Search - Alcatrazz :: No Parole From Rock & Roll

Yngwie primer

S. R. | 06/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""No parole from Rock and Roll" had a deep effect on me at its release. Okay I was only 16 but hey, that's rock and roll and I'm not ashamed. Then virtually unheard of neo-classical metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen absolutely blew me away with his precision. It was also my introduction to the oft' maligned vocalist Graham Bonnett. Looking back today the album is still very good. Bonnett's lyrical content is really very good as is his studio voice. But alas' the real story here is the Patriarch of Pagannini, the Sultan of Stratocasters, the Shaw of sixteenth notes, the Prince of Progressions, the Potentate of Power Guitar, Yngwie Malmsteen. Malmsteen made his mark when Eddie Van Halen had virtually changed the way young guitarists approached rock and roll guitar and sent most of them back to the woodshed to bone up on their classical runs and Blackmore-influenced riffs opening the door to many imitators. But the reason this effort works so well in my book is the band's willingness to not abandon the pop-sensibility of song structure. Malmsteen's production, albeit a bit thin compared to today's ultra-heavy low-end guitar sound, stays true to the classic sound of the Strat giving it an organic sound without being overly processed. "No Parole..." is an important album opening the door to a style of lead guitar that indeed changed hard rock and roll but never made a lasting impact. This is not a bad thing, however, it just means that's the style of Malmsteen stays more interesting today because it was never drubbed into the public airwaves ad-nauseum. Malmsteen draws on influences Beethoven, Ritchie Blackmore, other assorted classical composers, and even Brian May to create a layered sound that is still enjoyable and interesting today."

Yngwie J. Malmsteen? What planet did this kid come from?

Mr. Sinister | El Cajon, CA USA | 04/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 1983 a young Swedish lad emigrated to the states thanks to Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records and joined a band named Steeler. Now this young swedish virtuoso did not get along so well with the lead singer, a fella named Ron Keel, and that band quickly dissolved. In walks former Rainbow, former MSG, former frontman to you name it Graham Bonnet and Alcatrazz is born. This is a strange melding of diverse talents here. You've got Graham, who's been kicked out of every legitimate band in the world, who is, well, to put it bluntly, a friggin' nerd. You've got Gary Shea, bass player mediocre. Jan Uvena, who is decent on drums. And Yngwie J. Malmsteen, the swedish shredder! Stranger things have happened. All in all, it worked out well enough for a studio album and the follow-up live LP, but that was as far as it went. Some great songs came out of this union: Jet To Jet, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Island In The Sun, & Too Young To Die, To Drunk To Live. A pleasurable listen. Listen to The Ynger gank riffs from Blackmore and Uli Jon Roth when he swore that he didn't listen to other guitar players at all. Paganini was his one ture god, apparently. Well...here comes Vai."

Yngwie's BEST

Andrew DiGelsomina | Creation Croatia | 02/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Many have claimed that this is what Rainbow would have ended up being had Graham Bonnet stayed. This is an interesting idea. Perhaps if Rainbow had eschewed the all-out Pop Metal direction they chose to take after Bonnet left, this would qualify. The other variable that conflicts with such an idea is the fact that Malmsteen is no Ritchie Blackmore, from ANY perspective. Malmsteen never wrote or played a song/solo as great as Child in Time, Highway Star, Stargazer (I could go on with at least a dozen others). Even from the beginning, he was always way too concerned with speed.



However, this was my personal first exposure to Malmsteen, and his style was just very fresh and exciting at the time. In a way, his playing on this album helped cover over the big abyss left by the death of Randy Rhoads. Unfortunately, it was directly after this that he began to repeat his licks ad infinitum (a sad truth, this is coming from someone whom bought this album as well as the first Rising Force album the month it came out).



Still, if you want to hear the best, freshest playing by Yngwie, as well as some truly METAL vocals by the ever estimable Graham Bonnet, buy this before (or even in place of) ANY other Malmsteen release. I mean it. I have to mention that Graham's songwriting was still quite sharp, coming off the unbeatable Assault Attack album with Michael Schenker, and his vocal melodies are often the highlight of the songs.



So, grab this and hear the extreme end of the neo-classical trend originated by Blackmore himself on "Highway Star"."