STRIFE: Back To Thunder LP [TEST PRESSING. white label LP] with Don Airey (keyboards)

1. Shockproof
2. Let Me Down
3. Feel So Good
4. Sky
5. You Are What You Are
6. Red Sun
7. Fool Injected Overlap
8. Weary Traveller

A 3 piece fairly heavy rock band from the 70's highly acclaimed as one of the best live acts in the UK at this time. "Back To Thunder" was the 2nd and last album originally released on "Gull Records" in 1978 and features the bass solo track "Red Sun" from Gordon Rowley who was once voted the 2nd best Bass player in the world.

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Absolutely guitar-driven, a classic anyway in my humble opinion ! I’ll try to explain why.
A rasping, scratchy guitar starts “Shockproof” with a fast repeating riff which makes your boogie feet itch. John Reid is the man behind all the guitars on the album and, believe me, he’s busy here! And he takes care of all the lead vocals as well. He got a very pleasant voice, light and smooth but with the necessary power needed to cope with the music. A busy man is also the drummer David Williams, he pounds along with Gordon Rowley’s and keeping the track tight and meaty. A few bars with fat boogie is thrown in for good measure before John Reid lays on more guitars on top of the raspy riff who runs all the way through the track. I liked this track immediately, but when I heard the follower, “Let Me Down”, I was completely sold! Some fragile soft chords from John’s guitar starts the ball before a fat, bluesy guitar tops the easy riff in the background. And the bass of Gordon is far more at present here, heavy and slightly distorted. It’s powerful and full of hooks that sticks to your brain. A killer ! Much of the same is to said about “Feel So Good”, a short fast snappy tune, but with a tough wah-wah solo, which was very typical seventies. Goodie!
Don Airey is no novice when it comes to the art of keyboard playing (widely known for his work with Colosseum II, Rainbow and many others), and he’s the man hired to deal with the job on this album. We got a good feel of the man’s capabilities in “Sky” where he backs the band nicely with piano and has clever ideas when it comes to follow all John Reid’s guitars and tempo changes. Maybe the best track on the album !!
“You Are What You Are” is another track with several tempo changes, lots of guitars but where Gordon’s bass steals the show with his bending of the strings and where Don adds a few Hammond organ chords. Gordon has also written the follower, “Red Sun”, an instrumental with only his bass guitar as the only instrument. The track got this warm sound despite the fact that the bass is heavily fuzzed at times. The long “Fool Injected Overlap” opens with some nice acoustic guitar theme and some relaxed singing before both the power and tempo changes. And more tempo changes is to come, this one is a workout of dimensions for the whole band. Good one! Good is also the album closer “Weary Traveller”, a more quiet and subdued track with John’s voice full of soul and where Don’s keyboards is majestic and classical inspired. An absolutely worthy ending to a classy album!
Strife, and particularly on this album, was a band who knew a lot how to sound both heavy and simple, advanced and rocking!
So if you’re into records with tons of guitars, rocking and heavy, coupled up with shitloads of tempo changes and good songs, you could do a lot worse than get your hands on this one.
Strife released only two albums (this was their second and last) and one EP in their short career. Their debut “Rush” isn’t quite up to the standard of this one.
All I know is that when they called it a day, bass player Gordon Rowley started Nightwing.

SECOND OPINION:
The overall sound is original; excellant guitar riffs and solos from john reid strangly reminiciant of john mclaughnan witha slice of jan ackerman just for the taste. the drumming is tight and very well played I suppose that it would be very hard for dave williams trying to replace paul elson as the latter was an animal always with a big drum sound and I am told was the founder of the band. The bass playing is just the best I have heard, it takes over from the guitar actually playing shared guitar solo,s and the red sun track is a lesson to any bass player, sheer brilliance. Buy it this one it is a classic, Im off to listen to that bass solo again and try to figure out how a bass can make these sounds.
Don Airey' s Discography
1974 – Cozy Powell – "Na Na Na" (single)
1976 – Babe Ruth – Kid's Stuff
1976 – Colosseum II – Strange New Flesh
1977 – Colosseum II – Electric Savage
1977 – Colosseum II – War Dance
1977 – Andrew Lloyd Webber – Variations
1978 – Jim Rafferty – Don't Talk Back
1978 – Strife – Back to Thunder
1978 – Black Sabbath – Never Say Die!
1979 – Gary Moore – Back on the Streets
1979 – Rainbow – Down to Earth
1979 – Cozy Powell – Over the Top
1980 – Michael Schenker Group – The Michael Schenker Group
1980 – Bernie Marsden – And About Time Too
1981 – Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard of Ozz
1981 – Cozy Powell – Tilt
1981 – Rainbow – Difficult to Cure
1981 – Rainbow – Finyl Vinyl (compilation album – 1986)
1982 - Gary Moore - Corridors of Power
1983 – Gary Moore – Dirty Fingers
1983 – Gary Moore – Rockin' Every Night - Live in Japan
1983 – Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon
1985 – Alaska – The Pack
1985 – Phenomena – Phenomena
1985 – Gary Moore – Run For Cover
1986 – Zeno – Zeno [3], [4]
1987 – Thin Lizzy – Soldier of Fortune (compilation)
1987 – Whitesnake – Whitesnake
1987 – Wild Strawberries – Wild Strawberries
1987 - Helix - Wild in the Streets
1988 – Fastway – Bad Bad Girls
1988 – Jethro Tull – 20 Years of Jethro Tull
1989 – Don Airey – K2
1989 – Gary Moore – After the War
1989 – Whitesnake – Slip of the Tongue
1990 – Perfect Crime – Blond on Blonde
1990 – Jagged Edge – You Don't Love Me
1990 – Judas Priest – Painkiller
1990 – Bruce Dickinson – Tattooed Millionaire
1990 – Forcefield – IV – Let the Wild Run Free
1990 – Gary Moore – Still Got the Blues
1990 – Tigertailz – "Bezerk"
1992 – Cozy Powell – Let the Wild Run Free
1992 – UFO – High Stakes & Dangerous Men
1992 – Anthem – Domestic Booty
1992 – Kaizoku – Kaizoku
1993 – Brian May – Back to the Light
1994 – Graham Bonnet – Here Comes the Night
1994 – The Kick – Tough Trip Thru Paradise
1994 – Katrina and the Waves – Turnaround
1997 – Quatarmass II – Long Road
1997 – Glenn Tipton – Baptizm of Fire
1998 – Colin Blunstone – The Light
1998 – Crossbones – Crossbones
1998 – The Cage – The Cage
1998 – Olaf Lenk – Sunset Cruise
1998 – Eddie Hardin – Wind in the Willows (live)
1998 – The Snakes – Live in Europe
1999 – Millennium – Millennium
2000 – Micky Moody – I Eat Them for Breakfast
2000 – Silver – Silver
2000 – Uli Jon Roth – Transcendental Sky Guitar
2000 – Olaf Lenk's F.O.O.D. – Fun Stuff
2000 – Ten – Babylon AD
2000 – Company of Snakes – Burst The Bubble
2001 – Mario Fasciano – E-Thnic
2001 – Judas Priest – Demolition
2001 – Silver – Dream Machines
2001 – Rolf Munkes' Empire – Hypnotica
2001 – Company of Snakes – Here They Go Again
2002 – Metalium – Hero Nation Chapter Three
2002 – Bernie Marsden – Big Boy Blue
2002 – Rolf Munkes' Empire – Trading Souls
2003 – Deep Purple – Bananas
2003 – Living Loud – Living Loud
2003 – Silver – Intruder
2005 – Kimberley Rew – Essex Hideaway
2005 – Deep Purple – Rapture of the Deep
2006 – Gary Moore – Old New Ballads Blues
2006 - Glenn Tipton - Edge of the World
2008 – Don Airey – Light In The Sky
2008 – Judas Priest – Nostradamus