Customer Reviews

Law Of The Order

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

 

 

1989's Law of the Order was the major label debut from L.A. melodic rockers Shark Island. I'm not sure how I missed these guys the first time around. I enjoyed their work on the Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989 Film) soundtrack, and knew of vocalist Richard Black's involvement in the Contraband project, but for whatever reason never picked up a copy of Law of the Order when it was originally released.

I wish I hadn't waited so long to check out Law of the Order, because it is definitely my kind of melodic rock album, full of great melodies, catchy guitar hooks, and Richard Black's gritty, midrange voice, which sounds a bit like a less obnoxious version of Billy Idol's. Essentially, it's L.A. Guns without the sleaze. You can still hear the band's glam metal roots here and there, but this was definitely not just another lipstick and spandex kind of band. Sure, it's formulaic, but it's a formula that worked well at the time, and it's still more fun to listen to than most of what's on the radio today. Standout tracks include rockers Shake for Me and Passion to Ashes, power ballad Bad for Each Other, and the band's rocking version of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain.

Law of the Order is well worth hunting down if you're a serious fan of the 80's melodic hard rock scene, especially of bands like Dokken, XYZ, Leatherwolf, and Hurricane.

The track listing is as follows:

1. Paris Calling
2. Shake for Me
3. Somebody's Falling
4. Bad for Each Other
5. Passion to Ashes
6. Spellbound
7. Get Some Strange
8. Why Should I Believe
9. Ready or Not
10. The Chain

Too bad they weren't that huge. Smart musicianship from the entire band. I love the way Richard Black moves. He FEELS his songs and I can see why. Catchy tunes and beautiful ballads. Stand out tracks: Paris Calling, Somebody's Falling, Passion to Ashes, and Get Some Strange. Trust me...I think you'll like this album.

Shark Island should have been huge. One listen to this album and you'll see why. The guitar tone, very catchy riffs and melodies, and amazing vocals by Richard Black make this album extremely underrated and overlooked unfortuneatly. Whenever I play this album for my friends they all love it. Damn epic records for not pushing this album more or at all. I wouldn't know I was 5 when it came out. But who cares, it's still here...it may be hard to find but it's around. I listen to it at least 3 times a week.

Stand out tracks...
Paris Calling
Shake for Me
Somebody's Falling
Bad for Each Other
Passion to Ashes
Spellbound
Get Some Strange
Why Should I Believe
The Chain

S**t thats damn near all of them. Ready or Not I didn't really like that much, but 9 out of 10 aint bad by any means. My point is...BUY THIS ALBUM!

I don't know about five stars for the album but the opening song, "Paris Calling", one of my all time favorite hard rock songs, is worth six stars alone. Song two, "Shake for Me" also is a great song and reminds me of Alice Cooper.

Lead Singer, Richard Black, has an excellent technique and does a super job. Songs three through ten are good as well(at least four stars) and "Get Some Strange" is another fabulous song. This should have been a big hit but just as it was released Nirvana and Pearl Jam came on the scene with grunge.

If I were to compare Shark Island with anybody the obvious comparison would be Guns and Roses or Great White and there ain't nut'n wrong with that!

KILLER CUTS:
Paris Calling
Shake Foe Me
Somebody's Falling
Passion to Ages
Get Some Strange
Why Should I Believe
The Chain

This has to be reguarded as one of the finest albums,if not debut albums of all time.From start to finsh there is excellent quality to the musicianship,and the standard of songs is just first class.From Paris calling to The Chain to quality if songs never diminish.Wish I knew what other projects singer richard black has gone on to lead.All i can say is that if you like music from the 1980's,new90's then this is a band that seriously needed some airtime on radio and tv.I was never quite sure at the time why this band were ignored,but with a lot of light/heavy rock bands around the start of the 90,s they were dumped for the "o so happy" seattle scene.This band are owed a lot more respect than that,if you are wise you will give them a go and i asure you that you will not be disappionted

Just when people began to embrace inferior music because it conveyed a certain Seattle image this band went straight under the radar screen... too bad for a band Axl Rose often said had one of the best singers he had ever heard. This CD is solid. The only reason it misses the 5th star is there are some production weaknesses. The sound can be a bit hollow at times, something is missing, but otherwise, and to most listeners that aren't as picky, if you loved the 80's metal/hard rock scene you will love this album and regret you never bought it to help sustain more productions from this band. "Paris Calling" is outstanding and had a really cool video that went along with the song. The CD has solid tracks all the way through, including a great ballad called "Bad for Each Other," which was remade by a band the singer (Richard Black) was in with members from Vixen, Ratt, MSG, and LA Guns (Contraband)... Contraband's only album was simply a collaboration of cover songs, and among all the giants they covered they chose to include this Shark Island song. Contraband is an entirely different subject though; for now check out this Shark Island CD. It wraps up with a KILLER version of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain. Nirvana was a good band, but we bought so many of their CD's we forgot good bands like this one. Oh well.

I bought this cd based on the reviews i read and thats the last time I buy a cd based on reviews. This cd sucks. Plain and simple. Anyone that listens to this and thinks wow what an awesome band are probably the same people that bought back street boys and n synch cds. I might actually rather listen to one of those cd's than to this garbage. Theres a reason why this band never made it big or why they never were in magazines or there videos werent shown on mtv its because they suck. The lyrics arent catchy theres no memorable choruses to sing along with and the guitar solos are boring. I wont comment on the way they look seeings how looks dont have anything to do with how they sound but they didnt have many groupies thats for sure. If you must own this cd send me a message and ill sell you my copy oh and if i do NO REFUNDS.

I love 80's rock but i never heard of this band. After hearing Paris Calling on the radio, it took awhile to find out who the band was. I am pleased with thier perfomance.

..what a great band, and what an injustice the fact that SI never dominated the charts like they deserved to.
A grittier sound than many of their contemporaries and RBlack's snarl help make the band stand out, while the disc is full of infectous choruses and a great guitar sound. This CD really stands the test of time. Give it a try!

Shark Island is definately one of the most underrated bands from the 80's. These guys rock, if you dig 80's hair metal/glam rock, you need to have this one in your collection.