Girlschool – Hit and Run and Screaming Blue Murder
As the premier all female hard rock band in the 80’s, Girlschool came off like a better looking Motorhead! (In fact, they shared management with Motorhead, did tours together and even recorded together.) Heavy guitars and lots of power! I am no expert on the band – in fact, I had to look up the names of the members – but I love these two records! The group even had hits in England, which is kinda amazing for an American to think about, because nothing this rockin’ made it on the radio out here! But, the songs are filled with hooks and they really could sing.
My versions of these albums are different from the track listing that I’m seeing online, so I’m assuming that mine are the American versions.
Hit and Run’s title track shows right away what the ladies were going for – group vocals, tons of guitars, hooks galore and great playing all around! “Watch Your Step” showcases just how damn good the drummer (Denise Dufort) was as they push the energy level up to 11! A supremely catchy, melodic guitar lick opens “Race With the Devil” and proves that they could meld heaviness and melody.
One of their best known songs is probably “Yeah Right” sung by bassist Enid Williams – a sassy tale of female teenage rebellion and drinking, highlighted by a pre-solo section telling off their harpish mother!
“Not For Sale” starts with more cool guitar riffage, a rockin’ groove similar to Motorhead’s “Stay Clean” and a chant-along “not for sale, not for sale” chorus. “Future Flash” has a similar “out to get you” chorus (no idea where the song title comes from) and is a great head-banger with a superb guitar solo!
Starting off with guitars that sound like a motor revving up, “C’mon Let’s Go’ makes perfect sense as an album opener (as it apparently was on the European version) and it flies down the road just like the car that they’re singing about! It’s frantic pace and call-and-answer chorus creates a wild ride!
The Hunter” (I’m not sure who is the predator and who is the prey in this tale, but sounds as sexy as it is scary) is followed by a blistering, high-energy “Kick It Down”. They close the record with another damn catchy number, “Take it all Away” that has more guitar pyrotechnics and fist-in-the-arm sing-along sections. The whole album is solid from start to finish!
Their members changed throughout the years, but there were some damn good players in this band – lots of extraordinary lead guitar on these records by Kelly Johnson who could certainly put many male guitarists to shame. Rhythm guitarist and singer Kim McAuliffe is the only permanent fixture for the band’s entire career, but they always had a solid rhythm section.
I believe that the follow up album was Screaming Blue Murder and it is another of my favorites! The line up was essentially the same with the exception of Gil Weston replacing Enid on bass.
It is immediately apparent that the mix on SBM is a little more polished than Hit and Run, which is a shame, but it’s still a pretty great album. Starting with the title track, they immediately hit you with their strong points – loud, flashy guitars, sing-along choruses and tons of hooks! I would prefer rawer production, but it’s a great opener and Kelly continues to show off her prowess as a lead guitarist!
“You Got Me” is not one of their greatest, but it has all of their trademarks and shows off Gil’s new bass tone in a short solo, which is a bit nastier than Enid’s. Gil introduces the Stones’ “Live With Me”, which was a hot idea for a female band to do, though – oddly - they do lose some of the sensuality of the original by rocking it up faster and louder. Damn cool high energy, though!
I guess that they really wanted to make Weston feel at home because in “When Your Blood Runs Cold”, they bring it down to the bass and drums again! “Hellrazor” (clever title!) sounds like they were listening to “Ace of Spades” before writing this. Heavy, but not as catchy as some of their tunes.
But they are positively poppy on “Don’t Call It Love”, though it still has an energetic beat. Giving a nod to Ted Nugent’s “Just What the Doctor Ordered”, “Take It From Me” still manages to be distinctly “Girlschool”. “Wildlife” does indeed have a wild guitar solo – noisy yet still melodic – along with some loud and catchy group vocals. The band does an odd, almost off-time instrumental (with some whispered words that are fairly unintelligible) on “Flesh and Blood”, which is not one of their best, though not bad – just not memorable.
A real surprise is a cover of ZZ Top’s classic “Tush” (which apparently is on Hit and Run in some versions). Always good to hear females taking the reign and turning a sexist song like this around! Nothing sexier than a woman looking for sex!
My versions of these albums are different from the track listing that I’m seeing online, so I’m assuming that mine are the American versions.
Hit and Run’s title track shows right away what the ladies were going for – group vocals, tons of guitars, hooks galore and great playing all around! “Watch Your Step” showcases just how damn good the drummer (Denise Dufort) was as they push the energy level up to 11! A supremely catchy, melodic guitar lick opens “Race With the Devil” and proves that they could meld heaviness and melody.
One of their best known songs is probably “Yeah Right” sung by bassist Enid Williams – a sassy tale of female teenage rebellion and drinking, highlighted by a pre-solo section telling off their harpish mother!
“Not For Sale” starts with more cool guitar riffage, a rockin’ groove similar to Motorhead’s “Stay Clean” and a chant-along “not for sale, not for sale” chorus. “Future Flash” has a similar “out to get you” chorus (no idea where the song title comes from) and is a great head-banger with a superb guitar solo!
Starting off with guitars that sound like a motor revving up, “C’mon Let’s Go’ makes perfect sense as an album opener (as it apparently was on the European version) and it flies down the road just like the car that they’re singing about! It’s frantic pace and call-and-answer chorus creates a wild ride!
The Hunter” (I’m not sure who is the predator and who is the prey in this tale, but sounds as sexy as it is scary) is followed by a blistering, high-energy “Kick It Down”. They close the record with another damn catchy number, “Take it all Away” that has more guitar pyrotechnics and fist-in-the-arm sing-along sections. The whole album is solid from start to finish!
Their members changed throughout the years, but there were some damn good players in this band – lots of extraordinary lead guitar on these records by Kelly Johnson who could certainly put many male guitarists to shame. Rhythm guitarist and singer Kim McAuliffe is the only permanent fixture for the band’s entire career, but they always had a solid rhythm section.
I believe that the follow up album was Screaming Blue Murder and it is another of my favorites! The line up was essentially the same with the exception of Gil Weston replacing Enid on bass.
It is immediately apparent that the mix on SBM is a little more polished than Hit and Run, which is a shame, but it’s still a pretty great album. Starting with the title track, they immediately hit you with their strong points – loud, flashy guitars, sing-along choruses and tons of hooks! I would prefer rawer production, but it’s a great opener and Kelly continues to show off her prowess as a lead guitarist!
“You Got Me” is not one of their greatest, but it has all of their trademarks and shows off Gil’s new bass tone in a short solo, which is a bit nastier than Enid’s. Gil introduces the Stones’ “Live With Me”, which was a hot idea for a female band to do, though – oddly - they do lose some of the sensuality of the original by rocking it up faster and louder. Damn cool high energy, though!
I guess that they really wanted to make Weston feel at home because in “When Your Blood Runs Cold”, they bring it down to the bass and drums again! “Hellrazor” (clever title!) sounds like they were listening to “Ace of Spades” before writing this. Heavy, but not as catchy as some of their tunes.
But they are positively poppy on “Don’t Call It Love”, though it still has an energetic beat. Giving a nod to Ted Nugent’s “Just What the Doctor Ordered”, “Take It From Me” still manages to be distinctly “Girlschool”. “Wildlife” does indeed have a wild guitar solo – noisy yet still melodic – along with some loud and catchy group vocals. The band does an odd, almost off-time instrumental (with some whispered words that are fairly unintelligible) on “Flesh and Blood”, which is not one of their best, though not bad – just not memorable.
A real surprise is a cover of ZZ Top’s classic “Tush” (which apparently is on Hit and Run in some versions). Always good to hear females taking the reign and turning a sexist song like this around! Nothing sexier than a woman looking for sex!
Blasting into the closer, “Turn Your Head Around”, they turn up the power and practically scream this number, but still manage to include melodic, sing-along choruses! Not an easy balance!
For lovers of bands like Motorhead (are there any other bands like Motorhead?) though not quite as sick and twisted as Lemmy and company! Still, this is great punky hard rock!
PS - The one other album of theirs that I have, Play Dirty, is very keyboard dominated and is nowhere near as good as these two, despite a nice cover of “20th Century Boy”.
posted by rich @ 2:48 PM
<< Home