After leaving Rough Cutt in 1988, 3/5 of the band – guitarist Amir Derakh, bassist Matt Thorr and drummer Dave Alford regrouped with guitar player Michael Raphael & singer Danny Simon (Agent X) and JAILHOUSE was formed.
Jailhouse released an indie EP in 1989, developed a strong following and played all of the clubs & venues on L.A.’s Sunset Strip. They even made a video for the song “Please Come Back” which was heavily played on MTV. The band released another EP and soon after a major record label offered a deal, however things fell through among members, and Jailhouse was no more in 1991.
Fast forward to 1998, Jailhouse finally released by themselves this self-titled album featuring material from back then, including the complete 1989 and 1991 EP’s, plus previously unreleased songs – all professionally recorded.
Their style was always more mature and ‘adult’ than the typical bands of the hair metal movement, especially the lyrics, without giving up the fun, plenty of catchy choruses and funky rockin’ melodies.
This is really well written melodic hard rocking songs, one of them featured in the soundtrack of the Adam Sandler comedy blockbuster ‘That’s My Boy’, and two of the songs present here were later recorded by NELSON for their album ‘Imaginator’.
These guys knew how to write moving commercial Melodic Hard Rock tunes such as title track “Please Come Back”, “Sweet Angel” and “Stand Up”, turning quite hard in the killer “N.A.B.” to sweet and emotional in the beautiful ballad “Tell Me”.
There’s also live tracks very well recorded capturing Jailhouse powers on stage, including a swing at Thin Lizzy’s bustin’ out anthem, “Jailbreak”.
A hard to find CD. Quality Stuff!
01. Religion (3:10)
02. N.A.B. (4:02)
03. The Innocent (4:45)
04. Long Way Up (3:58)
05. I Believe (3:25)
06. Tell Me (5:25)
07. Season Of Suffering (4:54)
08. Love Spins The World Around (4:25)
09. Stand Up (Acoustic) (5:00)
10. Please Come Back (4:40)
11. Sweet Angel (5:36)
12. Love Me (4:37)
13. Running (Live) (4:18)
14. Modern Girl (Live) (4:10)
15. The Land Of Today (Live) (5:43)
16. Jailbreak (Live) (5:45)
Personnel
Danny Simon lead vocals
Michael Raphael lead guitar and 6-string acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Amir Derakh lead and slide guitar, 12-string acoustic, electric guitar
Matt Thorr bass
Dave Alford drums, backing vocals
Jailhouse – Jailhouse 1998 lossless+MP3, CD-Rip
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