Blue Murder's self titled was one helluva way to kick off the 90's. Produced by none other than the mighty Bob Rock and fronted by legendary guitarist John Sykes (Tygers Of Pan Tang, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, and a variety of others), this was easily the best record that emerged from the last "wave" of glam bands that formed on the cusp of grunge and alternative rock's rise to power across the U.S. and beyond. Huge sound, huge songs and plenty of atmosphere and cool ideas strewn around to boot: Blue Murder weren't your typical "hair metal" outfit, and neither was the music. In fact, there's a lot of stuff here that's downright strange, from the psychedelic 'Sex Child' to the seven minute prog-tastic piledriver 'Valley Of The Kings', which actually managed to chart AND get play on MTV before they shut out anything with a G&R-ish sound permanently.

To put it mildly, this album positively SLAYS. Besides the virtuosic Sykes and his refreshingly out-of-the-box approach to the stadium glam sound, you have Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice pounding those skins so hard its like he managed to channel Bonham up out of the underworld and the quiet but efficient Tony Franklin on bass who, ironically enough, played with Jimmy Page before jumping on board with this debut. There have been stranger power trios all throughout rock and metal history since its genesis in the early 70's, but Blue Murder have a chemistry that only the best of those managed to attain. It's hard to say what drove these guys to put out something with this much vitality and power when nobody was expecting it: Sykes being pissed off about David Coverdale firing everyone from Whitesnake a few years prior might have been part of it, but considering that this particular lineup would break up within two years of this debut makes this a questionable line of reasoning. It wasn't like Tony or Carmine had anything to prove. Perhaps we'll never know...

Of the various records on this list, most of the glam ones never really tried to be anything other than straightforward, uncomplicated adherers to an established aesthetic of some kind. Blue Murder, however, is far heavier and more diverse than your typical "hair" album, and for that reason you should all be checking it out if you have even the tiniest rockin' bone in your body.