Baton Rouge - Shake Your Soul (1990) [Japan 1st Press]

“Shake Your Soul” is an outstanding effort by a band that should have been at the top of its class. The band originally formed in Louisiana as Voices in 1986 and consisted of Kelly Keeling (guitar and keyboard), Lance Bulen (vocals), Keith Harrison (bass) and Harold Knappenburger (drums). They changed their name to Cheetah, later to Meridian and finally Baton Rouge, the group relocated to Los Angeles in 1987 and revamped their line up. Their debut album, “Shake Your Soul” debuted in 1990, reaching only the 160th place on the Billboard charts at a time when media attention to the style had already begun to decline dramatically.

Track Listing

01. Doctor (03:41)
02. Walks Like A Woman (03:54)
03. Big Trouble (03:22)
04. It's About Time (03:59)
05. Bad Time Comin' Down (04:01)
06. The Midge (Instrumental) (00:59)
07. Baby's So Cool (03:33)
08. Young Hearts (04:19)
09. Melenie (03:43)
10. There Was A Time (The Storm) (04:11)
11. Hot Blood Movin' (03:30)
12. Spread Like Fire (03:18)

Produced by Jack Ponti

The Band

• Kelly Keeling - lead vocals, guitar
• Lance Bulen - lead & rhythm guitars, vocals
• Corky McClellan - drums, percussion, vocals
• Scott Bender - bass, vocals
• David Cremin - keyboards, guitar, vocals

Additional Musicians
• Bobby Gordon, Randy Cantor - keyboards
• Joe Franco - drums
• Frankie LaRocka- percussion

Notes

The bayou boys of Baton Rouge rode in on the final hair wave, injecting just a hint of funk (not enough to make a difference). Unlike the band's innovative brethren in Faith No More or even Extreme, Baton Rouge concentrates on nothing more challenging than the age-old concept of girls, girls, and more girls; this limited paradigm considerably constricted the group's commercial impact in the angst-ridden '90s, but sure makes Shake Your Soul a fun spin. The big-bang production, shot through with crystal keyboards, conjures bands like Warrant that hurt hair's credibility, as well as talented units like T-Ride that suffered thereafter. Anyone with a passing interest in party metal will enjoy connecting the dots: "Doctor" burns to the bone, "Young Hearts" apes Rod Stewart (or is it Axe?), and lead huffer Kelly Keeling's Hagar-isms are impossible to ignore on "Baby's So Cool" and radio flash "Walks Like a Woman" (which strategically name-checks the album). "There Was a Time" quotes REO and Bryan Adams (or are these phrases just so trite the source is lost forever?) plus the almighty Aerosmith. The quintet even cops to cliché-wielding when showing a softer side in "It's About Time." Most telling, "Melenie" actually derives from misunderstood maestro Winger's "Madalaine." None of the above tunes, nor the powers of Jack Ponti (whose mighty micro-movement also included Alice Cooper and China Rain), made Shake Your Soul anything more than a fading footnote in the history of hair, but nothing's wrong with wanting nothing but a good time. ~ AllMusic Review by Whitney Z. Gomes



Many thanks to the original uploader: GreyLeeSin