Search - Baton Rouge :: Shake Your Soul

A Hidden Gem

C. Hunt | grantville pa | 05/29/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great CD for fans of 80s hard rock or hair metal...

there is strong songwriting throughout and the production and performance are top notch



I'm not sure why they never hit big but they certainly should have

this CD sounds like a mix of Danger Danger,Loverboy,Bad English,Bad Company and even at times Whitesnake

this is one of the rare CDs that includes several songs that I enjoy listening to over and over and one song 'Baby's So Cool' is one of my very favorite hard rock songs of all time and made it's way into regular rotation on my internet radio show!



the upside:great songwriting,production and performance,the best songs are 'Baby's So Cool','Doctor','Walks Like A Woman','It's About Time','Bad Time Comin' Down','Melenie','There Was A Time'



the downside:there are a few filler songs...but out of 12 songs I'd say only 2 are filler and that's definitely not bad at all



the bottom line: this is a great CD for fans of 80s style hard rock...recommended for fans of Poison,Danger Danger,Loverboy,Bad English and even Christian rock band X'Terra's CD 'Wolves' Baton Rouge Shake Your Soul is well worth looking for...donutman says so!!!"

Strong debut

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 06/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Melodic rockers Baton Rouge hit the scene in 1990 with their debut album Shake Your Soul. The band, led by singer/guitarist Kelly Keeling, enlisted former Surgin' mainman (and onetime Bon Jovi collaborator) Jack Ponti to assist with songwriting on this album. The result is an album firmly rooted in the melodic rock/hair metal sound that was so incredibly popular at the time. It's all about big guitar hooks, catchy melodies, rock anthems, and power ballads. There are some incredibly radio-friendly songs on this album, and it should have put the band in the same category as bands like Ratt or Warrant, but for whatever reason Baton Rouge never quite became a household name.



While I prefer the band's 1991 follow-up album Lights out on the Playground, Shake Your Soul is still an album that every serious 80's rock fan should own. Let's face it - they don't make `em like this anymore.



NOTE: Wounded Bird reissued Shake Your Soul in 2008. Like all Wounded Bird reissues, it has not been digitally remastered, nor does it have any bonus material. It's great to see this forgotten album back in print, but if you already own the 1990 version there's no need to replace it.

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