Customer Reviews

Wheels of Steel

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4 star:		(3)
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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!

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.

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.

When Saxon entered Rampart Studios in February of 1980 to record their breakthrough LP (and second overall) "Wheels of Steel," the NWOBHM was just starting to really unfold, and would arguably peak later that year, with debut records being released by the scene's top contenders, most notably Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Diamond Head, Tygers of Pan Tang and Girlschool.

With the exception of Iron Maiden, none of those groups however, not even Def Leppard, would chart that year as high as these working class boys from Barnsley. With the strength of singles from the record such as "747 (Strangers in the Night)" and the title track, "Wheels of Steel" actually at one time reached #5 in the U.K. national charts. Astonishing, especially for an independent, underground recording from a previously little known heavy metal band. (Can you imagine that happening in the U.S.?)

Listening to this CD you can hear why. This was then and now the ideal music for speeding down the freeway with this particular album blaring loud (probably on an eight track at the time). The aforementioned title track is particularly earthshaking, taking the deceptively simple but highly catchy riff patterns of bands like AC/DC before them and merging them with the reverb of early Motorhead. Side 2 of the original vinyl opens with the track that best embodies this spirit, "Freeway Mad." The record's second half actually proves to be speed metal city for the most part, on standout scorchers like "See the Light Shining" and "Machine Gun." Sure, Motorhead and Judas Priest before them had at times been fast, but Saxon were FAST. You just did not find tempos this rapid in music in 1980 without crossing over into hardcore punk, making Saxon one of speed metal's true pioneers.

These 2009 remasters are infinitely superior to any previous pressings of their early albums, both in sound quality and packaging. They boast a much fuller and more roomy sound than older editions, more like listening to the original LP, but without the expected crackles and pops of 30-year-old vinyl records. To add to that there are great and informative liner notes with input from frontman Biff Byford himself. The icing on the cake is that each CD contains a reproduction of the original LP's back cover, making them essential for collectors.

Saxon would just keep getting better and better and followed up "Wheels of Steel" with two even better LPs (one later the same year!). "Wheels of Steel" though remains a defining moment in the band's career and brings you right back to the excitement of the early NWOBHM scene. Highly recommended.

There are no words to describe what a heavy metal milestone this album represents. I got the two pack Wheels of steel/strong arm of the law and Steel is so astoundingly terrific it defies description. Every song is a winner especially Motorcycle man (the lead guitar solo loosens dental fillings) and Wheels of steel has a cat scratch fever feel to it but is an instant classic of metal. Quit reading this and start playing the cd. WOW!!! Metal music to last a lifetime.

This album produced many of the Saxon classics that are still being showcased at their live performances. Saxon scored direct hits with the opening quartet of "Motorcycle Man", "Stand Up and Be Counted", "747(Strangers in the Night)", and "Wheels of Steel". The second side doesn't let up and ends with another concert favorite "Machine Gun". I've often wondered why Saxon never became more popular here in the States. They have every element that makes a great band and "Wheels of Steel" does nothing but confirm this statement.

Saxon's "Wheels of Steel" was my introduction into saxon and NWOBHM era bands. I really have to say that this album was mindblowing! it blew the windows out of my house, Saxon really knew what true heavy metal was! This is an alternitive to other british metal bands like def leppard, iron maiden and judas preist that have been consumed by the commercail sickness and have had been repeating the same formula for over 20 years. Saxon is all out kick @$$ metal. the first track of the album will get you right in the action,"motorcycle man" is a fast paced rocker simular to deep purple "highway star" but much heavier. other mentionables include "747,stangerinthenight" which is about a 747 low on gas with no place to land. the title track is a mid paced heavy tune that is pretty good but can get repeatative with its lyrics at time. "freeway mad" is another fast driving song like"motorcycle" is. my favorite song on the album "see the light shining" is probably the center piece of the album, words can't describe it, must listen. "street fighting gang" is a awesome song as well. this is one of the best heavy rock albums i'v listend to, i espessicaly like pete gills druming techniques on this one, he is a solid time keeper and has some interesting double bass techniques as well. and as always i love paul quinns guitar tone as with any saxon album. awesome disc...

SAXON RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The golden age of British metal is well represented with this CD by Saxon. It has great tunes. hard and tough. Ironically, the tittle track "Wheels of Steel", albeit being a classic, is the one I like the lesser, because it has only one riff through all the song.

One of the fathers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Saxon has always been one of the top names when it comes to bands "without one best album". There's a Saxon album for each kind of metal fan. If you enjoy some hard/heavy similar to Scorpions, try mixing Scorpions' "Pictured Life" and Iron Maiden's "Aces High" or "The Wicker Man". The result is Wheels of Steel, one of the masterpieces of traditional Heavy Metal, in the old British style. Excellent album!

Wheels of Steel is the terrific sophomore album from one of the best rock groups of the eighties.This album features some of their big hits like the trtle track and Motorcycle man.Highly recommended.