VARIOUS ARTISTS - TASTY THREE : Yet More Truly Obscure Vintage Hard Rock (1980-1985) USA/Can
320 kbps
01. The Lazers - Neighborhood Hero (Live)
02. Saber - Faster Faster
03. Cheater - 10 Cent Love Affair
04. Paragon - The Image Chamber
05. Ram - All Pay The Toll
06. Cintron - Burning For Your Touch
07. Bit'er Cherry - Relay
08. Ictus - Looking' Out For #1
09. Master Sinister - The Final Solution
10. Rif Raf - Nothing To Say
11. XCursion - The Distant Skies
12. Shiver - Under The Lights
13. Steele - Cheater
14. Labyrinth - Nights So Cold
15. New York Flyers - Crack The Whip
16. Idol Rumors - Everlasting Love
17. Jim Pacheco & The Smith Brothers - Dreamer
18. Nitevigil - Break The Ice (Live)
Taken from the following Various Artists compilation LPs:
01 - PYX 106 : Capitaland Jam II - Crank It Up! (1982)
02 - The KOMP Album 5 (1985)
03 - WGRQ 97 Rock : Buffalo Rocks - Volume 1 - 1981 - Rock 'n' Roll Animals (1981)
04 - KSMB : Rock Gumbo From K94 (1982)
05 - WCMF 96 : Homegrown 4 (1983)
06 - WBAB : Homegrown '84 - The Next Generation (1983)
07 - Z-98 : Rock To Riches (1982)
08 - KZOK : Best Of The Northwest 1981 (1981)
09 - FM 104 : Toledo’s Best Rock (1982)
10 - Q-107 : Homegrown Vol IV (1982)
11 - FM 92 KOMP : Rocks Las Vegas Volume 3 (1983)
12 - WCMF 96.5 : Homegrown 3 (1982)
13 - KMEL's New Oasis (1983)
14 - Q-107 : Homegrown Vol. 3 (1981)
15 - WOUR : The Rock Of Central New York Album Vol. 2 (1980)
16 - WDBR FM 104 : Central Illinois Rocks (1983)
17 - Southern New England's Best Rock From JB 105 (1981)
18 - C-FOX FM-99 : Vancouver Seeds 3 (1985)
In the 1970's & 1980's a little-remembered but common promotional tool for U.S. radio stations was the local artists compilation LP.
Often the groups included were chosen to appear through local battle of the band style contests, but later on some of these competitions went statewide or even national, and were often sponsored by big booze companies like Miller or Seagrams.
Whilst the majority of these bands shuffled straight back into obscurity often leaving these compilations behind as the only record that they ever existed, many aspiring rockers who later became well known got their first break on these things.
These records usually veered all over the place both stylistically & in terms of quality, but with persistent digging the occasional golden nugget can be found amongst all the dross.
Here are 18 unsung but very worthwhile songs, plucked from some of those long forgotten records and conveniently assembled in one place for your listening pleasure.
Primarily taking in Hard Rock & Heavy Metal, with the occasional excursion into Southern Rock, AOR or Pomp Rock territory, these tracks were all recorded between 1980 & 1985.
THE LAZERS were a band from Albany, New York. Aside from the track featured here, their only other vinyl appearance was the track 'Crowd Call', which featured on the 1983 'American Underground' 3-LP Various Artists compilation album.
SABER appear to have been from Nevada & the song featured here looks to be the sole occasion where the group were preserved on wax. They are unrelated to any of the other bands from the same era bearing the same band name.
CHEATER were a sextet from Rochester, New York. The track featured here, 'Ten Cent Love Affair', was also the title track of their 4 song 10" EP released in 1980 on Mallard Records, though i'm unsure if the EP version is exactly the same recording/mix as used on the compilation LP. Though the EP would prove to be the group's only standalone release during their lifespan, they also had tracks featured on 4 other compilation LPs between 1981 & 1983. A posthumous 11 song anthology album of their '80's material called '1983' was released on CD in 2004, and included the 1980 EP in it's entirety.
PARAGON were a 4 piece band from from Louisiana. Aside from this lone compilation LP appearance, they also released the same song as the A side of their only single, backed with a track entitled 'Dancing Meriadoc', released on Pie In The Sky Records in 1982 in a picture sleeve.
Like Cheater, RAM also hailed from Rochester, NY, but sadly this song seems to be their only vinyl appearance.
CINTRON were a New York based power trio, formed around the talents of singer/guitarist George Cintron. Besides the song featured here, Cintron also released a self-titled 4 song 1982 12" EP on the In Rock label, housed in a striking pic sleeve with the group's logo in triplicate rendered in silver foil on a black background. The package also included a Cintron patch & a bumper sticker. A limited edition coloured vinyl version also exists which came instead in a generic plain off-white sleeve with 'Cintron Rock & Roll' rubber stamped on it. This version is known to have come in at least 2 colour variations, blue & red vinyl, but other colours may also exist. The patch & sticker were included with this version too. Besides the EP Cintron also appeared on 2 further compilation LP's in '82/'83.
By the turn of the decade George Cintron was working with former MOUNTAIN guitarist LESLIE WEST, and also contributed to a pair of BLUE OYSTER CULT LP's. He later replaced ex-TWISTED SISTER guitarist EDDIE OJEDA in SCARECROW.
BIT'ER CHERRY were yet another band from New York state, this time hailing from the Buffalo/Niagra Falls area. The song featured here appears to be all the band left behind as their recorded legacy.
ICTUS were a female fronted band from Seattle, Washington, and again, it appears this was the only recorded output by the group. The singer had such a terrific gritty Rock voice, surely she must have carried on in music beyond this single song?
If anyone knows what became of her please do clue us in.
The same 'one & done' fate seems to have befallen Toledo, Ohio's MASTER SINISTER, as i can find no further releases from them.
Likewise in the case of RIF RAF, who were a Canadian quartet from Toronto, Ontario.
XCURSION was a trio from Las Vegas, Nevada, best remembered nowadays (if at all) as MARK SLAUGHTER's first proper band. Back then young Mark was pulling dual duties as both singer and guitarist and was a proper Metalhead, long before he started chasing Cock Rock fame with (briefly) high profile acts like VINNIE VINCENT INVASION, then SLAUGHTER. XCursion made their standalone vinyl debut with a self-financed self-titled 4 song 12" EP in 1983, released in 3 different coloured vinyl variants; red, white & standard black, on the group's own Rampage Records. The following year saw the release of a 10 song full length LP, 'Ready To Roll'. Though neither release broke any sales records at the time, both records are regarded with fondness in collectors circles nowadays, leading to their being bootlegged together as a 2-on-1 comp CD
at least twice. Those bootleggers seem to have been unaware that the band also had exclusive songs featured on each of the first 3 volumes of the compilation album series released by KOMP FM 92 between 1981 & 1983. There was also a best-avoided 12" Promo EP released as late as 1986, featuring three different versions of a song called 'Black Girls\White Girls', though by that time Slaughter was the sole musician and playing quite different music, though still using the XCursion name. After the Glam Metal bubble burst, Mark continued to be in demand as a session singer, musician & occasional producer & also popped up as a regular contributor on many a tribute album during those lean years. He has since reinvented himself as a solo artist. Post XCursion, drummer Anthony White also had a shot at major label Hair Metal glory with the post-KEEL band COLD SWEAT & after they split he continued to play in guitarist MARC FERRARI's band for several years. He remains active in music with the bands STEELCITY and GENERATION LANDSLIDE. In the latter band he's the singer & guitarist rather than the drummer.
SHIVER were yet another of those one-song-and-nothing-else bands, from New York state, Rochester to be precise.
STEELE were a San Francisco, California based quintet formed in the early '80's & active until 1985 approximately. The group's drummer Jim Lang had played in an early incarnation of VICIOUS RUMORS & appears on their 1st demo tape, whilst bassist Dan Levitan had previously been in the pre-GRIFFIN band SINISTER SAVAGE. During the band's lifetime they released two demo tapes, both self-titled. The first was a single sided five track cassette, issued in 1982. The follow-up tape, released in 1984, featured six songs. In 2018 the Portugese label Lost Realm Records assembled a comprehensive 14 song anthology of Steele's vintage 1980's recordings. Entitled 'Guillotine Nightmare - San Francisco Metal 83-85', it was issued as a 2-LP (in both black & red vinyl versions), and a limited edition of 300 numbered CD's.
LABYRINTH were another group out of Toronto, Canada, and unfortunately their contribution here is the one & only thing they ever released.
NEW YORK FLYERS were a Hard Rock quartet formed in Liverpool, New York, back in 1975. A very popular club act on the highly competitive tri-state live circuit by the turn of the decade, they released a 1980 album titled 'Limited Edition' and two non-LP singles, all on the Delso label. Additionally, they had songs featured on (at least) 8 compilation LPs between 1980 & 1987.
IDOL RUMOURS were a short-lived trio from Springfield, Illinois & their song here was the only thing they ever released. After they split up in 1984, the Ellison brothers, guitarist/vocalist Rusty & drummer/vocalist Jeff, formed the Christian Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band CHOSEN STRANGER. They released two 7" singles in 1986, 'The Light' & 'Lonely World', both of which featured the same song on both sides of the vinyl. A further 45 version combining both of these songs also emerged that year with 'Lonely World' as the A side & 'The Light' on the flip. Apparently this version looks to be on black vinyl, but if held up to the light is actually on translucent green wax. All 3 singles were released by Scrambler Records. They next appeared with a song on the 1988 Regency Records compilation LP 'Underground Metal', released on vinyl, CD & cassette. A self-titled 4 song EP followed in 1989, released on cassette only, featuring the same songs on both sides of the tape. Another 4 song cassette release 'Deathwalker' was released in 1992, but this time the tape was single sided. In 2023 Roxx Records released an 11 song self-titled anthology CD of the band's '80's/'90's recordings. Idol Rumors' bassist/vocalist Micky Shomidie went on to follow a very different musical calling to his former bandmates in the sinful world of sleazy Hard Rock. He went on to play with the Illinois band TUFF LUCK who released a self-financed 7", 'I Wanna See You' in 1986, before forming NASTY NASTY who released a pair of albums, 1990's 'Get Some!!!' & 'Not Hard To Swallow' in 1991, both later re-released on CD by Retrospect Records. In more recent times Shomidie continued to tread the boards with bands such as MODERN SUPERSTAR & HOUSE OF NASTY. Sadly, he passed away from cancer in June of 2022 at the age of 64.
JIM PACHECO & THE SMITH BROTHERS were from Southern New England, and seemingly left us only this single song as proof that they ever existed.
NITEVIGIL were a Canadian quartet from Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition to this 1985 compilation appearance, the band also released a 4 song cassette-only EP called 'State Of Emergency' in 1987 on the Metal Leaf Records label. This was followed the next year by the self explanatory '4 Song Demo' cassette before they called it a day. The group's bassist, Bob Quelch, would later re-emerge in the ranks of INFERNÄL MÄJESTY. In 2007 Nitevigil's 'State Of Emergency' demo was bootlegged on CD-r by the Time Warp Records 'label' with 2 previously unknown bonus tracks added.
If you are curious about the world of radio station local artist comp LPs both of these sites are invaluable sources of
information & should be your first ports of call:
http://thecorroseum.org/comps/index.php
https://web.archive.org/web/20210806033 ... master.htm [Archived]
art & txt included
Exclusive content for logged in users.
no PWThanks to all the original rippers, uploaders & sharers
(Yule vacation..)
