Blue Murder: Discography (1989 - 1994)

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Blue Murder: Discography (1989 - 1994)

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Blue Murder features Carmine Appice on drums, John Sykes of Whitesnake fame on guitar, and Tony Franklin, who played with The Firm, on bass. Great supergroup playing some heavy riffs and nice, blues-influenced hard rock. Melodic but not too soft.

by Robert DeFreitas, AMG

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Blue Murder: Discography (1989 - 1994)

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Blue Murder: Discography (1989 - 1994)

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After helping singer David Coverdale reinvent Whitesnake both sonically and aesthetically for the image-conscious American market, guitar hero John Sykes acrimoniously left the group when it became apparent that there was only room enough for one overblown ego in it: Coverdale's. Hardly ones to let a good thing slip away, though, the executives at Whitesnake's label, Geffen Records (specifically A&R super-guru John Kalodner), immediately signed Sykes to a new development deal and proceeded to aid and abet him in founding his own supergroup, Blue Murder, with veteran bassist Tony Franklin and nearly geriatric drummer Carmine Appice (whose career probably started before Sykes was even born!). Released in 1989, the power trio's eponymous debut was produced to pompous perfection by none other than Bob Rock, whose golden ears for bombastic yet consumer-friendly '80s metal were truly second to none at the time – other than the one and only Mutt Lange, of course. And perhaps more than any of Rock's jobs prior to his hook-up with Metallica, Blue Murder proves it, thanks to songs ranging from muscular power-chord hell-fests like "Riot" and "Blue Murder"; to blues-inflected fare like "Jelly Roll" (whose video was soon all over MTV); to the all-important, overly lush (and frankly not all that good) power ballad "Out of Love." But the album has also become rather dated over the years, because of its frequent indulgence in the same sort of unchecked, peroxide-fueled "Bad Zeppelin-isms" that were then being shamelessly appropriated by bands like Kingdom Come and Sykes' own former boss, David Coverdale, and the reborn Whitesnake. As such, prime offenders like the gratuitously preening "Sex Child," the impressively epic "Valley of the Kings," and the disappointingly tepid "Ptolemy" abused this ethically flawed (if unquestionably effective, from a sales standpoint) gimmick at its most grotesquely histrionic – but no more so than any of the other groups cited above, really. And because Blue Murder's songwriting was relatively consistent and their musicianship beyond reproach throughout, it's easy to understand why this album has endured far better than most similarly styled heavy metal albums of the era.

by Eduardo Rivadavia, AMG

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Blue Murder: Discography (1989 - 1994)

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"Nothin' but trouble" is the second studio album by melodic hard rock band "Blue Murder" originally released in 1993. The band established by guitar hero John Sykes ("Whitesnake", "Thin Lizzy") remerged four years past their debut under a new line up, featuring drummer Tommy O'Steen and bassist extraordinaire Marco Mendoza.

In comparison to the "Blue murder" debut, "…Trouble" retains the very high technical standards the group established in the late `80s, still the songwriting takes a considerable turn towards a groovier and less melodic sound. The lyrics once again cover rather diverse areas such as drug abuse, outlaw life and heartbreak. The album opens on the dynamic, fast paced rocker "We all fall down" which is one of the greatest tunes on the album. Still the real musical feat of the album is "Cry for love", a heartbreaker rocker turned 7-minute epic thanks to the titanic groove of Tommy and Marco; once again John's guitar shines throughout reaching a climactic solo which should be considered amongst his greatest lead guitar works. From there onwards there is the snake-styled ballad "Save my love" and the acoustic cover of "Itchycoo park" that forcefully stand out.

"Nothin' but trouble" was to be the last studio release by "Blue Murder" as the group would be renamed after their founder as "Sykes" which also signifies a turn in markets as the following albums would aim primarily at the Japanese audience. The live album that followed, effectively closed the "Blue Murder" chapter.

By Nikiforos V. Skoumas, amazon

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Blue Murder: Discography (1989 - 1994)

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Screaming Blue Murder: Dedicated to Phil Lynott is a live album released by the English heavy metal band, Blue Murder. It is the band's third and final release, and was initially issued only in Japan. It has since been re-released via iTunes.

~ wiki