02. Saxon Denim and Leather 1981 (Carrere)
Heavy Metal
The end to an amazing metal triumvirate!
Overview
Denim and Leather would universally be seen as Saxon’s most acclaimed album, which is not surprising as the band were riding the crest of the wave in 1981. As the previous year they had scorched the metal world with an enviable collection of proto-speed and testosterone metal classics, and it seemed the band had these type of cuts by the truckload. They had also toured the UK extensively and as leaders of the NWOBHM they were a popular draw at major metal festivals and had been headliners at the ‘Donington Monsters of Rock’ festival the previous year and were also a regular metal feature on Top of the Pops at this time as well (for any non-Brits it was a very popular top 40 singles show and regular metal would feature on it in the early 1980s due to its popularity) all factors which put them right up there with fellow heavyweights Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. The band would no longer continue with producer Pete Hinton and bring in another producer in Nigel Thomas who does a similar and solid job. This would also be the last album featuring the band’s classic line-up, as drummer Pete Gill would leave the band because of a hand injury before later winding up in Motorhead. As the album title suggests, the material revolves around the band’s favourite themes of denim, leather, booze, bikes and birds, and yet again they would give us their spiralling riffs, tight drumming, rampant vocals and an eviable collection of heavy metal anthems. These themes had been heavily focused on with
Wheels of Steel, but in turn had given over to more general themes for
Strong Arm of the Law, and this lyrical generalisation would now go onto feature on
Denim and Leather. ‘Biff’s Budgie’ would again feature on the album cover, but for a band of their status it was somewhat disappointing to see their lack of variation when it came to album covers over their last three albums. I’ve also mentioned before why Saxon never quite attained the same level of long term success as their nearest NWOBHM rivals Iron Maiden or Def Leppard did and surely the most notable aspect here, is the fact that the band had released a trio of classic metal albums in just a 17 month period. Meaning that the band had poured out their creativity far too quickly, which led to a kind of a creative meltdown by the band after the release of
Denim and Leather, which couldn’t have come at a worse time as their biggest rivals were hitting the US market in true conquering style and this would be time that the band wouldn’t be able to make up over the next couple of years despite all their efforts.
Verdict
Over the course of the last few years Saxon had demonstrated that hard work with a signature stripped-back sound and real enthusiasm had been vital cogs for their success in the UK, Europe and Japan, and they had proved that they were probably the most important band in terms of sheer energy for the success of the NWOBHM in its prime exposure years of 1980 and 1981. Even in 1982 when they didn’t release a studio album, they were still major metal headliners on their European Tour and even had Ozzy Osbourne opening for them! As for the album, the opening track “Princess of the Night” is without doubt a quality track put out by a band that totally feel at ease with their own sound and ability, and the track is one of the album’s three singles and supposedly it's a love song about a train! This vein of form continues onto the second track “Never Surrender” which despite not being as strong as the previous song, does carry the same spirit across to the listener and the same can be said for “Play it Loud” as well. But the real quality of this album lies in its ‘album cuts’ those songs that are simply made to bulk out the album, but with pure quality rather than filler and this can be heard on songs like the composed “Out of Control” the slightly faster “Rough and Ready” the slick “Midnight Rider” and the nearest that the band ever get to speed metal on the album “Fire in the Sky”. These songs show a real composure that meld the compositonal ability of the band with their melodic metal ability, a fusion that few bands could really match at the time. This though does come at the cost of the band’s speed metal intuitions from their previous two albums, but then again Saxon weren’t looking to recreate the previous two albums here. The two jewels of the album though are “And the Bands Played On” surely one of the most infectious commercial efforts to be put out by any metal band around this time and finally the band’s ode to metal, the classic title cut “Denim and Leather” which seemingly reaccounts the rise of the NWOBHM from 1979 to 1981. Biff Byford's vocals can be seen to be a continuation in terms of quality from
Strong Arm of the Law, as the greater depth of the music being churned out here, gives him a perfect platform to dominate across its nine tracks. The controlled riffing of Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn is at times played within their own limitations, but also played to their strengths as well. Comparing the three classic albums from the band’s ‘golden period’
Wheels of Steel tends to have greater stand out tracks, for example in its single’s material and heavy metal anthems, but in terms of songwriting
Strong Arm of the Law shows a greater level of consistency, with no weak tracks in its listing. But
Denim and Leather is largely superior to either of the two previous albums due to its more composed feel, which comes from a band that are truly aware that they’re at the top of their game.
Biff Byford- Vocals
Graham Oliver- Guitar
Paul Quinn- Guitar
Steve Dawson- Bass
Pete Gill- Drums
Production- Nigel Thomas/Saxon