{"id":21974,"date":"2023-05-05T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=21974"},"modified":"2023-04-30T12:27:50","modified_gmt":"2023-04-30T12:27:50","slug":"kings-x-in-the-new-age-the-atlantic-recordings-1988-1995-hne-recordings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=21974","title":{"rendered":"King\u2019s X – \u2018In The New Age (The Atlantic Recordings 1988-1995)\u2019 (HNE Recordings)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you were to ask me to name a criminally underrated band, an artist that in an ideal world should’ve become a household name, I could give you a big list, but somewhere at the top of that list would be Texas 3-piece band King\u2019s X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Formed in Springfield, Missouri in 1979, the trio consisting of Doug Pinnick on vocals\/bass, Ty Tabor on vocals\/guitar and drummer Jerry Gaskill burst onto the rock scene in 1988 with their debut album \u2018Out Of The Silent Planet\u2019. Their heady mix of progressive rock with three-part vocal harmonies and clever arrangements was lauded by music critics and music lovers alike, they graced the cover of Kerrang! magazine and gained high profile tours with the likes of Cheap Trick, Robert Plant and Anthrax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their albums got stronger with each release, and with the advent of Grunge and their influence on the likes of Pearl Jam and Pantera, it seemed inevitable that success would be theirs. Yet even with high profile tours with the likes of Iron Maiden, AC\/DC and Motley Crue, commercial success eluded them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The excellent Cherry Red Records have stepped up to the task and cover their classic Atlantic period albums, with full sleeve artwork and extra bonus tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a mohawk-sporting singer who played a 12-string bass left-handed, bared a striking resemblance to Jimi Hendrix and had a gospel-tinged croon, King\u2019s X were as far removed from the chart-bothering hair metal bands or the thrash heavyweights of the late 80\u2019s, they stood out like a sore thumb and could not be pigeonholed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an album title taken from a CS Lewis book and lyrical themes of introspection and Christian beliefs \u2018Out Of The Silent Planet\u2019 was in a world of its own back in 1988. Complex arrangements, multi-layered Beatle-esque vocal harmonies, soulful lead vocals and a unique guitar tone laid the basis for their career and highlights such as the beautiful \u2018Goldilox\u2019, \u2018King\u2019 and \u2018Shot Of Love\u2019 remain firm fan favourites to this day. This led to the album being named \u2018Album of the Year\u2019 over at Kerrang! magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sophomore \u2018Gretchen Goes To Nebraska\u2019 was released in 1989. A concept album based on a short story written by drummer Jerry Gaskill, it is regarded by many as their defining album. The story follows a girl\u2019s spiritual journey and all the obstacles and characters she encounters on her way to Nebraska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defining moment \u2018Over My Head\u2019 is a celebration of music, Doug welcoming all to the church of rock n\u2019 roll with his soulful, gospel-tinged croon. The arpeggiated riff to beautiful ballad \u2018Summerland\u2019, a song full of whimsical mystery, Beatle-esque harmonies and an outstanding guitar solo, no rhythm guitar to fill the sound out, just the pulsing bass groove and the powerhouse beats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The funereal \u2018The Difference (in the Garden Of St Annes On The Hill)\u2019 still sends shivers down my spine. About as ethereal and spiritual as music can get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As every concept album should be \u2018Gretchen..\u2019 is a rapturous journey from start to finish. A musical journey that sucks you in, covering multiple moods and musical genres, yet always sounding like King\u2019s X. An essential album in the history of rock let alone King\u2019s X discography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though it was their most commercially successful album, 1990\u2019s \u2018Faith Hope & Love\u2019 is probably the weakest of the six on offer here. It was never going to be able to compete with its predecessor. While it contained some great tunes such as the killer rocker \u2018We Were Born To Be Loved\u2019 and the sublime Crowded House pop of \u2018It\u2019s Love\u2019 and was as imaginative and ambitious as you came to expect from the band, it lacked the cohesion and direction of \u2018Gretchen..\u2019. In hindsight and with the musical tides turning, maybe the band were searching to find who they really were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their self-titled fourth album came out in 1992 and was the last to feature longtime producer Sam Taylor. \u2018King\u2019s X\u2019 saw the band tighten things up songwriting-wise and things were getting a bit darker and heavier, maybe due to the rumblings in Seattle. The experimentation and the clever arrangements were back in force, the melodies on point and they had a newfound urgency and anger to their sound which was evident from the off on opener \u2018The World Around Me\u2019 and first single \u2018Black Flag\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ambitious and clever \u2018Chariot Song\u2019 is like 10 songs in one and veers off on all sorts of tangents to itself with Queen-like reversed backing vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experimentation continued in the skulking \u2018What I Know About Love\u2019 and the beautiful \u2018Dream In My Life\u2019, a song that remains a career highlight. It is not average by any means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1994 was a defining year for rock music. Alternative was mainstream and all the bands had to adapt to the musical and political climate. Music seemed more edgy, and it brought out the best in many bands, King\u2019s X included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Dogman\u2019 is King\u2019s X piece de resistance, their masterpiece if you like. From the massive riffage of the opening title track to the closing live in the studio version of Jimi Hendrix\u2019 \u2018Manic Depression\u2019 it is an album of the time that stands the test of time itself. \u2018Dogman\u2019 is the sound of a band totally in tune with itself. Three men playing as one with years of experience, delivering one massive of act of defiance. With go-to Grunge producer Brendan O\u2019Brien at the helm, King\u2019s X sound pissed off, heavier and stripped back to a raw sounding live beast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The powerful punch of \u2018Complain\u2019 hits right in the chest, Ty\u2019s detuned guitar tone is sublime and the 3-part harmonies as beautiful as ever. That year they thrilled fans at Woodstock \u201894 and they played live in a tv studio to no audience when the LA riots were in full flow, that was what was going on in 1994.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sublime \u2018Flies And Blue Skies\u2019 sends shivers down the spine and the band have never sounded as heavy as they do on \u2018Black The Skies\u2019. The raw anger and energy of the minute long \u2018Go To Hell\u2019 would never have worked on a King\u2019s X album pre \u201894, but here it sounds just perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This version adds live era versions of \u2018Shoes\u2019 and \u2018We Were Born To Be Loved\u2019, yet with the emphasis on groove and melody, bass that will rattle your bones and harmonies that will reach the depths of your soul, \u2018Dogman\u2019 set a high benchmark for all King\u2019s X albums that would follow it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last of the Atlantic albums released in 1996 would mark the end of an era for the band and it\u2019s a fitting benchmark. In complete contrast to \u2018Dogman\u2019, \u2018Ear Candy\u2019 draws on the more psychedelic influences of the band, here they tone down the heaviness and concentrate on a more commercial sound, veering on many songs into power pop territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Ty took a back seat in the vocal department on \u2018Dogman\u2019, his lead vocals are more prolific on \u2018Ear Candy\u2019. From the psychedelic cover art, and the band members sporting short hair, it marked a change in direction. His 60\u2019s influenced psychedelic pop songs like \u2018Mississippi Moon\u2019 and Jerry\u2019s \u2018American Cheese\u2019 mark a nice direction for the band and album closer \u2018Life Going By\u2019 is filled with introspection and harmony as the band take a look deep inside their souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans who yearn for the King\u2019s X of old are satisfied by the likes of \u2018Looking For Love\u2019 and \u2018The Box\u2019 is classic King\u2019s X and has traits of the early albums, it remains a firm live favourite to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the addition of a few live tracks, alternate mixes and only one previously unreleased rarity (\u2018Freedom\u2019) is not really much to attract hardcore fans into purchasing these albums again, \u2018In The New Age\u2019 is the perfect starting point for new or casual fans to find out what all the fuss was about and to have all of King\u2019s X classic albums together in one nifty package. And while remastered versions of the albums and some extra updated interviews, notes or pictures would’ve been nice, this stunning collection of work is still an essential purchase in my book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy Here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you were to ask me to name a criminally underrated band, an artist that in an ideal world should’ve become a household name, I could give you a big list, but somewhere at the top of that list would be Texas 3-piece band King\u2019s X. Formed in Springfield, Missouri in 1979, the trio consisting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21975,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[92],"class_list":["post-21974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-kings-x"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21974"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21976,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21974\/revisions\/21976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}