Wednesday, May 9, 2012

You Were Robbed – Choirboys



"You Were Robbed" features artists and bands that should have gotten much more recognition and fame than they did. Check them out now...better late than never!

Led by frontman Mark Gable, The Choirboys were one of the biggest bands in Australia during the 80s. Their debut album was a crunchy hard rock fest in the spirit of their AC/DC mates, but this was followed up by a markedly more melodic and commercial record, “Big Bad Noise” (1988). The band toured with the likes of Deep Purple and Bon Jovi, and scored a minor hit in the US with the anthem “Run To Paradise” – who remembers this terrific song?



The song was much more successful in their homeland and it is puzzling why it failed to raise more attention in the US. The strength of this song led me to check out the entire album and I was pleasantly surprised when track after track delivered strong, catchy melodies and unique baritone  harmony vocals. “Boys Will Be Boys” recalls a bit of their grit from the debut, but is very slick and radio-friendly.



The band exercised some storytelling muscle with the infectious track called “James Dale” – no video was made for this one, but I found a snippet of a live version of the song good enough to give you an idea of how great it is.



Unfortunately, there aren’t many Choirboys videos available, so I highly encourage you to seek out this band and give them a listen. Other highlights from the record include “Struggletown”, “Struck By Lightning”, and the title track. Beyond “Big Bad Noise”, their 2004 album “Evolver” is my second favorite, largely due to the amazing track “Fuel”. More recently, they released “Big Bad and Acoustic”, which contains beautifully reworked versions of their classics.



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