Customer Reviews

Red Rider

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

 

 

I bought this CD for the song "White Hot" and found that the entire album is great. Best known in the States for "Lunatic Fringe", Red Rider and Tom Cochrane capture the best of the Big 80's with this collection of up-tempo rock songs and well thought out lyrics with this impressive number of songs from 1980-1984. Other highlights include "Power", "Can't Turn Back", "Napoleon..",and "Crack The Sky". You may also see the album listed as "Over 60 Minutes with...Red Rider".

This prolific rock band from the Great White North was never really recognized in the States for anything more than the hit "Lunatic Fringe". A great song, to say the least, but Red Rider was so much more than this one song. This compilation covers the first five years of the 80s from four albums. The creative pen work of Tom Cochrane gave the band its material as Ken Greer gave it weight with his slide guitar sound. These two would remain the mainstay of the band throughout their career together.

These songs are great anthems of the 80s, and there are few that appear here that are not worthwhile, but most may be unknown to the American population. If nothing else, Cochrane's poetic ability is the lifeblood of these songs. "Napoleon Sheds His Skin" is a perfect example where his words paint a picture of a story just as colorful as the music. The quiet "Avenue A" rings with solo arpeggio guitar and Cochrane's soulful voice introducing the song before the rest of the band comes in. Again, a song that is a story. Other great cuts are "White Hot", "Cowboys in Hong Kong" and "Power".

Any fan of 80s mainstream music will like Red Rider. It was unfortunate that they could not break through the boarders and receive some more airplay in America, but they did leave their mark upon the music world. A great band well worth the listen.

This is another one of those bands who due to poor promotion did not crack the US Market to the extent their material deserved. Many of the songs on this album should be "Classics", and to those of us who have followed this band for years, are.

I would highly recommend this CD to anyone, whether familiar with the band or not. You will be impressed with the music and lyrics, and probably disappointed you had not listened earlier.

I was in Toronto Canada for Canada Day on July 1st and got to see Red Rider perform several songs live from this CD and they were GREAT ! Being from the USA I had never heard them before, but they put on the best show. Ken Greer's guitar playing was awesome and Tom Cochran has a great sound as the lead vocals. This CD is well worth the 5 stars I gave it. I bought it, listened to it, and recommend it all the way.

This is a nicely thought out single disc set that was amazingly hard to track down as few as five years ago. Now it seems I see it everywhere. As budget Red Rider hits cd's go, this one is far better than the other single disc set because of it's length and song selection. This is the one to buy if you are only interested in a single disc, but the double disc set is the real way to go. (And the Ashes To Diamonds box set is better still!)
Another great Tom Cochrane/Red Rider cd is The Symphony Sessions, which I can't seem to find anywhere any more. Tom and the boys backed by a symphony add a whole new dimension to the music. Highly recommended.

I never got to hear the whole album. The only time I heard this group was when MTV used to play Lunatic Fringe. I spent years looking for anything by Red Rider. If the rest of the album is even half as good ,I will be happy.