Denim & Leather [IMPORT] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Saxon

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 5, 2009)
• Original Release Date: April 28, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: 101 DISTRIBUTION
• ASIN: B001Y8WAJQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,015 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the British Metal monsters' 1981 album including nine bonus tracks. Denim And Leather, the band's fourth album, was originally released on the Carrere label and catches the band at an early commercial and creative peak, featuring the classic singles 'Princess Of The Night', 'Never Surrender' and their tribute to their appearance at the first Castle Donington Festival, 'And The Bands Played On'. The album now includes the Nigel Thomas remix of '20,000 Ft.', available on CD for the first time, plus the otherwise unavailable 'Bap Shoo Ap' (recorded at the Monsters Of Rock Festival in 1980), both of which were originally B-sides of the now highly collectable 'Never Surrender' double seven inch single. Also included are no less than seven live tracks recorded on the 1981 Denim And Leather tour. EMI. 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Saxon - remastered!, October 2, 2009

By	Justin Gaines "Corporate Rocker" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Iron Maiden may be the best known band from the legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene, and rightly so, but for a time Saxon was a close second. Actually, once Maiden acquired Bruce Dickinson and took on the larger world stage, it was Saxon that best embodied the sound and spirit of the NWOBHM scene. The speed, the frantic energy, the "denim and leather" attitude - Saxon had all that and then some.

Saxon's trademark sound changed a bit in 1981 when they recorded Denim and Leather, their fourth album in just three years (I still can't get over that). The label brought in a new producer (Nigel Thomas) and I think that cost them some of the unique feel of Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law. Still, the band was getting better with each passing year, and their songwriting skills kept improving. Denim and Leather features some of the best known Saxon tunes, including metal anthems "Play It Loud", "Never Surrender" and of course the rousing title track. In addition to the fist-pumping metal songs, there are some surprisingly good mid-tempo numbers like "Princess of the Night" and "Midnight Rider" that appeal on a totally different level.

It's probably not as essential as Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law, but Denim and Leather is still a totally worthwhile album that all Saxon fans should own. I'd also recommend it to just about any fan of classic heavy metal in general and British metal in particular.

Edition Notes - EMI reissued Denim and Leather (along with the rest of the early Saxon albums) in 2009. EMI has been responsible for some of the best-sounding classic hard rock reissues lately (see: Whitesnake, UFO, MSG and the Scorpions), and their Saxon reissues do not disappoint. In addition to the digitally remastered sound, the reissue of Denim and Leather features expanded liner notes by Classic Rock Magazine's Malcolm Dome and a whopping nine bonus tracks, essentially doubling the original album's length. The first bonus track is a remix of "20,000 Ft." (from the Never Surrender single), and the rest are live tracks from that era. Between the remastered sound, liner notes and bonus tracks, there are plenty of reasons to replace your old version of Denim and Leather.

PS - When you line up the spines of the EMI Saxon reissues they form the Saxon logo and the Wheels of Steel cover icon. I'm a total geek for stuff like that!