No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll

The ebb and flow of heavy metal in the early 80s culminated in a period of great consequence, resulting in the revamping of existing institutions and the beginning of a few new ones. Among the largely forgotten acts that helped to shape this era and, by extension, the entire decade stands the short-lived brainchild of hard rocker mainstay and ex-Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet dubbed Alcatrazz. If ever recalled by the metal masses, this band is largely noted as being the better known precursor of renowned power metal and Neo-classical shred maestro Yngwie Malmsteen's solo career, though some in the guitar virtuoso enthusiast crowd may also recall Steve Vai's brief association with this band as well. This result of hindsight would be quite counter-intuitive to anyone who was around when this band first dropped as Bonnet himself was probably the most known quantity with the most extensive resume at the time, with former Alice Cooper drummer Jan Uvena being the next well-known and ironically the only other consistent member of the band during their original run. Truth be told, how this band is remembered, and which albums are even considered worthy of attention terminate largely on one's affinity with the heavy metal and hard rock scenes respectively, as not only the membership but the music itself walks a fine line between the two, with any leaning towards either side largely tending towards the latter.

The latter part of 1983, when this band formed and their debut No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll was unleashed, was marked by a period of rapid evolution of heavy metal as the early signs of the divergent schools of thrash, power, and speed metal were taking shape. In light of this, Bonnet's fold of relative newcomers come off as fairly conservative, often functioning as either a throwback to the earlier incarnation of Rainbow with Dio at the helm, or a continuation of the more rocking and crowd-friendly sound that Blackmore switched to following Ronnie's departure. The only outlier is Malmsteen's shred-happy guitar work, which has evolved fairly rapidly since his brief stint with Steeler from a Judas Priest vibe with a side order of Van Halen meets J.S. Bach wizardry into something far closer to his signature solo project Rising Force. In fact, the smooth and generally arena-oriented feel of the surrounding instrumentation culminates in something fairly close to Yngwie's sound from 1988 until 1992 when dovetailing with his riffing and songwriting approach. This is largely a metal affair by the definition applied to the lighter side of the NWOBHM, which Bonnet himself could be treated as being among the precursors to it, but at times it gets a bit glam-like when accounting for the softer gloss provided by Jimmy Waldo's AOR inspired keyboard lines.

The state of disrepute that this band may suffer in metal circles due to Bonnet's association with Rainbow's 1979 flop Down To Earth may not have endeared this album or this band to said scene, but when considering the actual contents of this album, it is a fairly different creature. A few more rocking and melodic anthems like "Island In The Sun" and "Starcarr Lane" dovetail a bit close to the Journey and Survivor sound for comfort, but even among these songs the sort of sappy, love and sex lyrical cliches are toned down or completely absent. In spite of the album title suggesting something along the lines of a Kiss sound, there is a fairly progressive vibe to these songs that cuts a bit closer to the original trailblazing vibe that typified Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and Deep Purple In Rock, with a host of differing sounds and subjects being trotted out from one song to the next. The speeding anthem "Jet To Jet" masterfully blends that Jon Lord, organ driven smoothness with Bonnet's Ian Gillian-like gritty rocking vox, all the while presenting a driving feel that rests somewhere between Rainbow's "Kill The King" and Malmsteen's "Fury". Along for the ride are a host of world music inspired works like "Hiroshima Mon Amour" and "Kree Nakoorie" that preview Yngwie's subsequent slower to mid-paced nods to Rainbow's Rising, as well as a heavy grooving machine in "Big Foot" that sounds dangerously close to his famed Marching Out anthem "I Am A Viking". Even the album's lone outright foray into sappy balladry "Suffer Me" is loaded to the brim with Neo-classical trappings and guitar gymnastics that sound like an early draft of "Dreaming (Tell Me)" off Odyssey.

The old adage of not judging a book by its cover, or a band by the recent history of its membership for a more specific example, applies more so here than just about any other album to come out of the early 80s. Though definitely not the heaviest thing to come out of its time, the metallic credentials of this album are pretty cut and dry, especially for anyone who has even the slightest affinity for the sort of mystical old school heavy metal sound continually trotted out by the likes of Astral Doors and Axel Rudi Pell. One could argue that both Ron Keel and Graham Bonnet had no idea what was along for the ride with them in the early 80s, and this could likewise be said for the rest of the world at the time, but a much clearer picture is presented here of what Yngwie would become in the coming years, underscoring why not only his later accomplishments but even his performances at the time would come to overshadow the rest of what occurred under the Alcatrazz name. In a sense, this album comes off more as a Rainbow album with Malmsteen taking over the reigns for Blackmore, in itself a fitting eventuality given that Malmsteen would collaborate with every Rainbow vocalist from their original run in some capacity. It showcases Malmsteen's Deep Purple influences a bit more blatantly, and comes off as a bit restrained when compared to the head-cutting mayhem that would typify the first three Rising Force albums, but it is definitely something that every fan of said guitar legend should know or should become familiar with immediately.

After leaving Rainbow, as well as a legacy that would tarnish its reputation, vocalist Graham Bonnet formed Alcatrazz using several musicians, including the up and coming Yngwie J. Malmsteen. While he's extremely well-known among metallers today, at the time of Alcatrazz's formation, the only thing on his resume was his part in the band Steeler. He would lead the band to some amount of greatness with the release of "No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll" before leaving and being replaced with another guitar god, Steve Vai. In my personal opinion, Yngwie was practically the only reason why I bought "No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll" in the first place. Even so, it contains some pretty memorable songs, no matter how cheesy they may be.

Who can forget that catchy synthesizer riff on "Island in the Sun"? For those of us that have actually heard it, probably everyone. That's 'cos the synthesizers create kind of a fake, dated 80's style sound that would more or less be appropriate for the soundtrack of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". The female backing vocals also create this kind of dated sound, so much so that the only thing that saves it from being a total disaster is, of course, the soloing of Yngwie himself. This classically-trained wunderkind (and egotist) uses a lot of classical influences in his licks, and especially on "Island in the Sun". This puts a lot more flavor into the less than 30 seconds of the song that has this. Every song on here has some classically-based soloing, after all, Yngwie is the band's guitarist, at least for this album.

He also gives us some of that Beethoven-like soloing at the beginning of "Hiroshima Mon Amour", a much more serious song. It's so serious, that riff is more gritty and less commercial. The chord patterns might have been used before, but they create the more serious tone of the song, since its subject matter of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima wouldn't fit with a melody found in Def Leppard's "Hysteria". What I also like about it is the fact that the synthesizers don't have as much of an influence, only being restricted to after Yngwie plays, when they make an organ-like sound. That organ-like sound is also present in much of "Too Young to Die, Too Drunk to Live", thus the sound they create makes it more enjoyable than what you'd expect it to be. Even though they're more prevalent in that song, I can't say I'd complain about them as much, since they sound much more convincing. Another song that I'd say is even better is "Jet to Jet", since it's got a lot more energy and is faster-paced than the rest of the album's tracks. I say this even with the presence of the synthesizers, 'cos again, the organ sound is there.

The biggest reason why I didn't give this album the best of ratings is due to the fact that Graham Bonnet's involved. I have mentioned in the reviews of other Alcatrazz albums I've covered that I'm not really a huge fan of his voice. It's gravelly, yet he insists on singing more melodic vocals using that gravelly aspect of his voice. I'm pretty sure he's more of the bass/baritone type of vocalist, so why doesn't he utilize what he's good at? That'd make a band more unique by having a bass/baritone vocalist, but instead, we have Bonnet desperately trying to imitate Rob Halford or Ronnie James Dio by hitting those high notes way too hard. It doesn't sound all that pleasant, believe me, it's like some pro-wrestler at someone's bachelor party trying to impersonate Tina Turner while drunk. All of this is coming from the T-1000 in a white suit and a nice pair of shades, not a very good combination, I must say. If you like his style, that's fine by me, I personally don't think it's as good as Dio's.

As much as I don't like Bonnet's voice, I still kinda enjoy "No Parole from Rock n' Roll". With the shredding prowess of Malmsteen and the fact that the synthesizers don't sound so fake, it proves to be quite a listen. Unfortunately for the band, this would not last, as Yngwie left the band, out of sheer ignorance. He would be replaced by the more blues/jazz influenced Steve Vai, who in turn would also be replaced by a former guitar player of Alice Cooper who's name escapes me. The synthesizers would also sound less and less believable in order for the band to try and knock Michael Jackson off the charts. If only the band created more albums like this, then I wouldn't give Alcatrazz such a hard time.

Alcatrazz is one of those bands that is unfortunately missed by many metalheads. This is the band that Yngwie's name was first heard in, and they were showing the world just where the music was going through their early music. I had heard of Alcatrazz for years after getting into Yngwie Malmsteen, and when I found in a local music store an LP of No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll I was very pleased and immediately purchased the record on the spot.

What you can expect from Alcatrazz is this. You can get a very nice vocal performance from Graham Bonnet, some ripping guitar solos from Yngwie Malmsteen that are probably some of the best work the egotistical swede has put out on an album before, and a generally sold 80s hard rock. That's right, this is not really much of a metal album so much as it is a hard rock album, a very hard rock album but not a heavy metal album for the most part. The album has it's metal moments, but mostly it's a hard rock album and at that No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll is one of the unsung heroes in it's class.

Probably the coolest thing about this album is that for once, Yngwie does not seem like an egotistical control freak and actually sounds like he's having a lot of fun working with this band for once. That, and the fact that the guy really does not take charge all the time and when he does take charge you're in for a wild ride. Yngwie's solos are blisteringly fast but highly melodic and have a nice, rocking feel to them all while being technically proficient and classically based just like Yngwie is known for. It only takes one listen to songs like Jet to Jet and Hiroshima Mon Amour to get an idea for what Yngwie's playing is like on this album. He also cranks out some rocking hard rock riffs on No Parole, which is something I didn't know the guy could do but he did it here and did it very well. While hardcore Malmsteen fans may not like that Yngwie doesn't shred from beginning to end, I surely enjoy his performance on this album and think it is one of the best the Stratocaster wielding Swede ever did on a record.

Graham's vocals are pretty awesome, sounding like a tough rock and roll singer with a nice range that has some grit to it but not very much. He has some higher up vocals that sort of go into the falsetto range but these vocals are not too prevalent. He's quite melodic and his vocal patterns are very catchy, standing out in front of everything else in the band and making sure he is known as the frontman of Alcatrazz (and not Yngwie Malmsteen). You can't help but sing along with a guy through a number of the songs. The choruses are very catchy and the verses are sung with incredible prowess. Bonnet is definitely an unsung hero among rock/metal singers and it is a bit of a pity that the guy does not get more recognition

Songwriting is fairly solid, and Bonnet and Malmsteen really are quite a good team when they worked together. Too bad that the two did not continue to write songs together because I bet some real rock anthems could have been wrote if the two had continued to partner up. All the songs are straightforward melodic hard rock but they do very well at what they are. My personal favorite song on the album is Jet to Jet, but Island in the Sun and Too Young To Die Too Drunk To Live are very close seconds. All the songs on the album are enjoyable, though sometimes they can get drawn way out of proportion and get rather pretentious. This is especially prevalent in the song Kree Nakorie, which is the longest and probably worst song on the album. It just drags on for way too long and is way too Malmsteen centric, sort of like a bad prototype of what was to come on Malmsteen's solo efforts. The only other one that really does not need to be there is the boring instrumental track Incubus, but it's not that bad. Otherwise, the songs rate from average to great.

Other then the fact that the songs are drawn out, No Parole From Rock And Roll does have problems that really hamper the album. For thing, other then Bonnett and Malmsteen the musicianship is absolutely mediocre. Bassist Gary Shae just keeps the time with drummer Jan Uvena and does not really do a great job at it. Sure, he never goes out of time but his bass playing is downright simple and only utilizes root notes. There is really nothing else to his bass playing and that is just boring. Sure yeah, I'm not asking for another Steve DiGiorgio but the guy does nothing that really stands out. Jan Uvena is a bit more talented on the drums, always is in time, but he's still nothing special. No real great fills or anything out of the ordinary or even exotic here. Jan just uses some slightly accelerated standard hard rock beats for most of the album that do not show much energy at all and that gets downright boring. Sure, Alcatrazz was not known for being a very technical band so to speak (other then having Yngwie Malmsteen), but it would have helped if the guy at least tried a bit harder to be more skilled and had some energy.

The keyboards are also completely unnecessary and just get in the way of the listening experience. I cannot believe that Jimmy Waldo was allowed to play on this album. In fact, it always surprised me that Alcatrazz even bothered to have a keyboard player anyway. The band would have been much better if they just had Malmsteen and had a more guitar oriented sound. Instead, what you have here is a really messed up sound that his half keyboard oriented, half guitar oriented and the two just seem to clash at each other rather then blending together at all. The songs that are more guitar oriented (like Jet to Jet) are the better ones on the album, and the ones that are more keyboard centric while being average can be annoying at times. The best of the keyboard oriented songs is Island in the Sun, but other then that the others can get annoying even though they are overall rather well crafted.

The mix sort of brings down the album. Yngwie's guitar tone could be a bit fatter and is rather then, as are Jan Uvena's drums which sound sort of like hard pieces of plastic (especially the snare). You can hardly hear Gary Shae's bass other then some small frequencies in between the guitar and drums. Too much attention is given to the keyboards and that was unneeded. However, Graham's vocals are pushed right out in front and are crystal clear. The mastering could have been better and that probably would have helped this album a lot.

Lyrics are kind of lame but I do not really blame them. They're just about partying, love, living your life to the fullest, typical late 70s early 80s stuff. It's alright, nothing I'm really disappointed by. They're kind of fun and it's helped along by the extra catchy song structures. So nothing special to look for in terms of lyrics and you're better looking for later metal material to find more thought provoking lyrics.

For a hard rock/early metal album, you cannot really go wrong with Alcatrazz's No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll. It's a rocking and fun affair for one looking for an album with an old school edge that just plain rocks. Seek it out and give it a run. You will not regret the buy.

When this album was released back in 1984 it didn't leave my turntable (!) for literally weeks. Originally released on Rocshire Records with a major label distribution deal, this was the uniting of Ex-Rainbow & MSG front man Graham Bonnet with the 21 year old guitar whiz Yngwie Malmsteen. That union lasted two albums, this one and a live album.

Yngwie is credited as a co writer on every song. This is interesting because it is without a doubt his most accessible, commercial work over the course of his career.

The songs are all absolute works of art. All are heavy and melodic, with great hooks, interesting topics and lyrics, courtesy of Bonnet. The production is terrific, taking into consideration that this piece of music was recorded 21 years ago, it definitely stands the test of time. The guitar work is unbelievable throughout, especially on Island in the Sun and Jet To Jet, where we are treated to triple-tracked Yngwie. Vocally, this is probably Graham Bonnet's best work of his career. He is much more of a studio singer as opposed to live. Here, he sings every note, all melodies, harmonies and choirs. While he sometimes sacrifices emotion for sheer vocal power, there can be no doubt he is fantastic throughout these recordings.

While literally every song on this album is very good, stellar standout cuts include Kree Nakoorie, General Hospital, Big Foot and Starcarr Lane.

This is a magical record, and definitely one of the supreme highlights of the great 1980's metal movement which ruled the music world.

Ah yes, Alcatrazz; personally, I'm surprised that no one has reviewed any of their albums before my submission of this one. This band was supposed to be a vehicle to show off former Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet's amazing, one-of-a kind voice, but the band just never took off like it was supposed to. Recruiting the then young Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen to do all the guitars plus some of the songwriting was an excellent move, but unfortunately old Yngwie moved on to a successful, legendary solo career after cutting Alcatrazz's debut album, forcing the band to recruit another guitar legend, Steve Vai. Maybe the techniques and songwriting of the two guitarists were too different for Alcatrazz to build a loyal following, who knows (actually, Vai only stuck around for one album as well, with some guitarist named Danny Johnson replacing him for Alcatrazz's third and final album, Dangerous Games). I was only a year old when No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll was released anyway, so don't look at me for answers; I'm just here to review the album.

As a metal band, Alcatrazz is definitely on the lighter side of the spectrum; lots of rock 'n' roll-ish keyboard work is present from Jimmy Waldo (who also helped a little bit with some of the songwriting), straight ahead, solid but not-too-complex drumming from Jan Uvena, and the basswork is handled by Gary Shea, who does a good job of providing a backbone to the songs. Of course, Graham Bonnet's trademark vocals are ever present and Yngwie has some blistering solos on here. Bonnet's voice is very hard to describe, combining a very powerful yell with some soothing upper range vocals that must be heard to be appreciated. His voice is just so unique, and many metal vocalists today have obviously been influenced by him; for instance, I sometimes hear quite a bit of Bonnet in such singers as Russell Allen from Symphony X and Harry Conklin of Jag Panzer.

The album kicks off with the single "Island in the Sun", which is a fairly straight ahead mid-tempo rocker, but it achieves classic status behind the amazing vocals of Bonnet and the flashy guitar work of Malmsteen. When Bonnet sings "On an island in the sun/Cool Pacific winds blow....." with the soft backing vocals of "Sail away now....." you can almost imagine being transported to the same island in the video for the song (if anyone's ever seen it). This excellent tune is followed by another, "General Hospital". I love the contrast in Bonnet's vocals in the bridge versus the chorus as he switches characters. The soothing bridge is Bonnet acting as a hospital worker trying convince the restless patient to take his medicine and relax; the chorus is Bonnet acting as the resisting patient, trying to convince the nurse to get the hell away from him. Great stuff. Again, more excellent soloing from Malmsteen; the riffs on the album as a whole are more simplistic compared to the riffage in Malmsteen's solo works, but he is completely unleashed when it comes time for the solos. "Jet to Jet" starts off with a faster, more frantic riff than anything found in the two previous songs, with the keyboard providing some melody as the bass and drums pound away a nice, fast rhythm. Right before the solo, Malmsteen plays some very, very nice neoclassical leads that come out of nowhere yet fit in perfectly. Overall, this is another excellent song. Things slow down a little for the next song, "Hiroshima Mon Amour", with subject matter revolving around the bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. The song starts out sounding like it's going to be a soft, slow ballad, with some Malmsteen leads thrown over the top of some soft acoustic guitar and keyboards, but then things build up nicely with the guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums constructing a nice, crunchy rhythm. This certainly isn't a ballad, this is another mid-paced in-your-face rocker. Another gem, with Bonnet turning in another very impressive vocal performance. The soft, soothing intro is repeated again as Malmsteen begins his solo, but then the crunchy main rhythm of the song kicks in again as Malmsteen works away on the fretboard. There is also a small keyboard solo thrown in for the hell of it. Some weird keyboard effects serve as the intro to "Kree Nakoorie", which builds into a very weird, slower paced, Middle-Eastern sounding verse. This may be Bonnet's best work on the album, as his vocals contribute some Middle-Eastern melodies to the song, which must be heard to be believed. Malmsteen also provides some excellent melodies that directly complement Bonnet's vocals and a very strange mood is definitely acheived through all of this. "Kree Nakoorie" is kind of an odd song compared to the rest, but it is clearly one of the best cuts on the album.

The next track is a very short, minute-and-a-half instrumental written solely by Malmsteen called "Incubus". It starts off as just an acoustic guitar playing a very classical sounding riff, with an electric guitar, bass, and drums kicking in and taking over, providing some more of the same classical-influenced music. This song kind of acts as a dividing line, because the second half of the album is not quite as strong as the first half ---- still good music, but not up to the high quality of the first five tracks. "Too Young To Die, Too Drunk To Live" is a bit faster than "Island in the Sun" or "Hiroshima Mon Amour", but Bonnet's vocals just aren't as powerful as they could be and the song just isn't as interesting as the first half of the album, although Malmsteen does provide some very nice leads in the middle of the song. "Big Foot" is an interesting tune actually about the legend of Big Foot; I love the intro riff and the slow steady rhythm of the song, but again Bonnet's vocals lack a lot of the power he is capable of and they even sound slightly off-key or something. Next up is "Starcarr Lane", which is an improvement over the two previous songs. Bonnet's trademark power is back, and Malmsteen starts the song off with some great riffs and leads. This is another great song, featuring great instrumental performances throughout its entirety and another excellent vocal performance from Bonnet, especially during the chorus. The album closer is "Suffer Me", which ends the album with a whimper instead of a bang. This serves as the ballad of the album, and while Bonnet pours a lot of emotion and feeling into his vocals, the song otherwise does very little to hold my interest. I just find the music boring and uninspired, and even a trademark Malmsteen solo isn't enough to save it.

Overall, this is a great album which I fully recommend to Graham Bonnet and Yngwie Malmsteen fans. This album kind of straddles the line between traditional rock 'n' roll and heavy metal, but it's great music regardless of its classification. There isn't much neoclassical influence on the album (there are a few spots here and there in Malmsteen's playing, but they hardly dominate any part of the album), so Malmsteen fans should expect something a little bit different from the legendary guitarist. Flashy, lightning fast solos are available in abundance though, that's for sure. Unfortunately, this album has been out of print for quite a long time in America, so your best bet is to find a Japanese import CD, which can be probably be found in speciality record shops or through Internet sites like eBay. It's a bit pricey (I bought mine in a store to the tune of about $26), but it should be well worth it to Alcatrazz fans.