Description
Muscular 80s rockers Shooting Star formed in Kansas City late in the 1970s with vocalist/guitarist Van McLain, guitarist Gary West, violin player Charles Waltz, bassist Ron Verlin, and drummer Steve Thomas. The group signed to Virgin before the end of the decade and delivered their self-titled debut album late in 1979; the single You’ve Got What I Need was a modest hit, as was Hollywood from 1981’s Hang On For Your Life. Hang On For Your Life from Shooting Star is an interesting album, but certainly a mixed bag. Much like 38 Special, depending on who is driving the writing of the song, the whole sounds like two or more bands smashed together on one release. Shooting Star, were staples on FM radio in the Bay Area in the early 1980s. For good reason, they rock out and have catchy hooks. Their star kind of peaked and ebbed at the same time as Triumph, another heavyweight from the early 1980s. This album was recorded at Legend Studios the famed home Randy Bachman. On this release they continue their melodic rock and hard rock numbers. You get the title track, Teaser, Breakout, a classic rocker, She’s Got Money and You’ve Got Love as the hard rockers. On the melodic side you get the nugget Flesh And Blood, with some great violin work Charles Waltz. Other great tunes were, Are You On My Side, the hot 100 hit Hollywood, #70, should of hit the top 40, and the melodic scorcher Sweet Elatia. Things never got back to these high’s again for Shooting Star but on this album you have everything that made this band so great. There were kings on balancing straightforward hook-laden guitar driven rock with slower ballady stuff, and even piano and violin thrown in at times. If you like tight, riff and lead guitar-driven rock, Shooting Star delivers some of the best songwriting this side of a Marshall stack. Good times, good music. This is rock music at its finest.
Track list:
1. Flesh And Blood
2. Hang On For Your Life
3. Are You On My Side
4. Teaser
5. Hollywood
6. Breakout
7. You’re So Good
8. She’s Got Money
9. You’ve Got Love
10. Sweet Elatia