Album Review - Hurricane - Take what you Want/Over the Edge/Slave to the thrill

Hurricane literally was the baby brother of Quiet Riot. Hurricane guitarist Robert Sarzo and bassist Tony Cavazo are brothers to Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bass player Rudy Sarzo.

Robert Sarzo and Tony Cavazo were actually introduced to each other by Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow and the two formed Hurricane with drummer Jay Schellen and vocalist Kelly Hansen.

In 1985 Hurricane's debut EP "Take what you want" was released on Capitol Records. This re-release by Caroline Records has 4 bonus tracks.

"Take what you Want" promised Hurricane a bright future with several high-class Hard Rock tunes.
The album builds on so many positive elements with two instrumental tracks Baby Snakes and the acoustic L.A. Luna as only fillers.

The opener Take me in your Arms and the title track both have lots of emotion. Hurricane is driven by a crunchy guitar from Robert Sarzo. Kelly Hansen sounds absolute amazing and overall the songs are well written.

Just as you thought "Take What you Want" was Hurricane at their best, the follow up "Over the Edge" proves to be a tiny bit better.

The two definitive album highlights is I'm on to You (the chorus was memorable back then and it still sounds fresh) and Over the Edge, which is sheer class Hard Rock with a fantastic chorus and splendid vocals from Kelly Hansen.

The cover version of Alice Cooper's I'm Eighteen is done Hurricane style and they have rearranged it cleverly. Mike Clink has produced it with Bob Ezrin himself as executive producer, so Hurricane had the right people around them.

We are strong is another melodic gem with a catchy chorus. The song is well written peaking at the chorus. Kelly Hansen's vocals are the icing on the cake, but he is backed by Sarzo, Cavazo and Schellen. All 4 members can sing and the multi harmonizing vocals on Give me An Inch sounds like a main inspiration for Saigon Kick multi layered harmonies.

In 1990 the third Hurricane album "Slave to the Thrill" was released. Guitarist Robert Sarzo had left the band and was replaced by Dough Aldrich. The pairing of Kelly Hansen and Dough Aldrich should have promoted Hurricane to the premier League of Hard Rock. Kelly Hansen's fantastic expressive voice and Dough Aldrich's bluesy playing certainly provided the band with heavy ammunition

However, the songs leans towards AOR radio friendly rock and the material lack the same punch, nerve and passion that characterized their previous albums. The additional keyboards makes Hurricane more radio friendly exemplified by Don't Wanna Dream, which sounds like it was written only to get airplay.

"Slave to the Thrill" is an alright album but it lacks highlights. The best tracks are Temptation and Dance Little Sister. Both are great tracks, but none of them are in the same league as I'm Onto You and Over the Edge.

Especially "Take What you Want" and "Over the Edge" characterized Hurricane as a high class hard rock with stunning vocals. Late 80's Whitesnake with a twist of House of Lords/Y&T might be the best way to describe Hurricane.

For some reason Hurricane broke up, which is a shame since they could have been the contenders. Dough Aldrich now plays in Whitesnake, while Kelly Hansen sings lead for Foreigner. Lately there have been rumors about Robert Sarzo trying to put together a version of Hurricane. The music of Hurricane certainly is relevant still more than 20 years later.

These reissues are replicas of the original vinyl LPs. I haven't been too fond of the LP replicas but these 3 releases look great and even more important they sound great being re-mastered.

A safe and essential buy for any fan of 80's Hard Rock!

Rating: 7.5/10

Written by Michael
Tuesday, April 08, 2008