Wednesday, March 11, 2015

LE ROUX / SO FIRED UP


Digitized from the original vinyl, released in 1983 on RCA Records
FORMAT: Mp3
BIT RATE: 320 kbps
ALBUM INFO:
Produced By:Leon Medica
Production Assistant: Marlene Bitters]
Recorded at: Studio in the Country, Bogalusa, Louisiana
Engineered By:Warren Dewey, David Farrell, Gene Foster & Bruce Irvine
Mixed At: Capitol Records, Studio C, Los Angeles, California
Mastered At: Capitol Records , Los Angeles, California
Mastering Engineer: Wally Traugott
All Arrangements By: Le Roux
Photo Illustration & Concept: Paul Maxon
Back Cover & Sleeve Photos: Tom Gibson
Design & Art Direction: Mike Doud 
SONG LISTING:
So Fired Up
Lifeline
Let Me In
Yours Tonight
Line On Love
Carrie's Gone
Wait One Minute
Turning Point
Don't Take It Away
Look Out
THE PLAYERS:
Jim Odom - Guitars, Vocals
Rod Roddy - Keyboards, Vocals
David Peters - Drums, Vocals
Leon Medica - Bass, Vocals
Fergie Frederiksen: Percussion, Vocals
Tony Haselden - Guitar, Vocals
WEBSITE:
http://www.laleroux.com/
REVIEW(S): 
By Tom Sawyer on January 22, 2008 
Format: Audio CD Verified Purchase LeRoux had already established itself as one of the most diverse rock bands in history even before this 1983 release. With smash hits like "New Orleans Ladies" (a ballad from the Louisiana's LeRoux days back in 1978), the timeless rock gem "Addicted", and the Top 20 "Nobody Said It Was Easy" from the year before, the boys were well on their way to becoming one of the elite names in AOR for the eighties. Then came the arrival of Fergie Frederiksen.
Ladies and gentleman, this is not your grandfather's Le Roux. You will find no honky-tonk, ho-down, gumbo or southern boogie-blues here.
What the album does do, however, is rock your f-ing socks off!
Rod Roddy's keyboards complement Frederiksen's voice to perfection, but they don't stick out like a sore thumb either. The trio of guitars from Medica, Odom, and Haseldon over-power the keys for the most part and create a blend of hard rock nearly flawless for an 80's AOR album. Frederiksen is so effortlessly smooth here. He hits high notes most people would only dream about. But he does it with such authority. It's as if God himself specifically designed him to be a singer in the 80's. And when you add a healthy dose of re-verb to the equation, forget about it.
There are moments of dangerous predictability here though. For example, the song "Lifeline" uses the dreaded helicopter/synth effect to open the song. This was a gimmick used way too often in the early 80's (i.e. Aldo Nova's "Fantasy", Billy Squier's "In the Dark", and Def Leppard's "Die Hard the Hunter"). There are also many cases where songs start off as ballads, but predictably turn hard. And the true ballad "Wait One Minute" is pretty nonchalant and mediocre. But all is forgiven when the overall product is this good.
And if you're a true AOR buff, you'll recognize the MTV hit "Carrie's Gone" (the most poppy of all the songs), which Fergie wrote after breaking up with Carol Burnett's daughter, Carrie Hamilton. They also did a music video for "Lifeline", which you can see on Fergie's website: (...), or on You Tube, of course.
It's a shame this line-up of the band didn't stay together to do more albums in the 80's. "F" you, RCA! Oh, well. At least we've got this.
 
YOUTUBE: 
https://youtu.be/-3hokNyOD3Y 
CONTACT:  READ THIS for more information on this album

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