Angels

Since there is so much injustice in the way music is marketed and presented, often undeserving bands get the limelight, when others, in this case Australia's Angels (or Angel City to some) are one of those acts. This 20-track set establishes and makes a case for the kind of hard, rootsy dirty ass rock & roll the Angels made during their tenure from the '70s through to the early '90s when they called it a day. They were not without success in their homeland, and in Europe to some extent. They were celebrated by AC/DC who not only gave them the shot to record their first single, "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again," and album, but took them on the road as well. These cuts are the evidence for rock & roll that didn't need much to get its point across; even if that point was pure hedonism and a righteous sneer at all things false. Though fans can gleefully or passionately argue about what's here and what's not, the one thing they cannot dispute is that everything on this slab is top-notch, guttersnipe rockism. From the aforementioned single to "Marseilles," ("Learned my French form the girl next door/She'd teach me night and day/Got to thinkin' about the South of France/vis a vis her pool...."), to the edgy apocalyptica of "Stand Up" and the gritty, reality based "Backstreet Pickup," it's all there. All you need. Pick it up, turn it up, rip it up. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide