The Wildhearts’ mainman on Starz, ‘one of the most under-rated groups of the 70s’. Check out Ginger’s past Secret History Of Rock’n'Roll entries.

Starz
Violation
Capitol, 1977

If one was to take all the criminally under rated groups of the 70s, and choose a poster band, then surely Starz would top the list by a healthy margin.

Over groomed for imminent success, this New Jersey powerhouse unit ticked off more boxes than any other underachievers. Awesome songs? Tick. Killer frontman? Tick. Amazing guitar arrangements? Tickety tick. They made three classic albums in two years.

So what went wrong?

Heads have been collectively scratched since the band’s demise at the end of the 70s/turn of the 80s regarding this conundrum.

Maybe it was simply the slightly-too-glam image that ran at odds with the hard rocking music? Looking back at the 70s as a whole, one could conclude that people simply tended to dress a little fruitily, but under a microscope it would seem that Starz came along at the perfectly wrong end of 70s, when punk was growing in the belly of a dissatisfied youth.

The era of garish rock had been superceded by the era of uber-glam disco, and the youth of America began demanding their guitars stapled to a more realistic image. Sadly, the same audience that turned their backs on Starz would have found more spit and attitude in this outfit than any number of pretend US punk wannabees churned out in the same years.

Mixing tough American rock with star charisma and classic tunes, Starz could easily have enjoyed the riches that Van Halen were to go on to collect, and while indiscriminately influencing every big hair band in the 80s, Starz failure was a bigger loss to American culture than their own bank accounts.

Signed to Capitol records in 1976 the classic line-up of Michael Lee Smith (vocals), Richie Ranno (guitar), Brendan Harkin (guitar), Joe X Dube (drums) and Peter Sweval (bass) would record three awesome albums, starting with classic US rock self titled debut, ‘Starz’ (every bit as good as any Aerosmith album), and finally bowing out with the incredible ‘Attention Shoppers’ (pop rock heaven), the band would then begin replacing members before calling it a day on the patchy yet great ‘Coliseum Rock’.

And sandwiched in the middle of all this big-rock action stands the majestic ‘Violation’.

Recorded in 1977, Starz second album is an awesome affair that wastes no time getting comfortable in your collection by kicking off with ‘Cherry Baby’, not only the band’s finest tune but one of the greatest songs ever written. Pop rock is given a new standard with this amazing track. You think you’ve heard good songs, but unless you’ve heard this one then your barometer is working on half battery life.
The delicious vocal stylings of unsung US icon Michael Lee Smith effortlessly luring the listener in, the stage is set for a quality filled 36 minutes of sheer class.

‘Rock Six Times’ follows in heavier style, sketching out a storyline based on a post apocalyptic rock fan’s discovery of an old Aerosmith album. The band are tight, the playing is focused and once again the vocal delivery stands up to any singer in the history of American rock music.

‘Sing It, Shout It’ treads the same boards as the most rocking tunes of Boston, Journey etc, and sits perfectly within an album intent on exploring the entire spectrum of US rock up until this point of origin. This track in particular brags the talents of guitar duo Ranno and Harkin, blending Aerosmith’s  taste with the Eagles’ flair, as well as proudly presenting another hit-that-missed chorus the size of Texas.

‘Violation’ picks up on the post-apocalyptical storyline once again, with which the album is VERY loosely based, in its ‘decree by committee’ subject matter and tough musical performance. Jack Douglas’ sturdy production takes on Bob Ezrin proportions here. Like I said – quality, man!

‘Subway Terror’ builds the menace as the lyrics go from politically themed to dark and dirty in a tale of a serial killer that rides the subways looking for easy meat. The difference here is that the victim is male, and as the protagonist politely informs him to ‘please tell his family he won’t be home tonight’, one can’t help but shudder at this modern take on a largely misogynistic parable.

It is worth mentioning here that, while Michael Lee Smith is almost untouchable as a singer, as a lyricist he has very few peers. Cutting, touching, funny, intelligent and often just downright filthy, the man straddles the line between poet and rock God whilst never finding the need to take his art too damn seriously. Imagine Bon Scott and Dave Lee Roth combined with movie star good looks and you’re getting warm.

‘All Night Long’ drifts into an almost Allman Brothers groove as it sleazes lazily along, the album then switching from swing to classic 50s bop, with ‘The Cool One’. Surely the defining moment of Smith’s entire raison d’etre, this tale of love at the drive-in savours the line “she reached over and she squeezed on my rocks, I lost it all in the popcorn box”.

Who writes like this anymore? And why the hell not?

‘S.T.E.A.D.Y’ returns to the bi-polar storyline as it mixes up rhythms, tempos and generally throws the listener around like the poor unfortunate in this cautionary tale of enforced sobriety as inspired by George Orwell. As powerful a rock workout as a lyrical masterpiece, no song more beautifully illustrates the timeless quality of this band.

And in fine melancholy style, the album closes with ‘Is That A Street Light Or The Moon’. Sombre and string laden, it is the perfect way to end an album of almost schizophrenic rock’n’roll logic.

Man, what a band! What an album!

And while it is in serious doubt that you own anything this good, what should not be in question is the urgency in which you find this album and add it to your collection right now.

P.S. And while you’re at it, track down a copy of Smith, Ranno and Harkin’s next project The Hellcats, featuring the astoundingly great song  ‘Auto Erotica’. You deserve it.

Check out Ginger’s past Secret History Of Rock’n'Roll entries.

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