Customer Reviews

Shake Your Soul

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My musical tastes are firmly rooted in the classic rock era (the sounds of my youth) so it may seem odd to some that I am offering an opinion on a band that comes out of the hair metal/MTV rock era. Or perhaps it isn't so surprising after all since there are many people out there who understand that good music is timeless and that it lives on to influence more good music over and over again. The period of time when Baton Rouge released their debut album certainly put that belief to the test. The popularity of music videos had unleashed "made-for-tv" musicians by the score. There were still good bands out there that made music their primary focus but you had to work hard to find them. I was fortunate to have a good friend who was more than happy to help me with this task (Thanks Bryan !!!). It was at his insistence that I purchased a copy of Baton Rouge's 1990 release "Shake Your Soul". I immediately realized that I had found another link in the chain of timeless good music.

"Shake Your Soul" is an outstanding effort by a band that should have been at the top of its class. Kelly Keeling has an excellent voice (check out his solo work as well as he has worked with Alice Cooper, Blue Murder, Michael Schenker, John Norum, Don Dokken, Carmine Appice/Guitar Zeus, and many other notable artists) and Lance Bulen's guitar work is superb. The band is tight and the production is solid. As for the music itself, it ROCKS. There is a good mix of hard rock ("Doctor", "Big Trouble", "Bad Time Comin' Down" , "Hot Blood Movin'", "Baby's So Cool"), heavy groove ("Walks Like A Woman", "Spread Like Fire"), power ballads ("It's About Time", "There Was A Time"), and , for lack of a better term, in-betweeners ("Young Hearts", "Melenie"). No wasted space on this one.

"Shake Your Soul" continues to be on my play list after all these years. So here is a challenge to those of you out there who consider yourselves to be experts on this genre: compare the music on "Shake Your Soul" against that which you hold to be the best of the genre and see how it measures up. Once you do, you may find yourself adding Baton Rouge to the top of the list.

If you were a fan of the hair bands of the 80's do not pass this one up. I happened across this in a bargin bin in 1996 and I have to tell you that all the songs on this CD are good. I may pass up the ballads like "It's about time" at times but over all it is about the only cd I own that is enjoyable from start to finish. My personal favorite is "Burn Like Fire" which is the last song on the CD. I am still puzzled why this CD didnt get alot of air play. There are lots of heavy riffs and power ballads to fill just about every rockers taste. It is now a real rare cd to find so pick this one up! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

This is a great CD for fans of 80s hard rock or hair metal...
there is strong songwriting throughout and the production and performance are top notch

I'm not sure why they never hit big but they certainly should have
this CD sounds like a mix of Danger Danger,Loverboy,Bad English,Bad Company and even at times Whitesnake
this is one of the rare CDs that includes several songs that I enjoy listening to over and over and one song 'Baby's So Cool' is one of my very favorite hard rock songs of all time and made it's way into regular rotation on my internet radio show!

the upside:great songwriting,production and performance,the best songs are 'Baby's So Cool','Doctor','Walks Like A Woman','It's About Time','Bad Time Comin' Down','Melenie','There Was A Time'

the downside:there are a few filler songs...but out of 12 songs I'd say only 2 are filler and that's definitely not bad at all

the bottom line: this is a great CD for fans of 80s style hard rock...recommended for fans of Poison,Danger Danger,Loverboy,Bad English and even Christian rock band X'Terra's CD 'Wolves' Baton Rouge Shake Your Soul is well worth looking for...donutman says so!!!

Melodic rockers Baton Rouge hit the scene in 1990 with their debut album Shake Your Soul. The band, led by singer/guitarist Kelly Keeling, enlisted former Surgin' mainman (and onetime Bon Jovi collaborator) Jack Ponti to assist with songwriting on this album. The result is an album firmly rooted in the melodic rock/hair metal sound that was so incredibly popular at the time. It's all about big guitar hooks, catchy melodies, rock anthems, and power ballads. There are some incredibly radio-friendly songs on this album, and it should have put the band in the same category as bands like Ratt or Warrant, but for whatever reason Baton Rouge never quite became a household name.

While I prefer the band's 1991 follow-up album Lights out on the Playground, Shake Your Soul is still an album that every serious 80's rock fan should own. Let's face it - they don't make `em like this anymore.

NOTE: Wounded Bird reissued Shake Your Soul in 2008. Like all Wounded Bird reissues, it has not been digitally remastered, nor does it have any bonus material. It's great to see this forgotten album back in print, but if you already own the 1990 version there's no need to replace it.

The product was delivered in very good condition. I have no complaints and recommend this seller.

This is very under-rated and very good! Baton Rouge never made it big, their timing was a bit off. But the songs are strong and the musicianship excellent. iF I have a complaint, it is that this is atad over-produced and slick, but the songs will stick in your head for days after you hear them. If you appreciate this genre (80's type blues-rock), this is a great cd.

i had this album before and had lost it . i saw it on amazon.com and brought it. it was a good album.out of 12 tracks 10 are great and the other 2 could have been done better.

This album is very solid and; This was the Baton Rouge Album that GOT airplay. Lights Out On The Playground got NO airplay. Walk Like A Woman was a minor hit and made you think more was to come.
These guys are straight ahead rock, with great hooks and BIG choruses on each song. This album is NOT as good as "Lights Out", but it has it's moments. Doctor, It's About Time, Bad Time Comin Down and There Was A Time(The Storm) are all excellent.
Kelly Keeling can sing... he has worked with Michael Schenker recently and that should tell you something.

another great album for this great rock n'roll band from teh eighties, another combo of very good songs and a very good performance from the band.
if you don't any records of B.R. just pick this up!

Track Listings:

1. Doctor
2. Walks Like A Woman
3. Big Trouble
4. It's About Time
5. Bad time Comin' Down
6. The Midge (Instrumental)
7. Baby's So Cool
8. Your Hearts
9. Melenie
10. There Was A Time (The Storm)
11. Hot Blood Movin'
12. Spread Like Fire