Saxon in the melodic rock era
Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 03/29/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Finally we get to the late 80's Saxon albums - the ones many a Saxon fan wishes they'd never heard. The band was one of the breakout stars of the legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene, but by 1985 the band just wasn't the same hard-charging young "denim and leather" crew. Saxon's post-NWOBHM albums may have been more commercial and overly polished, but they still rocked.
Originally released in 1985, Innocence Is No Excuse was Saxon's seventh studio album. It's definitely more polished and melodic than previous Saxon releases, but some of the singles here (I'm thinking "Rockin' Again," "Back on the Streets" and "Rock n' Roll Gypsy") would have fit on albums like Crusader or Power & the Glory. You can tell the band was trying to capture some of the success Def Leppard enjoyed, with catchier songs and a production job by one of Mutt Lange's protégés, and I can see how metal fans would have a problem with that. I happen to love melodic rock so I found Innocence Is No Excuse quite enjoyable.
It's not as essential as their NWOBHM-era masterpieces Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law, but Innocence Is No Excuse is still a really good melodic hard rock album that shouldn't be overlooked. Open-minded Saxon fans should enjoy it, as should any fan of the 80's British melodic hard rock sound.
Edition Notes - EMI reissued Innocence Is No Excuse (along with Rock the Nations and Destiny) in 2010, completing their run of Saxon reissues (and that cool Saxon logo you see when you line the CDs up on your shelf!) Once again, the remastering is incredible. In addition to the digitally remastered sound, the reissue of Innocence Is No Excuse features expanded liner notes by Classic Rock's Malcolm Dome and seven bonus tracks. The bonus tracks include an alternate mix of "Back On the Streets," studio b-sides "Live Fast Die Young" and "Krakatoa," a 9-minute live medley, and three live songs from the era. Between the remastered sound, liner notes and bonus tracks, there are plenty of reasons to replace your old version of Innocence Is No Excuse."
Track Listings (17) - Disc #1