Search - Brighton Rock :: Take a Deep Breath

Better Than You Think

Sampson Simpson | Canada | 12/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Legend has it that Brighton Rock hated this album. Singer Gerald McGhee went on record saying that record company pressure forced his band to soften up the songs and his singing style. Yet, Take A Deep Breath is actually an excellent 80's rock album, with unusual quality. Everything you loved about 80's rock is here.Brighton Rock's sound was different from the crop of hair bands at the time. They always had a slightly progressive feel in their commerical rock. Johnny Roger's tasteful keyboard parts always provided an interesting background texture to their vocal and guitar melodies. Gerald McGhee's vocals were emotional and he had a strong range. On this album, he doesn't scream very much (again, record company pressure), but that's OK. It works out fine with these songs. His voice is strong enough, he didn't need to show off how high he could go.Strong songs: "Can't Stop The Earth From Shaking" (insanely catchy and upbeat), "Outlaw" (dark and moody, great keyboards providing bacakground), "Rebels With A Cause" (guitars upfront, a good groove), "Power Overload" (another guitar rocker with a great shout-chorus), "Who's Foolin' Who" (best song on the album, sounds like we have some fretless bass here, a moody dark rocker), "Love Slips Away" (dark and moody ballad, second best track here), and "Unleash The Rage" (the dark, heavy song that sounds like the rockers on the first album).As you can tell, dark moods abound on Take A Deep Breath. You could probably tell that by the cover. Hugh Syme (best known for his work with Rush, although he's also done Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Queensryche, and dozens more) did the picture of the little boy with the gasmask in the post-nuclear landscape. Because of this dark feel, Take A Deep Breath is unlike 99% of the records out at the time. Its darkness allows it to stand up to scrutiy more than a decade later. When Brighton Rock fired keyboardist Johnny Rogers so they could "heavy it up" for their next album Love Machine, it didn't work. They lost that special quality and because just another band trying to sound like it was from LA. Don't listen to Gerald McGhee: Take A Deep Breath was an album for him to be proud of, not embrassed by. It was the high point of this band's creativity."

This is more like it!

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 05/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"1989's Take a Deep Breath was the second album from Canadian hard rockers Brighton Rock. Unlike some of the high quality melodic rock bands active in Canada at the time (April Wine, Honeymoon Suite, and Triumph for example), Brighton Rock played fairly straightforward Hollywood-style hair metal. Gerry McPhee's abrasive vocal style gave the band a Cinderella/Britny Fox sound.



Apparently record company pressure forced the band to "water down" their sound on this album. I know that has been the downfall of some bands, but to my ears it seems to have worked in the band's favor. Take a Deep Breath seems much more polished and refined than the band's first album (1986's Young, Wild and Free), and has an almost AOR feel. It still rocks; it's just easier on the ears. In fact, the album reminds me a bit of Autograph, which is not a bad thing.



Record company interference or not, Take a Deep Breath is probably Brighton Rock's best album. It's certainly their most accessible. Their third album (1991's Love Machine) would take the band back to square one, sounding a lot like their debut.

"