http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BSIOOM8/?tag=imwan-20

1. Riot
2. Sex Child
3. Valley Of The Kings
4. Jelly Roll
5. Cold Harbor
6. Blue Murder
7. Out Of Love
8. Billy
9. Ptolemy
10. Black Hearted Woman

Special Deluxe Collector's Edition / Fully Remastered Sound shaped from 24 BIT digital technology / Features John Sykes (Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy), Carmine Appice (Ozzy Osbourne) and Tony Franklin (the Firm) / 12 page full colour booklet 3,500 word essay, enhanced artwork and new interview with John Sykes WHEN IT comes to hard rock contenders no band was more feted than Blue Murder. Masterminded by British-born super guitarist John Sykes, who had previously played pivotal roles in the Tygers Of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, the birth of Blue Murder triggered huge anticipation amongst the hard rock community. At this time, Sykes' stock was at an all-time high and his dismissal from Whitesnake at the peak of their success with the multiplatinum '1987' album, seemed utterly senseless.

Quick to maintain momentum, Sykes pieced together the fledgling Blue Murder by enlisting A-grade support in the form of bassist Tony Franklin (from the Firm) and seasoned drummer Carmine Appice (Ozzy Osbourne, Jeff Beck). It was a classic power trio set-up with a musical direction influenced by both modern and traditional styles, from Led Zeppelin to the bluesy bluster of Whitesnake. Signed to Geffen Records, the album was produced by studio mastermind Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi, the CULT) and mixed by Mike Fraser. It stunned critics and fans alike, containing long, often complicated, tracks with ambitious arrangements and a panoramic production that emphasised creativity over commerciality. As a statement of intent the album massively succeeded in establishing Sykes as a major creative force with a rock solid reputation that has served him well over the subsequent years.

Very cool. This was a big-budget supergroup although the album only did OK. I haven't heard it in years, but I will get this. I remember liking quite a bit of it especially "Valley Of The Kings" which MTV played a lot and sounded like "Kashmir" in some spots.

I think it's one of Eddie Trunk's favorite under appreciated albums. I've never owned it so I should pick this up.

If you like Sykes' work in Whitesnake you'll find plenty to enjoy here... too bad there's no bonus material. I will wait for reviews regarding the remastering.

You should.

Look again - track 5 "Cold Harbor" wasn't on the original release.

Glad to have you back IP, we haven't heard from you in a bit.

Rick A.

Great album.

If there was ever a good candidate for a 2 CD reissue with CD1 being a remaster and CD2 being a remix, this would be it. Hard for me to believe a remaster will make this one sound good to my ears. Vocals way to up in the mix, guitars way too low in the mix and the drum sound is overblown and horrible. It's a real shame too, because nearly all the songs on this are top-notch.

Looking forward to hearing Cold Harbor. Was that a B-side? I used to keep up on B-sides by my favorite artists back in the day and if that was issued back in 89/90 it completely got by me.

A great album , just listened to it this past weekend . I will be picking up the remaster. It is one of Eddie Trunk's favorite albums . Sykes is an amazing guitarist , I just wish he would put more stuff out . This album along with Blue Murders "Nothin' But Trouble" and Sykes solo "Out Of My Tree" and "20th Century" are in my top 100 albums

I think it's a shame this Blue Murder lineup never did a second album.

Yep. I'm glad I got to see them live on that tour before the lineup collapsed.

Thanks Rick-I am going through a very, very rough time but I need this place more than ever.

I don't remember the exact story but I know not one, but two Sabbath singers were up for the job in Ray Gillen-who joined the fantastic Badlands (get both albums remastered from Rock Candy-the debut is one of the best Hard Rock albums ever made! They aren't easy to find cheap though), and Tony Martin who stayed in Sabbath at the time.

I think Tony co-wrote "Valley Of The Kings" but my memory is a little hazy there. This album was so huge sounding it was overproduced, but I found it pretty fitting for the music which was really a great combo of Zep, Lizzy, Whitesnake and even some Prog. I am still surprised that in 1989 this didn't do bigger numbers, though it did sell solidly-but then again it was not Hair Metal in any way.

I am definitely picking this up. I've never owned it on CD.

You're right about Martin co-writing "Valley of the Kings."

How was that tour and did they play songs from their other bands? What size venue was it? Had to have been a damn good show.

They only played about 45 minutes IIRC (it was a looong time ago) - it was a triple bill with them and King's X (touring for Gretchen Goes To Nebraska) opening for Billy Squier of all people in a small theater/large club.

They played most of the album I believe and "Still of the Night" from that other band.

Really good show. I was up front for both opening acts and ran for cover when all the middle-aged chicks with heels and wine glasses invaded the floor. Seriously, it was the most obnoxious thing I've ever seen at a concert.

Love Jelly Roll. Really surprised it wasn't a major hit back in the day.

So much of that album is just so un-commercial – an odd mix of Lizzy and Whitesnake – that, in hindsight, it really isn't a surprise it didn't do so well. The expectations for it were astronomical but it didn't have the type of songs that would get any radio play. Even though it was a fav of mine at the time, I don't remember ever selling a single copy of it. There was so much stuff out there at the time that was so in-your-face commercial (Mr. Big, Extreme, Bon Jovi, etc.) that it sadly didn't fit with what radio was playing.

I'll pick this up. Excited to hear the bonus track. Too bad they didn't at least put a second disc with it of that lineup live.

D'oh! Missed that... okay, this just got upgraded to automatic purchase for me.

Garry Sharpe-Young's (RIP) book Sabbath Bloody Sabbath : The Battle For Black Sabbath touches on this.

Gillen left Sabbath because it seemed Sabbath were on the verge of complete collapse. At that time Blue Murder was Sykes, Franklin and Cozy Powell on drums and Gillen hooked up with that lineup. There are two different versions of why Gillen and Blue Murder parted ways. Eric Singer (Sabbath's drummer at the time) claims that Blue Murder's A&R man John Kalodner didn't like Gillen and forced him out of the band. However, Dave Spitz (Sabbath's bassist) and Geoff Nicholls (Sabbath's keyboardist) claim that Gillen was kicked out because he couldn't write at all. While the guy had an amazing voice he apparently had no ability whatsoever to come up with melody lines in the studio. This claim has been pretty common from many sources (in this book and elsewhere) that Gillen was just about worthless in the studio, couldn't contribute anything from a songwriting standpoint and was more interested in partying than anything else. Gillen had told Sykes he could write before they hooked up, and when it turned out he couldn't he ended up getting kicked out.

Martin got hooked up with Blue Murder when Sabbath were on a hiatus. Iommi and Powell were talking about putting a new band together and there was uncertainty with what was going to happen. Martin got the song-writing credit on Valley Of The Kings and claims he should have gotten much more credit than that as he contributed lyrics and vocal melodies to other songs that were on the record. He broke with Blue Murder because he thought Sykes was "an odd bloke." Martin claims that Sykes was image-obsessed and wanted Martin to get a hair transplant.

This is a great book with tons of information and it's highly recommended. It was actually a merging of two other Sharpe-Young's books (one on Sabbath, one on Ozzy) and the editing is sloppy in places but that's easy to overlook considering the wealth of information included. Covers Iommi from the period of Heaven and Hell through Fused and covers Ozzy from the period of Blizzard of Ozz through Down to Earth.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0958268428/?tag=imwan-20

"Jelly Roll" was a radio hit but I don't remember how far it got (maybe the Top 25 on AOR charts?), but it wasn't played to death or anything. But you're right that radio wasn't eager to play great acts like Blue Murder and Badlands and focused on shit like Winger and Poison.

I remember laughing at the video with Sykes ripping his shit off in the rain for his lover. Ridiculous the ego on that guy. I do know the album hit #63 and charted for 21 weeks (sad I remember such useless things), and I believe sales were in the 200,000-300,000 range which was fa below expectations.

I didn't even notice the bonus track either on this so that makes this even more of a pickup. I'm surprised Amazon has started selling the Rock Candy remasters new at 17.99 right around release date which is cheaper than ordering from AmazonUK or Rock Cnady itself and not having to wait for overseas shipping.

Found a setlist of a Blue Murder gig in Japan in Aug. 1989. Sounds like an amazing show. Songs from each member's pasts from Rod Stewart, Whitesnake and The Firm! I wonder if any good boots exist. I also think keyboardist Nik Green who played on the album was part of the band live and he also was on the second album.

1. Riot
2. Valley of the Kings
3. Out of Love
4. Instrumental jam
5. Bass Solo
6. Billy
7. Ptolemy
8. Jelly Roll
9. Drum Solo
10. Hot Legs
11. Still of the Night
Encore:
12. Closer
13. Purple Haze
14. Blue Murder

Decided to go for the Rock Candy release. Put my order in along with the Head East Live disc.

Rick A.