Search - Earl Slick :: Razor Sharp

Nice First Effort But Not Great

Stevie | 08/15/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As most know this is the debut solo record by Earl Slick who was then fresh off his affiliation with David Bowie after working on David Live, Young Americans, and Station to Station. So there was momentum in his favor and he took advantage of it to get this solo album out there. On the other hand it was Jimmy Mack (singer and rhythm guitarist) who was the primary songwriter. I bought this record as soon as it hit the streets back in the day and I wasn't all too pleased as it wasn't as edgy as I thought it would be. Dead Man's Ransom is a notable exception as it was/is a cool tune. Most of the album was an attempt at getting radioplay with bar type rock tunes. I can't blame them for this though these songs seem to underutilize Earl's abilities. He toured behind this record and made it to a club in Atlanta and while the set was good, it wasn't anything special. He kind of held back some at least compared to some of his earlier work. A humorous moment during the show occurred when an impatient drunken patron , anxious for more familiar material yelled "play suffragette city" Earl just laughed. I'm sure he heard comments like that a lot while he was promoting this record."

Not So Bad

M. Frobom | Wisconsin | 12/04/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a poorly regarded album, I think for two reasons. First, it's certainly a betrayal of Slick's artsy pedigree (Bowie & Ian Hunter); because artsy it ain't. Anyone who bought this because of those connections is gonna hate this. Second..the album kicks off with what appears to be an ill advised stab at a radio hit "It's Allright", a song which is not allright, but abysmal. It just destroys any potential energy. So here we are with most minds understandably closed after the first track. But here's a tip for hard southern/midwestern rock fans. Spend the coupla bucks this thing costs, and just skip over the first track, start with track two. You'll find you've gotten an enjoyable if not especially creative disc for a bargain price. Reminds me of the final two Brownville Station records, which were solid too, but also came off as disappointing because of a similar lack of cuteness."

A good rocker

Mr.Hardy | Winter Garden, Florida | 03/11/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Razor Sharp" is a good rockin' 70's album. My favorite track is "Dead Man's Ransom" and I still play that track a lot.The singer's name is Jimmy Mack and after he split with Slick Band he made 3 albums that are up there with my all time favorites. His first two were on Big Tree records, if I remember right and his third was on RCA as"Jimmy Mack and the Jumpers". I would love to see these albums on cd."