wow, this is a tough one. I’ve seen several that I totally agree with, particularly Night in the Ruts. Also, yes, both of those Tora Tora albums just kick ass. I absolutely love Wild America. What an underrated band they are. And Wicked Sensation? IMO better and way heavier than any Dokken record. That was George Lynch at his peak. That second Lynch Mob record is also pretty damn good, and I’m a huge fan of Robert Mason’s vocals. You talk about underrated, that dude can belt it out as good as anyone. Go check out the Big Cock albums he was on.
So if I have to pick one, I think I can confidently say that it’s by a guitar legend, and I’m not sure how many people know this album exists. When Extreme split up, Nuno Bettencourt recorded a solo album, Schizophonic, released in 1997. If you like Nuno, go find this record. It’s on Spotify if you look up Nuno Bettencourt, but they have it listed under “Featured on” in his discography. That’s dumb since yeah, he’s featured on it given that he does all guitars and vocals and wrote it all. This is such a great record. It’s truly him, not an Extreme retread. Nuno is completely underappreciated for having so much diversity in his songwriting. I can’t think of anything he’s done that I didn’t like. I even enjoyed the stuff he did with Perry Farrell. Anyhow, Schizophonic kicks ass, give it a listen.
One more – an honorable mention should go to Winger’s third album, Pull. What a monster record and definitely superior to their first two efforts. Kip and Reb Beach simply shred on that album.
Hi Rich,
I am happy to read, that you have the same love for Lynch Mob, and Tora Tora, that I do. 🙂
I also agree with you, about Robert Mason. His is a great vocalist, and that second self-titled Lynch Mob album is also good, but Wicked Sensation, is in a class, all of its own. It is one of my favorite albums of all time, it is close to perfection. That gives me an idea for the next question of the week.
Night in the ruts is right in the nuts, fantastic choice!
Long long ago I had that t-shirt! I probably listen to that album as much as I do any Aerosmith record and I think it’s great from beginning to end. I consider Chiquita to be one of the all time classic Aerosmith tunes. Wish I had caught that tour, but the first one I caught was Rock in a Hard Place, with the two replacement guitarists, Rick Dufay and Jimmy Crespo.
Aerosmith was supposed to follow that album in 1980 with ‘Cunched in the Punt’ but ………….sometimes things don’t happen the way we want.