Killer on the Rampage [Import]

Eddy Grant | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 12, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Polygram Int'l
• ASIN: B0000076DJ
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,391 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Electric Avenue

2. I Don't Wanna Dance

3. It's All In You

4. War Party

5. Funky Rock 'N' Roll

6. Too Young To Fall

7. Latin Love Affair

8. Another Revolutionary

9. Drop Baby Drop

10. Killer on the Rampage

Editorial Reviews

1996 reissue on Polydor of his top 10 1985 album for the Icelabel. Features nine tracks written, arranged & produced byGrant, including the #2 smash 'Electric Avenue' and the top75 'I Don't Wanna Dance'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Forgotten Classic Still Has Legs, March 29, 1999

By 

Christian Kallen "desktopadventure" (Healdsburg, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Killer on the Rampage (Audio CD)

Weird how some great records go under-recognized, time after time, year after year. Eddy Grant's single Electric Avenue was an alternative radio/dance hit in 1982, strong enough for him to be selected by Michael Douglas to write the theme for "Romancing the Stone" the following year. But it's this album right here that rocks -- "Killer on a Rampage" strikes a bold groove from the opening track (Electric Avenue) and rocks steady thence forward, pounding and swaying through tracks fast and mellow.

As I recall, Eddy Grant was born in Barbados and went to London to become a star. He came close as lead singer of the early multi-racial group The Equals (cited here at Amazon by Andy Partridge of XTC as the best group to get people dancing), and they had a pretty big hit called "Baby Come Back." Grant struck out on his own, for both better and worse: he's a multi-instrumentalist, and an egomaniac, so while he plays all or most of the instruments on his records, on many of his efforts his self-absorption gets in the way. On the "Killer" album things balance out, and though there's the occasional slip-up ("Funky Rock'n'Roll" is completely expendable) for the most part he justifies his self-confidence.

It's hard to pick a favorite from this disc -- "It's All in You" and "Too Young to Fall" are very cool, "War Party" is an anti-imperialist rant equal to Bob Marley's best, the wry rhythms of "Latin Love Affair" are quirkily enjoyable, and the frank horniness of "Drop Baby Drop" is beyond repoach ("I love you like a mango" rates as a great line -- try it in a Samoan pub sometime). But maybe the best, on a par with "Electric Avenue", is "Killer on a Rampage" -- aggressive/protective in the same breath, a drum-tight arrangement pulsing under a smooth synth texture and savage vocal.

Still not convinced? Tim Cahill tells of being shot at by guerrillas in a Central African country, and barely noticing because he had "Killer on a Rampage" turned up so loud. Now that's a recommendation!