Wheels of Steel [Import, Original recording remastered]

Saxon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 10, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: EMI France
• ASIN: B001Q2RXJC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,001 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Motorcycle Man

2. Stand Up and Be Counted

3. 747 (Strangers in the Night)

4. Wheels of Steel

5. Freeway Mad

6. See the Light Shining

7. Street Fighting Gang

8. Suzie Hold On

9. Machine Gun

10. Suzie Hold On [1980 Demo Rehearsal] [*][Demo Version]

11. Wheels of Steel [1980 Demo Rehearsal] [*][Demo Version]

12. Stallions of the Highway [Live, B-Side of 747 (Strangers in the Night)]

13. Motorcycle Man [Live at Donington 1980] [Live][*]

14. Freeway Mad [Live at Donington 1980] [Live][*]

15. Wheels of Steel [Live at Donington 1980] [Live][*]

16. 747 (Strangers in the Night) [Live at Donington 1980] [Live][*]

17. Machine Gun [Live at Donington 1980] [Live][*]

Editorial Reviews

1998 Japanese reissue on EMI of the second album by thispremier New Wave Of British Heavy Metal outfit, originallyreleased on the Carrere label in 1980. Nine tracks,including '747 (Strangers In The Night)', 'Stand Up And BeCounted' & 'Motorcycle Man'. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STAND UP, January 25, 2002

By 

Michael Courtney "exiled01" (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wheels of Steel (Audio CD)

Stand up and be counted! One of two discs that I definitely declare must haves by Saxon, the other being Strong Arm of the Law. Much music is meant to be played loud, roaring down the road in your car. Wheels of Steel is one of those albums. From "Motorcycle Man" to "Machine Gun" this discs races from begining to end. The intensity never lets up!

My favorites are "747" and "Freeway Mad", but there is nothing to scoff at here. Discover why Saxon still draws crowds to their live shows with this masterpiece of metal. This is a great start up disc for those who don't know Saxon, although I would suggest spending the extra couple bucks and get the Wheels of Steel/Strong Arm compilation. You will pat yourself on the back for such genius and some lady in leather might just love you for it!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential album, essential reissue, July 24, 2009

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wheels of Steel (Audio CD)

Iron Maiden may be the best known band from the legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene, and rightly so, but for a time Saxon was a close second. Actually, once Maiden acquired Bruce Dickinson and took on the larger world stage, it was Saxon that best embodied the sound and spirit of the NWOBHM scene. The speed, the frantic energy, the "denim and leather" attitude - Saxon had all that and then some.

If Saxon is the quintessential NWOBHM band, their second album - 1980's Wheels of Steel - is their quintessential album. Others may argue that Strong Arm of the Law or Denim and Leather are better albums, but Wheels of Steel was my first exposure to the band and it's still my favorite Saxon album by far. It was a big jump forward in terms of songwriting and musical ability from the self-titled debut, has some of the band's best known songs, and just captures the spirit of the NWOBHM scene completely. Listening to songs like "Motorcycle Man" and "Wheels of Steel" always make me wish I could have seen Saxon live in those early club days (alas, I was only 6).

I could go on and on about this album, but I'll leave it at this: If you're a fan of British heavy metal, particularly the NWOBHM, Wheels of Steel is an absolute must-have album. I'd even go so far as to recommend it to just about every fan of heavy metal...period. Not only is it an important milestone in the genre, it's also a completely rockin' classic metal album that's still a blast to listen to.

Edition Notes - EMI reissued Wheels of Steel (along with most of the early Saxon albums) in 2009. EMI has been responsible for some of the absolute best-sounding classic hard rock reissues lately (see: Whitesnake, UFO, MSG and the Scorpions), so I had high hopes for these Saxon reissues. Fortunately they live up to expectations (and then some).

The digitally remastered sound is a gift from the metal gods, and is far superior to the old CD version of Wheels of Steel. If that weren't enough, there are expanded liner notes and a whopping 8 bonus tracks. The bonus tracks include demo versions of "Suzie Hold On" and "Wheels of Steel", the live b-side "Stallions of the Highway", and live versions of "Motorcycle Man", "Freeway Mad", "Wheels of Steel", "747 (Strangers in the Night)" and "Machine Gun" recorded at the very first Monsters of Rock festival at Donnington in 1980. Any of these features - the remastering, liner notes, bonus tracks - would make replacing your old version of Wheels of Steel worthwhile; the combination of the three makes in mandatory.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NWOBHM masterwork, October 21, 2007

By 

Paul Lawrence "'EJL'" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wheels of Steel (Audio CD)

One of the greatest documents of the NWOBHM, Saxons Wheels of Steel stands head and shoulders above so many of it's peers that it's almost cruel to name names. The simple fact is that apart from the NWOBHM heroes we all know such as Def Leppard only a few of them were actually any good, regardless of how important the movement was in the history of hard rock/heavy metal.

And the fact is that on the strength of this album Saxon were one of the few. This molten slab of pub infused metal is unkempt and raucous in it's delivery, oozing passionate zeal with a band experienced enough to know what they were doing while still being young enough to have that irreplaceable, one off youthful bravado at the opening possibilities. Wheels of Steel is a collection of heads down numbers. The production is simple and traditional as one would expect of the albums vintage. The cover art is minimalist (on my pressing anyway) and the entire package is understated. Except for the music.

Some of Saxons best songs are on this album, Motorcycle Man, 747 (Strangers in the Night) and the title track itself. All are great metal songs that race along with purity of mission. And the reason this album hangs together so well is that even though the other songs all meld together. Every song sounds like it belongs here despite the fact that not all are up to the same standard. An almost AC/DC like consistency is at play here as everything gels.

I truly feel that on this album Saxon hit a groove that they rarely achieved again. It is the place to start for my mind, as opposed to the compilation album entitled Collection of Metal which for me was too middling and spent too much time on their weaker late 80's material. In fact my gut instinct is that this single album is better than that supposed best of. Buy this instead to find out what the fuss was about in regards to Saxon. They were/are a second or even third tier band overall, but here they really do fire up.