S H O U T
Shout were one of Christian metal's earliest heavy metal bands. They released
two albums before Ken Tamplin split
to pursue a solo career.
In 1999 the band reformed and put out a reunion cd
containing all new material.
Shout - It Won't Be Long (Frontline) 1987
1. "Never
Stop" (3:58)
2. "Winners or Losers" (3:42)
3. "It Won't Be Long" (4:21)
4. "Find a Way" (4:49)
5. "Dancin' Round the World" (3:13)
6. "Shout" (4:19)
7. "Showdown" (4:02)
8. "Timeless Love" (4:36)
9. "Without You" (3:42)
Hair teased to the sky, Shout is 80's L.A. hair metal to the highest order; in look and in sound. Shout's debut was a welcome addition to my collection in '87, especially since Christian metal of any sort was not in abundance. Ken Tamplin has a great voice and is an excellent guitarist. However, that is not to say that "It Won't Be Long" is a solid CD. There is some stellar material on here, but there is some weak material as well. Songs like "Winners & Losers", "It Won't Be Long" and the exceptional "Shout" are the albums best tracks. The layered vocals, heavy guitars and melodic keyboards mixing well on these tracks. There are a few ballads on this disc that are just so sickly sweet that they turned me off immediately. Of course being a fan of the heavier side of metal in 80's could have attributed to this. Some of the weaker tracks, "Dancin Round The World" and "Without You", are still more enjoyable than the ballads due to decent guitar work and Ken's vocal performance. I have always been curious who plays what on this CD, as I have been told that Ken played mostly rhythm guitar and that Chuck King recorded much of the lead work. Lanny Cordola, who at the time was with Guiffria, performs some solo work on the track "Shout." While I like this disc and would recommend it to fans of 80's pop metal, I can't really say that I like it as much as the band's follow-up album "In Your Face." Unfortunately both these discs are out of print and rarely sell on eBay for less that $20. KMG did release this album in 1999 along with "In Your Face" as a 2-on-1 CD, but even these have gone out of print. The reissue is lame as it is missing a couple of tracks and has an cheap single page insert with no lyrics and little in the way of liner notes.
Shout - In Your Face (Frontline) 1989
1. "Borderline"
(4:37)
2. "When the Love is Gone" (4:16)
3. "Give Me An Answer" (3:50)
4. "Faith, Hope, and Love" (3:36)
5. "Gettin' Ready" (3:47)
6. "In Your Face" (5:17)
7. "Getting On With Life" (3:55)
8. "Waiting of You" (3:49)
9. "Moonlight Sonata (In 32 Notes)" [instrumental] (:29)
10. "It's All I Need" (3:27)
11. "Ain't Givin' Up (The Pay the Bills Song)" (3:50)
Actually this is a decent 80's heavy metal platter, despite the hilarious cover pic. What makes the disc so impressive is the stellar song writing topped with Ken Tamplin's excellent vocals. The song "In Your Face" features an extended guitar solo in the middle with loads of impressive guests coming in to lay down a few seconds of shred. The guest list includes Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth), Lanny Cordola, Michael Angelo (Nitro), Alex Masi, Joey Price, and Randy Hansen. This disc is out of print but was re-issued as a two-on-one disc with the band's first album "It Won't Be Long."