Customer Reviews

Girls With Guns

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Tommy Shaw was in the throes of anger, frustration and substance abuse when he left the band STYX to pursue a solo career. GIRLS WITH GUNS was his moderately successful solo debut.

It has been noted in interviews that some of the songs contained within were rejected by the band for previous STYX releases but Tommy recorded them (and others) to create a sometimes eclectic, often amazing and always wonderful album.

From the jaunty tribute to independent women title track, through the nearly overly-sweet LITTLE GIRL WORLD, through the haunting power ballad of emotional exploration KISS ME HELLO, to the spirited RACE IS ON, Tommy shows his penchant for diversity within this album, while holding on to remnants of the STYX sound that propelled his rise to stardom.

FREE TO LOVE YOU, OUTSIDE IN THE RAIN and LONELY SCHOOL all meld into a wonderful album that emotionally ebbs and flows to take the listener for a roller coaster ride of phonic delight, while holding court with subtle autobiographical self-analysis - "I left the band, steadied my hand and learned a trade" - woven throughout the songs.

While my favorite album, by my favorite musician is his sophomore release WHAT IF, GIRLS WITH GUNS is unquestionably tied for my second favorite album of all time, along with 7 DEADLY ZENS.

If you are a fan of emotionally driven, introspective songs with more than a hint of STYX style, then GIRLS WITH GUNS is a must have for your musical collection. As much, people who disliked STYX and listened to this album gave it remarkably positive reviews. It is true rock and roll.

Viva la Tommy Shaw.

Excellent CD!!! Tommy's solo work is definitely cherished. Favorite song off of the CD is "Kiss Me Hello".

I have been recently transfering all my CD collection onto my PC, and finally got to the "S"'s, where of course I ran across my "Girls with guns" CD. From seeing what the recent prices for this CD have been, it may pain some of you to hear that I bought my copy at a used CD store back in "88" or "89", for a whopping .99 cents. Any way, this is a very solid solo effort from Tommy. Back in 1984, when I first heard "Girls with guns", I ran out and bought it in cassette right away. Along with "Girls with guns", "Heads up", and "Outside in the rain", these three songs alone make it more than worth owning. Those three songs would MAKE any Styx album a stand out (much as "Crystal Ball" did for the album of the same name, and "Renegade", and "Blue Collar Man" did for "Pieces of Eight). I don't know if this CD was ever re-issued along the way, but my A+M copy still sounds great even by today's standards.

On a side note, I also remember seeing Tommy on MTV back in 1984 talking about the GWG's video. He said they originally made a video with Tommy and his band jumping up and down and bouncing around all over the place. He said after he'd wathced it, he felt sick about it and so they re-shot the video with the black and white, filmed in one take with no breaks in the video, version. Yes, I do believe this is Tommy's most solid solo effort, and still feels great to listen to 21 years later.

Like others, I also bought Tommy Shaw's solo album Girls With Guns when it first came out on vinyl. Sadly, I gave my record collection away years ago and am now anxious to find this album on CD. I refuse to pay the grossly inflated prices that I'm seeing on-line ($225.00 and up!) and am hopeful someone will remaster and reissue this high-quality effort by TS.

This is a classic, and no, Girls With Guns is not the best song on the album, though that is the only song that most people remember. Lonely School was also a top 40 hit, though it didn't go as high as Girls did. The other tracks, however, are the hidden jewels here. Come In and Explain, Kiss Me Hello, and Outside In the Rain are classics. Free to Love You and The Race is On are great tracks as well. What I like about this album is that it is built on a great mix of guitar, vocals, and piano/synthesizer. Also, the backing vocals are predominantly a montage of Tommy Shaw. Most of the music is just good rock and roll, though at times there are points where synthesizer and saxaphone give a song more of a pop lean. Back when this album came out in 1984, I was into Van Halen, Ozzy, Ratt, Motley Crue, etc. I would have been the first to try and discredit this album even though Tommy is from my hometown. This album wasn't what I was used to listening to in the way of heaviness, but the music was so good, I couldn't do anything but admire this album. I still have this cd in my collection today and would rate it in my top 25 rock albums of the 1980's.

When Tommy split from Styx, and went solo, this was his first album. From Girls With Guns to the ending of The Race is On, you're drawn through emotion after emotion. The title track, Girls with Guns, is a perky song that has you bouncing. Next comes Come In and Explain, a hard rocking song that is one of my favorites. Lonely School may be a ballad, but its a great song and rocks for a ballad. The jewel of a song Kiss Me Hello (Track 5) is simply awesome, and the piano solo in the Extended version is to die for. The song, with or without that, is awesome. Free to Love You is anotehr track that deserves mention, and on the whole, an excellent album. A must for any Tommy Shaw fan, and any Styx fan. He only got better after this album... if there is anything better than excellent!

This is Tommy Shaw's first solo release after he initially departed the band Styx. The music is very 80s, but good 80s. All of the songs are pretty good, if you are a fan of Shaw or what he did with Styx. If you are not a Styx or Tommy fan, you might not like some of the songs here. The title song is the most known song from this release. The video that was released in 1984 when this first came out was a continuous shot, with no cuts, after the initial video was canned because Tommy thought that it was not really him. The album has a couple of ballads that are decent. The CD was out of print for a while, so I would suggest getting it if you are a fan.

Recently, this cd was on E-bay for at least $60-$200.00 for "die-hard" Tommy Shaw plans. There was a cry to reissue, which was recently done. The title track, "Girls with Guns," is an excellent showcase for Tommy's voice and his "will to rock", which in my opinion of reading many articles about him feeling "stifled" in "STYK" for not being able to be as creative as he'd like. "Lonely School" is another great song. You can really feel that he had a blast making this album. And although it's 24 years old, the sound is great and definitley a must for any "Tommy Shaw" fan.

When I learned my teenage idol, Jack Blades of Night Ranger, had joined forces with Tommy Shaw in 1989, my only exposure to Styx had been "Come Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto." But an Army friend of mine had "Girls With Guns," which I bought from him alongside "What If," Tommy's second LP -- which I liked somewhat less.

I had only recently begun to explore progressive rock, with Yes and Rush, so Tommy's use of keyboards intrigued me as a musician. But it was his blues guitar style coupled with his unique voice that impressed me, and when I heard Damn Yankees, I thought there wasn't enough Tommy Shaw!

My favorites were the title track, Lonely School, and Kiss Me Hello, with Little Girl World and Outside in the Rain running close seconds. Like Dennis DeYoung's "Desert Moon," Tommy's first solo album would be his best work outside Styx. I would agree his voice improved by his 1987 album "Ambition," but his songs were fresher and better produced on "Girls With Guns."

This was always one of my favorites in high school. I just about wore the cassette copy I had of this out in my car stereo in my late teens and early twenties.

Wouldn't you know it? Here I am converting all my CD's to my iPod, and when I go looking for my Girls with Guns CD to put in my "Glory Days" playlist, I had already carted it off to the used CD sahop as I was trying to sell off my collection to off-set the charge on my Mastercard for the iPod. I checked the shop I thought I had sold it to, but no luck. Somebody was obviously smarter than me, which really is no leap. I've found other copies on cassette, but don't have the equipmemt to convert that to MP3. Currently, there's one copy available here on Amazon on CD, but this dude want $550.00! I really don't think oi want to replace it that bad right now. Hopefully soon, it'll be re-mastered.