The CRITICS Corner of the VVFF- Invasion debut album

[poserboy71]

Critique each song. Your memories. What does each song do for you? ETC...

[poserboy71]

Don't forget the Mark Slaughter vocal RE-DO.

[saintandsinner]

Boyz Are Gonna Rock" the first song i ever heard by the invasion.Love the guitar work and nasty vibe of this song.
2."Shoot U Full of Love" ok song,not my favorite
3."No Substitute"– My favorite song on the album.shows just how talented vinnie can be at ballds.love the solo.
4."Animal" -good song
5."Twisted" – 4:49-good song
6."Do You Wanna Make Love" -my second favorite song-love vinnies guitar tone on the song.– 7."Back on the Streets" 3rd favorite on the album another great riff – 4:50
8."I Wanna Be Your Victim" good song
."Baby-O" good song
10."Invasion" -dont reaaly listen to this song much..

[Slayer]

Boyz Are Gonna Rock - 5 Stars and at the time an unbelievable over the top ferocious guitars solo
Shoot You Full of Love - 5 Stars - my favorite guitar solo on the album
No Substitute - 5 Stars - one of my absolute favorite Vinnie ballads of all time. Amazing melodic phrazing in the outro solo
Animal - 3 Stars - Very intense but not my favorite
Twisted - 3 Stars - Repetitive
Do You Wanna Make Love - 4 Stars
Back On The Streets - 5 Stars - Absolute classic tune - I hope to hear the Paul Stanley Verion before I die.
I Wanna Be Your Victim - 4 Stars
Baby O - 4 Stars
Invasion - 5 Stars - Great Vibe

Great Great album that is almost 5 Stars

[Sandimas]

Good songs, way over the top licks, some of them definitely speeded up but not as much as some critics would claim, and certainly not to the point that VV could not have played them in real time! However I really dislike the super high vocals of both Fleischman and Slaughter. Too whiny and smooth - I prefer a more throaty vocal on the high notes, like Graham Bonnet, Chris Cornell style.

[teej]

On of my top 5 albums ever .. never tire of hearing it .. those guitars were mind blowing .. it changed my musical approach and my life permanantly

[doublev]

it was an original masterpiece. Can not argue with that. Invasion is such an original off the wall tune and totally Epic. All the tunes have something. Melodic and also totally unexpected.

[saintandsinner]

I can nver stop listening the first invasion album.I am not a fan of mark slaughters vocals at all.Robert had such a better tone to me.Ihave never heard the sluaghter redo of this album but Ill stick with the original....

[poserboy71]

I can nver stop listening the first invasion album.I am not a fan of mark slaughters vocals at all.Robert had such a better tone to me.Ihave never heard the sluaghter redo of this album but Ill stick with the original....

Mark only re-did one song as far as we know.

[birnie]

I must be living under a rock
What song/s did Mark redo?

[poserboy71]

I believe it was "Shoot You Full Of Love"

Good job but pales in comparison to Robert or what Goran could have done.

[birnie]

..and where do you find a copy?

[teej]

..and where do you find a copy?

it's on ASG unmixed I believe .. I have it kicking about somewhere

[Genebaby]

..and where do you find a copy?

PM Sent....

[warmachine:D]

My favorite album of all time. All the songs from Invasion are great, and waaayyy better than what's on ASG. I don't really know why, I think it's just Mark. I like his voice, but only on Slaughter songs..
Boyz Are Gonna Rock- Really good song
Shoot You Full of Love - The best song Vinnie ever wrote. And the Robert version is alot better than the Mark version.
No Substitute - Good song.
Animal - Ehh. Okay song.
Twisted - Second favorite song on this album.
Do You Wanna Make Love - The first song I ever heard by VVI. Roberts voice sounds great, and the guitar solo on this one is my favorite
Back On The Streets - It would've been nice if Vinnie would've sang the WHOLE song, like he did for the demo, on the final version.
I Wanna Be Your Victim - Good song.
Baby O - Good song. I like how the vocals still sound good, even over how fast and high pitched the guitar is.
Invasion - Third favorite song on this album.

[TheGoodDr]

Boyz are gonna Rock - Sets the tone for what you know is going to be an over-the top record from a band clearly over-the-top from what you see on the reverse of the album cover!
Shoot you full of love - A fitting follow up to the first track. Robert's vocals are supreme here.
No substitute - Used to be my favourite track on the album, definitely the best track on Side A. Probably the best rock ballad from the 80's.
Animal - Starts off as a reall ball burster, then unfrtunately overstays its welcome with that guitar solo at the end. Does anyone know the movie soundtrack that this soung featured in?
Twisted - Worse song on the album
Do you want to make love - VVI return to form after what I consider the weaker songs on the records (the previous two songs).
Back on the Streets - Another powerful rock ballad which begs the question as to why VV didn't sing lead vocals more often??
I wanna be your victim - Over time has become my favourite VVI song ever. It's heavy, has great lyrics and Robert's voice is just magic here.
Baby-O - Pure bubblegum rock at its best! Can't imagine anyone not liking this tune if it was played at a party!
Invasion - A great song to close the album. And the guitar solo has vinnie showing a little bit of restraint which I think some of the other songs on this record definitely needed if the greater masses were ever going to embrace The VVI.

[Genebaby]

Animal is featured in the movie Summer School, so it's probably on the soundtrack, never checked.

[marcorocknrollz80s]

..and where do you find a copy?

this is the version Mark Slaughter, I must say that I love Mark Slaughter, I prefer it to Robert, and I do not like this song in any way

I can not make a comparison, for me if I went out to the first GO-system, we'd be talking about the first invasion was not the same level

p.s guys this is my you tube channel if you look hard enough anything else you need to Vinnie Vincent, is connected to my Italian fans

[birnie]

Thanks guys!

I don't think it's too bad....plus it sounds like a single take.....so no polished/redone bits which would be Roberts album version.

How on earth do you get a crazy voice like that anyway? Jeepers!

[teej]

RICHARD GEERE used gerbills and lube if the stories are correct .. shoot ya full of MY FUCKING GOD .. IT HAS CLAWS!

[poserboy71]

You must de-claw !!!

[Possio]

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/celebr ... gere_2.htm

and there´s a page 1 with more info on the matter.

[syncophile42]

I know that much of this has been said before, and many will disagree with some of it, but for what it’s worth here are my thoughts about the first Vinnie Vincent Invasion album nearly 25 years after it was recorded.

First of all some background. As a teenager listening to the radio and watching music shows I was gravitating towards rock music and electric guitar. Lick It Up was the first Kiss album I was exposed to, shortly after it was released when I was about 17. I listened to it round a friend’s house and thought it was pretty cool, the songs were good and I liked the guitar. Soon after I bought a copy and then spent the next few years digging backwards into Kiss’s already extensive back catalogue, and trying (fruitlessly) to unearth anything else by or involving Vincent. I was pretty disappointed when I heard of Vinnie’s departure from Kiss and eagerly awaited announcements of future Vincent projects.

And so it came to pass that Vinnie put a new band together, recorded an album and finally in late 1986 came it’s release. I remember reading an enthusiastic review of the album in British rock magazine Kerrang, and particularly a comment along the lines of “it is so hot, there is a hole in the middle to let the steam out”. I couldn’t wait, it was essential I got a copy as soon as possible. A few weeks later (mail order being the only viable option at the time) my precious 12” slab of vinyl arrived in the post (with the obligatory bent corner) and, barely containing the excitement of a three year old, I reverently opened it up…

No matter what people say, in my opinion there IS something about LP’s; the size, glossiness and depth of the cover art, the inner sleeve with all it’s extra bits and pieces if you are lucky, the weight of the plastic, and you can almost see the music in the groove waiting to get out (at least, you can see where the songs are). It’s a much more physical interaction than you get with a CD. Don’t get me wrong, I like CDs and got the CD version later, which is what I play, but an LP is so much more special, apart from being the first time…

As I look at the cover art now, turning the LP over in my hands in much the same way as I did when I first got it, I have the same grin on my face. Then it was from the delight of discovery and reward, and the anticipation and expectation of the music, and now? Well more on that later.

The front cover is a reasonable piece of artwork for the time, Vinnie Vincent Invasion with the V logo, and underneath what I always thought was supposed to be some sort of futuristic cityscape, being invaded. These days I like to think it is a stylised record grove with the V as the stylus and the light is the energy of the music escaping.

The back cover is nice, with the photos of the band and text going round the four orientations. At the time I wasn’t too keen on the band’s image preferring (as I still do) Vinnie’s look in the Lick It Up videos, but now I’m just affectionately amused by it; as is often said it’s a product of the time. (Does anyone else think that Vinnie looks a bit uncomfortable in his pic?).

The lyrics are there and lots of other bits to read, all in all there is a quality look and feel, and it can keep me entertained for hours just looking at it.

“no synthesisers used anywhere on this album” I am told on the jacket. “no pedals or outboard gear used anywhere on this album”, “MADE 2 B PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME” it says . You know (or at least expect) that when they put this kind of thing on the cover you are going to be blown away.

And blown away I was. I still am every time I listen to it. It hits you out of nowhere like a freight train, and is relentless, totally overpowering, carrying you along with it and leaving you reeling in the ecstasy on the edge of sanity. The songs, the musicianship, the sound, everything in excess. This was something I had never heard the like of before, it was utterly insane, totally awesome and I loved it.

If that sounds over-the-top, well so is this album, but it is also brilliant.

The sound on this album is stunning. It is well produced with a very solid, polished sound typical of the time; the base is clean and tight, as are the drums and vocals. What sets it apart from it’s peers though in this type of production is the guitar sound, which is phenomenal. On top of the meat and potatoes you have this raw, virtually live sounding guitar tone that screams and shouts at you, and just basically rips. The dynamics of the guitar, bass drums and vocals are incredible. I always thought that ‘shredding’ was a bit of a naff term for that guitar style, shred is what the sound of this album does to your hi-fi system, particularly the speakers.

I’ve now got a pretty decent music system, not mega-bucks but a few grand (GBP) for not many, minimalist boxes. People sometimes comment that it’s a bit wasted on a lot of the music I listen to; it’s ‘open’ and ‘transparent’ and ‘detailed’ and sounds beautiful, but that’s all lost on this kind of stuff. I completely disagree. Listen to some well recorded rock music on a decent system and your ears will open new doors to it. All music becomes hard to listen to at volume (which you want for the detail etc) because of the distortion created by the system itself. The louder you push it the more it distorts and the more difficult (sometimes painful) it becomes to listen to after a while. This is why quality systems have high output power as well as good components, not because you need the extra volume but so the system is less distorted at ‘normal’ levels and the detail can shine through.

I don’t want any of my music to be dumbed down, mushed or distorted by the system, I want it loud and clear, with all it’s character and subtleties intact the way the guys wanted it when they produced it. The sound on this album deserves that at the very least. Listen to the snarl of the guitar, it’s tones and overtones, always on the edge. Hear how well it is complemented by the solidity of the bass, the punch of the drums and scintillation of the cymbals. Marvel at the depth of the vocals as they swoop and soar. These guys are obviously accomplished musicians, but there is so much more to it than that, listen and be enthralled.

Initially I wasn’t too keen on the style of the vocals and the fact that you can’t understand most of the words, but I think I was just in shock, it all fits so well. Vinnie’s solo style too was a bit of a surprise compared to Lick It Up, and again I wasn’t sure about it at first. My unmentioned, almost embarrassed complaint was the usual one; a deluge of notes lacking coherence, predictably interspersed with wails or slower bits and a generous portion of uncoordinated pyrotechnics, sometimes not too well executed it seemed. In fact I used to more or less just ‘allow’ it as everything else was so good. But then when I started to think how a solo could be ‘simplified’ or done differently to better fit the song, I began to appreciate rather than endure the solo and understand it’s context in the song. Often there is some very complex stuff going on which would just dissolve if changed, and the overall effect would be lacking for it. And yes, I expect they could be done well with a different style but now I realise that it’s just not necessary. Simply, now I think I ‘get it’, if indeed it needs to be ‘got’.

I love the sound of electric guitar, but I’m a bit picky with the bands and guitarists I like. For those guitarists that I do, I like to come up with a metaphor that, for the most part, describes the way they sound and the way they physically play their instrument. Vinnie usually conjures up an image of wrestling with a caged wild animal, a jaguar, unpredictable and dangerous, that he is only just managing keep under control; that’s the way he looks and sounds to me and it’s fantastic.

The other real genius is the songs, as has been said by many more qualified than me. This is not an album of different sounds and styles, it’s not meant to be, there are no pretensions; it is an out and out intense, wild rock album. The songs are all distinctly memorable, of course I prefer some to others but even that changes round from time to time. There aren’t really any fillers, and they don’t all start to sound the same which can be a danger with this type of album.

As well as being great songs in their own right, they have been brilliantly crafted in the context of the band and the sound, and laced with Vinnie’s own breed of guitar insanity. The growls, the howls, the fills and the pyrotechnics, isn’t it all a bit too much? I don’t think so, to me it all fits perfectly in the song, what is played is what the song is. Nothing is entirely predictable, in fact the histrionics are often missing which subtly adds its own dynamic to the pot. The scariest thing is that it all feels totally inspired, not manufactured, it has all come from Vinnie’s tortured soul; it is genius.

It’s pointless for me to do a track by track critique, picking over the songs, but I’ll throw a few opinions out there:

Boyz are Gonna Rock – Killer song, unbelievable start to an album. The riffs, sound, intensity, the whole thing is awesome. One of the very best.
Shoot U Full of Love – Again, one of my favourites. Fantastic signature riff, and I love the way Vinnie grinds out the riffs behind the vocals, and the way the mayhem and intensity escalates.
No Substitute – Very accomplished piece of song writing, good warm sound.
Animal – Brain shattering, like being hit with a sledgehammer. Fantastic riffs and again that sound! Huge song.
Twisted – Vinnie really sounds like he’s wrestling with this riff. Fast, tense and a great breakdown at the end.
Do You Wanna Make Love – Cool groove, very open song; lots of space in here. Superb riffing again.
Back on the Streets – Very sexy song, plenty of atmosphere and excellent phrasing.
I Wanna Be Your Victim – Another big open song, great tone and sound; a good stomp.
Baby-O – A complex song this one, a lot of ideas going on and oodles of killer guitar, well up there with the best.
Invasion – Different to the others, much looser song, great vibe though and very cool.

Nothing is perfect, there are blips here and there, but it doesn’t matter; there is magic all over the place.

The grin on my face now as I turn this masterpiece over in my hands? Well it’s because I know what is packed inside those grooves, and I can hear it screaming to get out, and I know the next time I play it it’s going to blow me away again, just like it did the first time, just like it always does.

This album, the songs, the sound, the intensity, is awesome. Vinnie Vincent (or possibly Dana Strum) I think said of this album “we mixed it really loud, you wouldn’t believe how loud we mixed this album” – yes I would.

[shramiac]

Phew! Take a breath dude! Nice one.

[poserboy71]

Now that's the way to fucking post !!! ROCK ON !!!

[Genebaby]

Hear, hear. Great review!!

[doublev]

yes.. an epic post!

I always liked the tune 'Invasion' I wish he'd have attempted that song live.. it may have been to difficult to pull it off with just one guitar and also Mark would have had a very hard time I think

[vinniefan83]

Thanks for posting the link to the Mark Slaughter Shoot U version, I'd never heard that before. It's very good, nit quite as good as RF though...

VVI is in my mind the greatest album of all time. I did think Creatures was the greatest album till I heard VVI... never heard anything better since...

My question on it though is, who's playing on it? I've got a sneaky feeling it's just Vinnie and Robert. That sounds like drum machine to me... and the bass, I don't know, there's something very repetitive about it, not done on the All System Go songs. I reckon it's Vinnie on bass, I reckon it was either recorded before Vinnie met Dana or Vinnie insisted on doing it himself because as we know he's a prefectionist... any other thoughts on that?