Power & the Glory
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Power & the Glory is the fifth studio album by heavy metal band Saxon released in 1983. The album sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. This is the first Saxon studio album with new drummer Nigel Glockler and was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia in the fall of 1982.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10[2] |
The album hit the U.K. Top 20 and was well received by fans both in Europe and the U.S.[citation needed] It reached No.1 in the Metal charts in Sweden, Norway, France and Germany selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide.[citation needed]
A retrospective AllMusic review by Eduardo Rivadavia gave the album three out of five stars. Rivadavia criticised the mixing, saying that the album "sounds as though it was recorded in a tin can, albeit a very, very large tin can" eliminating the "big, in-your-face, and gritty" sound heard on the band's past albums. He also criticised the material itself, saying that "despite a few sparks generated by "Redline," "Warrior," and the proto-thrashing "This Town Rocks," only the anthemic title track ultimately showed enough staying power (and, errr, glory) to earn a frequent slot in Saxon's live repertoire".[1] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff writes quite the opposite and considers Power & the Glory Saxon's best album, praising the production and the contribution of "new ass-kicking drummer Nigel Glockner" to "working a metal magic that is the embodiment of the NWOBHM's ideals now made real."[2]
In 2005, Power & the Glory was ranked number 376 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Biff Byford, Paul Quinn, Graham Oliver, Steve Dawson and Nigel Glockler
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Power and the Glory" | 5:57 |
| 2. | "Redline" | 3:38 |
| 3. | "Warrior" | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Nightmare" | 4:25 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "This Town Rocks" | 3:58 |
| 6. | "Watching the Sky" | 3:43 |
| 7. | "Midas Touch" | 4:13 |
| 8. | "The Eagle Has Landed" | 6:56 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Denim & Leather" (live, b-side "Power and the Glory") | 5:11 |
| 10. | "Suzie Hold On" (Jeff Glixman version '82) | 5:01 |
| 11. | "Turn out the Lights" (Kaley Studio demo 1982) | 3:57 |
| 12. | "Stand Up and Rock" (Kaley Studio demo 1982) | 3:36 |
| 13. | "Power and the Glory" (Kaley Studio demo 1982) | 6:17 |
| 14. | "Saturday Night" (Kaley Studio demo 1982) | 4:11 |
| 15. | "Midas Touch" (Kaley Studio demo 1982) | 4:07 |
| 16. | "Nightmare" (Kaley Studio demo 1982) | 5:55 |
| 17. | "Redline" (Kaley Studio demo 1982) | 3:37 |
Song information
Power and the Glory
"Power and the Glory" was released as a single in April 1983. It reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart.
The song is an early power metal song with a fast tempo and lyrics relating to war and battles. A music video was made for the song with band members running through a castle with dead dolls.
Personnel
- Biff Byford - vocals
- Graham Oliver - guitar
- Paul Quinn - guitar
- Steve Dawson - bass guitar
- Nigel Glockler - drums
- Production
- Jeff Glixman - producer[4]
- Jeff Glixman - engineer
- Cheryl Bordagary - engineer
- Les Horn - engineer
- Axis Sound Studio, Atlanta - recording and mixing location
References
- ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "AllMusic review". Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ a b Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 315. ISBN 978-1894959315.
- ^ [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 58. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
{{cite book}}:|last=has numeric name (help) - ^ "Saxon official homepage". Retrieved 24 May 2013.