Customer Reviews

Angel

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Angel's self titled debut was released in 1975 and is a must for serious 70's hard rock enthusiasts. The mindmelting intro to "Tower" alone is worth the price of admission. Frank Dimino's vocals and Greg Guiffria's keyboards provided Angel with a sound that was somewhat different than the other progressive hard rock bands at the time like Styx and Kansas. They were heavier and alot more theatrical live, being the first band to use holograms on stage. They released five studio albums and a live album while together, and of the five,the first three( Angel, Helluva Band, On Earth As It Is In Heaven), are excellent. After that they went commercial for the remaining two studio albums ( White Hot and Sinful), and the results were pretty disappointing.

If it's too loud, you're too old! And yes if you remember this band you need to be at least 40! Yet this stand as one of the best "glam-heavy-metal" debut albums of the decade. A must have for any rock collection. ****2007 update. If you've made it this far, head over to the BGO release of Angel/Helluva Band here on Amazon". It's a 2 disc set that sonically blows this away. A must for any Angel fan! Punky is still whippin'!****

Hearken unto the one CLASSIC album by a hard rock band with SO MUCH potential. ANGEL's debut from 1975 is a scorcher: a heavenly display of melodic, heavy rock with progressive tendencies. Instantly impressive are the soaring, emotive vocals of Frank Dimino (kind of like a more gutsy and powerful Rik Emmett). Punky Meadows (formerly of BUX) rips off some big, hooky riffs, tasteful solos and guitar embroideries (a little bit of Jimmy Page, Brain May and Tony Iommi mixed together). Major star of the show is Greg Giuffria who displays a great command of keyboards. Some of his haunting mellotron lines would put most prog rock groups of the 70's to shame!!!! The powerful and haunting "The Tower" and the melancholy "Long Time" steal the show, for me - but almost every track is great. ANGEL were ahead of their time and in a class by themselves, but fans of MAGNUM, QUEEN, KANSAS, URIAH HEEP, SHOOTING STAR, TRIUMPH, or RUSH would probably find this enjoyable. And if you like your heavy rock with a progressive feel, there's no way to lose on this one. This is a far cry from the "poor man's KISS" of later ANGEL albums. A real gem of the 70's and with an artistry not commonly seen in the genre. Sweeping, gothic, "dungeons and dragons" and bursting with emotion. Check it out!!!!

Angel came out of nowhere and simply rocked my world. I wore my vinyl out until it sounded like some old AM radio in the 1930's. The album skipped and everything from endless plays and my being an uncareful teenager in handling the vinyl. I bought the Japan released when it was first released on CD. Here is a breakdown of my opinion of the songs one by one.

1. Tower (Masterpiece 10/10)

2. Long Time (Overlooked but certainly the second best song on the album, right behind Tower 10/10)

3. Rock & Rollers (Rocks! Used as a show closer or encore for years 10/10)

4. Broken Dreams (9/10, I want to give this a 10/10 but can this album truely be all 10's. Yes, it can 10/10)

5. Mariner (Beautiful 10/10)

6. Sunday Morning (Listen to the guitar work Punky lays down on this track 10/10)

7. On & On (Superb! 10/10)

8. Angel (Theme) (This song is only about 1 minute long but I play it almost as much as I do Tower. Instrumental with all the elements that are ANGEL 10/10)

Don't delay, this album will one day go out of print as almost everything else by this band and you'll regret not owning it.)

This is the first time that I have listened to this album (& bought the CD) since 1979. I now realise that "old" rock is timeless, and, just as good, if not better than what we often listen to today! The opening track, Tower, is simply brilliant if you like long rock songs with a few changes of tempo. Long Time is as close to a ballard as you will ever get. Rock & Rollers is an easy listening number with good lyrics, guitars solo & catchy chorus. Broken Dreams, Mariner (a lovely haunting ballad), Sunday Morning and On & On are all worthy of the attentative listeners ear. Well worth the buy! This bands music & lyrics were way ahead of their time. It's such a shame that they never went on to produce many more albums. However, ANGEL will remain as a solid album & an absolute 'must have' for anyone's collection of great Rock CD's.

In the image concicous 70"s, it was quite easy to dismiss "Angel" as just another band with "Perfect Hair". Alas there is proof that they indeed where much more. Their first album "Angel" is a classic rock album like no other. from the opening drum rage of "Tower" through "Long Time" and on through "The Mariner" this album mixes flourishes reminiscent of "Deep Purple", "Yes", "Queen" and others. What makes it so original is the songwriting. Give this disc it's due. If you were a fan of any of the other bands mentioned you will probably fall in love with "Angel"

One of the great mysteries is why exactly Angel failed to achieve the succes that has been lying in waiting after the first offering. Besides having an extraordinary logo (first the angelic statue, later the bandname which cleverly can be read upside down) and a special show, all the members clad in white silk [as opposite to the dark resembling black and silver of labelmates KISS], with al kind of theatrics, the band boasted the undoubted talents of a real good leadguitarplayer by the odd name of Punky Meadows and - as proven later on with his respective bands Giuffria and House of Lords - Greg Giuffria on keyboards (for whose playing Keith Emerson should not have to be ashamed). After issueing the first album with the magnificent openingtrack, the epic "Tower" with the spinning synthesizertones at first, followed by the eminent "Long Time", then a couple of good songs, the subtle "Mariner", with vocals only, backed by grand piano, organ and mellotron, and instrumental closer "Angel (Theme)" the band keeps you in its grip, not letting go till the last note dissolves. With only 8 songs a remarkable debut, especially when you consider that they never repeated this let alone exceeded this album. The second "Helluva Band" was already slightly less (who calls a song "Chicken Soup"?) and it went further downhill with "Heaven as it is on Earth", "White Hot" and "Sinfull" (a.k.a. "Bad Reputation"). Only the final live-album cranked things up but it was too late. Where contemporary so called progressive, symphonic of pomprock bands (i.e. the likes of ELP, Yes, Genesis, Kansas, even Styx) played extended songs with mostly abstract themes and lyrics, Angel went with each album poppier, sloppier, even syrupy. Some songs, like the Christmas ballad "Winter Song", otherwise called - you guessed it - "Christmas Song" or "Flying with Broken Wings" (both on "White Hot") proved their songswritingcapabilities but it was not enough. This first album came close on the brink with aforementioned bands, somewhere in between the British and American collegae, and is of high quality, the cover, the songs, the playing, the sound, everything is downright. But alas, it would never be the same for them again, notwithstanding the change of bassplayer midways. Songs like these would not appear on any of the following albums. They lost the nomen progressive metal. Not only did they look far from dangerous, their music wasn't either, middle of the road popsongs. Of course this didn't attract a large public, or if it did a while only the "wrong" public (little schoolgirls) at which they didn't aimed (as I assume). So they lost the contact with a much broader album buying public and concert attendees and broke up. Not much is heard of them thereafter. Only Giuffria teamed up with other musicians and released a couple of fine albums, at times reminiscent of this first Angel output. If you want to try out anything by Angel, buy and/or listen to this one. The rest might disappoint you. On the first album they set a standard which had not found its equal elsewhere in their repertoire, although strangly they had the potency to just do that but failed to use it. It will always stay an unanswered question to why. Why they opted for a poppier sound, why they strayed away from the progressive rock which showcased the first album so fiercely. Why giving up their unmistakenly present songwriting and performing abilites in favor of a popsound, which was in contrast, maybe not with their outfit but at least with their presence and shows. Anyway, for those who like a real good pomprock album from the beginning to the end listen to this formidable debut.

This was one of the first 'albums' that I ever owned...

At a time when Pink Floyd was releasing Dark Side of the Moon and Animals, Boston's self-titled effort was selling a gazillion copies, Aerosmith was coming out with Rocks and Draw the Line, Kiss was releasing Destoyer, and Styx was releasing Grand Illusion here came Angel.

Why compare all of these albums? Simply to point out that given the quality of this album it truly is amazing that Angel is the least known of all of these groups.

Just listen to the Tower (probably the best Angel song of all time).. It starts off with 'Boston'-style keyboards, 'prog'resses into a Styx-type melody, and all of a sudden you get Punky Meadows wailing away on guitar.

..and what a line up.. Dimino on Vocals, Brandt on Drums and Punky Meadows on Guitar.. Few bands at that time, except for Deep Purple and Led Zepplin, could match that talent (and I LOVE 70's era AEROSMITH). Throw in Guffria on keyboards, and an underated Mickey Jones on Bass and you have a great group.

Conceding Tower as the best song on the album, the second best is probably Broken Dreams. It has everything Tower has except it's amped up. Punky delivers a melodic guitar solo while the rest of the band is pretty much just wailing away. And what a live show these guys put on!!!!!!!!

Angel never achieved the following that they should have. Partly because they just changed too much. Their next 2 albums (which are both 4 star efforts) 'On Earth As It Is In Heaven' and 'Helluva Band' trended more toward 'Hard Rock' and then they went Pop and fell off of the face of the Earth. I remember sitting in absolute dismay after buying Sinful and listening to it for the fist time.. It was THAT bad.

In all fairness, White Hot and Sinful were just a few years ahead of their time. By this time Angel was a late 70's-early 80's version of Cinderella.

So if you like Classic Styx and Boston you are going to love this album. Once you've been 'annointed' I would recommend Helluva Band and On Earth As It Is In Heaven.

I first heard of Angel in the 70's when the local rock station played full albums in their entirety and they was playing new releases,and one of them was Angel. This band just blew me away and I went out and bought the album the next day(sad to say their later albums never sounded this good). I consider this the first true Progessive Metal record ever made,and probably one of the best since. I give every track a 10 and consider this a must buy. \m/

The first album by Frank, Punky, Greg, Barry, and the rest of Angel. Always with an over-powering stage show and a great presense, the most notable song here is "Tower". Mystic rock is Angel at it's best. If you're into Swords and Sorcery this could be for you. Other songs worth a good listen are "On and On", "Long Time", and "Broken Dreams". Really great guitar work, unbelievable keyboards, and an overpowering drummer are trademarks of Angel. If you already like Angel this album is a must; if you're looking for a taste of Angel's white hot rock you may want to try Anthology first. A warning though, Anthology will leave you craving more of this truely great music, just as ANGEL will.