The Four Horsemen - Nobody Said it Was Easy

For a brief moment at the start of the '90s, everyone seemed to be doing the retro-rock thing, and while most bands were digging back to the late '60s for inspiration, the Four Horsemen's ambitions went no further than the late '70s – more specifically AC/DC. There's not a single original riff on all of their first full album, Nobody Said It Was Easy, mind you, but the band's raunchy guitars and gritty delivery make up for this in spades. And had he not been arrested seemingly every six months for one misdemeanor or another, outlaw frontman Frank Starr may have even challenged Axl Rose for his "king of the bad boys" crown. Starr's whiskey and broken glass vocal style literally ignites the album's best moments, including the title track, "Can't Stop Rockin'," and the incredible "Rockin' Is Ma' Business." And while "Hot Head lifts its main riff directly from AC/DC's "Rock'n'Roll Damnation," the slightly more original "Tired Wings" actually received some MTV rotation thanks to its mellower Southern rock vibe and slide guitars. Rounded out by the easy strut of "Moonshine," the all-out fury of "Lookin' for Trouble," and the lazy jamming of "I Need a Thrill/Somethin' Good," this album scores low on originality, but high on honesty and charisma. A sure winner for lovers of no-image, no-class rock & roll.

[AMG]

The band:

Frank C. Starr - vocals (R.I.P.)
Dave Lizmi - guitar and background vocals
Haggis - guitar and background vocals
Ben Pape - bass and background vocals
Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery - drums and background vocals (R.I.P.)

Album produced by Rick Rubin.



The Four Horsemen at Wikipedia

Bad A** R & R!

1991 - Grand Rapids Michigan, home to one of the best live music venues in western MI, Club Eastbrook, it was a typical evening, cool, yet warm fall weather, the smell of grass burning everyware, and the realization that you have a ticket to one of the hottest shows in town, "The Four Horsemen." Fresh off their first album, "Nobody Said It Was Easy", they were the night's headliner. They ripped into their set with a vengence, every song was incredible including the radio mainstays - "Nobody Said It Was Easy", "Rockin Is My Business" and "Tired Wings." The backbone of the album, these were the best songs on the radio at the time. With one of the most sought after producers, Rick Rubin, controlling their destiny they spit out one of the years best rock albums. No Nirvana didn't kill rock, a bunch of horrible albums by the giants did but not before The horsemen had their say. Although they accomplished more on their first album then Fred Durst will ever have, they didn't have a closer, I've heard their second album was good but it received zero radio play. Unfortunately Frank Starr passed away in the mid-ninties but they will always be an essential piece of automotive stereo hardware. One of the last great rock albums of the 90's before grunge and Clear Channel took over…

[Amazon user review]



Tracks:

1. Nobody Said It Was Easy
2. Rockin' Is Ma' Business
3. Tired Wings
4. Can't Stop Rockin'
5. Wanted Man
6. Let It Rock
7. Hot Head
8. Moonshine
9. Homesick Blues
10. 75 Again
11. Lookin' for Trouble
12. I Need a Thrill/Somethin' Good

An Overlooked Gem.

Talk about bad timing. Nobody Said It Was Easy was released in August 1991, several weeks before Nirvana unleashed Nevermind on the world and changed the face of popular music as we know it. The Four Horsemen included every ingredient necessary for big-time success between 1986-1990: a long-haired charismatic frontman, a pair of deft axe men who tore off fierce riffs with a pop sensibility, and supercatchy songs. They just happened to release Nobody Said It Was Easy a little too late.

There's an old story that back in the mid80s, Four Horsemen singer Frankie Starr came across newly arrived W. Axl Rose on the Sunset Strip and gave him an earful about how Frankie would be a star while Axl wouldn't amount to anything. Frankie didn't lack for hubris that's for sure - the line from the riff-tastic "Rocking Is Ma Business" goes "the book on rock and rock, MF, I wrote it!" Or how about this one from the scorching "Let It Rock"? - "Half a year from now we'll all be millionaires." It turned out that Frankie wasn't all that prescient - Axl became the mega-star and the Four Horsemen became anything but millionaires. Sadly, Frankie died in a motorcycle accident several years ago without the Four Horsemen achieving the widespread success they deserved.

Along with, ironically enough, Appetite for Destruction, Nobody Said It Was Easy is one of the few albums from the pop metal era that today still sounds as good as ever. If you're into Junkyard's eponymous debut or Cinderella's Heartbreak Station, or if you think the idea of a band that blends the styles of AC/DC and Lynyrd Syknyrd sounds appealing, you have to get your hands on Nobody Says it Was Easy. In fact, there's no time to waste - this thing isn't exactly a big seller and could go out of print at any moment. Once you're "out on the open road", cranking "Rocking is Ma Business", "Can't Stop Rockin'", "Let It Rock", and "Hothead", you'll be really grateful you picked it up. Just don't blame me if those sirens in "Moonshine" have you checking your rear-view mirror. The closing track, "I Need a Thrill" provides a fitting epitaph for Frankie who seems to have been one of those people who lived life hard, always chasing the next thrill. Thankfully, his music lives on, providing more than a few thrills for those of us lucky to own some of it.

[Amazon user review]

FLAC-image:
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Mp3 @320 CBR:
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Complete scanned artwork (600dpi):
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