Description
Streetfighter is the third and final recording by the American rock band Vision. The album was originally recorded in 1986 but remained unreleased until released on CD by the Retroactive Records sub-label Born Twice Records in 2011.
“Have ya’ heard the news? God’s not dead!” So starts this unexpected, recently unearthed effort by the southern rock / arena / pre-prog band, Vision. Recorded in 1986 and sounding every bit like a recording from exactly that period, Streetfighter is a bit of an awkward fit in today’s more sophisticated (if less adventurous) music scene. Rough around the edges, and with a lead singer whose phrasing seems aimed at an arena crowd instead of your headphones, Streetfighter still has some nice jams, and really shines when the arrangements (from time to time) allow for some impressive soloing. For a reference point: this is the band whose members included keyboardist Billy Powell and bassist Leon Wilkeson, of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Vision certainly was a band set apart from many other CCM acts, having a stronger than average instrumental base and the ability to genuinely rock out. Certainly, the instrumentals are stronger than the lyrics, which retain much of the era’s ‘we came to rock, rock for The King, rock for The Rock’ themes (couple of titles: «Rock This Town», and «Born to Rock»). When they slow down a bit, Vision picks up traits of several bands of the day: The Sweet Comfort Band, The Joe English Band, and Mylon and Broken Heart, in particular – all fine contemporary bands that were establishing an admirable legacy of their own at the time.
The title track, «Streetfighter», shows the band doing what it does best – laying down some tough, southern rock with a solid foundation of drums, bass and keyboard and some tasty guitar breaks. «Called to War» typifies the military themes that were prevalent in many groups of the period – from Petra to The Allies – and is musically fine but once again makes the album very much a period piece in the history of Christian rock. «Mighty One» is an anthemic rock praise song distinctive for some fiery violin soloing and precision prog-like ensemble work from the whole band. «I’m Free» gets the party started (even if a little late, at track nine) with some rollicking piano and a hoe-down ending that totally comes as a surprise.
So here we have a genuine piece of late-eighties Christian rock and roll: a little heavy-handed but certainly fun, and even showing flashes of real musical brilliance. Some tracks have fairly abrupt fades and some songs sound like they could stand another few takes to really find the pocket. Apparently, this is the whole enchilada – the good, the bad and the in-between. So if you feel like rocking for The Rock, rocking this town, or – you know, just listening to some good late-eighties rock, this must be de’ place… [Bert Saraco, The Phantom Tollbooth, 11 June 2011]
My first exposure to Vision was their 1985 album on Heartland Records. That album was very slickly produced rock. I was vaguely aware of their self-financed debut record from 1984, but never had the chance to hear it until Born Twice Records resurrected the long out of print album in 2010. In 2011 Born Twice Records brings forward the band’s formerly unreleased album from 1986 titled ‘Streetfighter’. I confess, I had no idea that Vision had recorded a third album.
As with the band’s self-titled album they avoid the Southern Rock sound for the most part and stick to straight forward, anthemic, classic rock. I might even be inclined to label them “hard rock”, but they really aren’t all that heavy and are instead more melody based. That’s not to say that the band doesn’t mix it up a bit. «Mighty One», for example, brings back the violins that were present on ‘Mountain in the Sky‘. The mix of hard rock and violins reminds me of classic ELO or Kansas. The song also spots a short keyboard solo that also brings to mind the classic bands of the 70’s. «I’m Free» has an ever so slight Southern Rock vibe that is made moreso with the use of the tinkling piano, recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd piano player Billy Powell and some fun fiddle work. On the other hand «Rock this Town», «Stop the Killing», «I’m Gonna Live», «Born to Rock», etc. are more straight forward hard rock with a big 1970’s influence. (Think Foreigner, Styx, Petra, .38 Special, and to a lesser degree Blackfoot.) Also, the recording is definitely the band’s strongest. It’s not quite as raw as ‘Mountain’ but isn’t as keyboard saturated as the band’s 1985 eponymous LP. As with all the band’s music, the lyrics are mostly focused on the band’s Christian faith with a few songs being of the rock and roll anthem variety.
The release come packaged in a 6-panel digi with a cover that looks almost like it belongs on a modern power metal album cover. Very nice artwork indeed. Liner notes by Barry Lee Harwood (Rossington-Collins Band) and guitarist Rocco Marshall. [nolifetilmetal.com]
CD tracklist:
01. Stop the Killing – 2:54
02. I’m Gonna Live – 4:02
03. I Know You – 3:18
04. Break the Silence – 4:40
05. Come Home – 3:34
06. Streetfighter – 3:45
07. Called to War – 3:43
08. Mighty One – 4:22
09. I’m Free – 4:07
10. Rock This Town – 3:27
11. Born to Rock – 4:36
12. Let’s Ride – 4:07
13. Your Eyes – 4:57
[youtube_sc url=”” playlist=”NCeVtVctOg0,V3KLb6QKBjw,Ixqw9aVnwJE,aTpluxz51L8,GfexZ3_NVcw” title=”Vision – Streetfighter + Called to War + Mighty One + Rock This Town + Born to Rock” autohide=”1″ rel=”0″]
CREDITS. Mastered by J Powell at Steinhaus. Layout design/Artwork by Alonso Espinoza.
Vision: David Jinright (Keyboards, Vocals), Leonard Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals), Billy Powell (Piano, Organ, Synthesizers), Rocco Marshall (Guitars, Vocals), Jim Brown (Additional guitars on tracks 11-13), Lawrence Buckner (Bass), Mike Maple (Drums).
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