Pat Travers - Heat in the Street (8 tracks) +Album Reviews

It's Hot Out There!

JAMES MCCORMICK | cedar rapids, Iowa United States | 05/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pat Travers Band "Heat in the Street"

I just loved the cover photography of this album, showing PT & band relaxing, having a cool one in a downtown Miami street parking space. As a matter of fact, my friends & I liked it so much we were going to do the same thing here in our town, Cedar Rapids, with a big sign of "Heat in the Street" with the song blaring in the background. Alas, we never did, so much for the exuberance of youth.

PT added a second guitarist, the smokin' Pat Thrall & new drummer, the brilliant Tommy Aldridge for a live band that would be feared as an opening act to end all headlining acts, & even though this is a studio effort, one could tell already this was a band to be reckoned with. "Heat in the Street" opens with the monsterous self titled musician extravganza. Guitars, bass, drums, flowing at high speed down a musicscape of perfection, as one densely tuned unit. "Killer Instinct" romped & rolled all over my ears. "I Tried to Believe" is an heart-felt proffession of unrequited love. "Hammerhead" was a instrumental milestone of speed & aggression, truly one of a kind at the time. "Go All Night" may well be the fastest & funkest PT song to date, a perpetual creation of heavy funk rock motion. "Evie" is just a plain all out party rocking monument to partying. Last, but not least, another beautiful song in the tradition of "Putting it Straight's "Dedication," the love song "One for Me & One for You."

With this fourth studio album PT made no doubt that his was the most sophisticated Heavy Metal band in his day. Very few trodded down the path of his marriage of instrumental perfection, writing skills, & funk/metal, to put it over the top. A true visionary!

5/5"

100 degrees in the shade!

Hellion Zephreid | Pittsburgh | 11/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Stole that line from a PT song on his last official "rock" record "Hot Shot". That sums up this record. Smokin'! I was in High School when I stumbled upon this LP. I had witnessed PT 3rd on a bill earlier that year prior to adding Aldridge and Thrall and was operating as a power trio. The album: From the minute I played "Go All Night", I knew this album was it! "Heat in the Street" was another scorcher, along with the other rockers and the more laid back "One for You and One for Me", the LP rarely made it off my turntable. I don't know if Pat ever cut any tunes that didn't make his records but some type of bonus tracks would have been greatly appreciated here. An album under 40 minutes does not seem a value in the CD age. Waiting forever for this to be released in the US, now nothing really extra. But buy this for the songs which are great. The songs are great and the band stayed together for a Live record then "Crash and Burn" then that was it. Magic for a short time. The BBC concert CD proves just that. The Pat Travers Band toured and recorded for many a year after this but the songs and the band just were never the same. This beats the live one up and down which really says a lot and Crash and Burn just lacked something on some of the tunes. Was it too heavy on the keyboards? YES. Travers plays guitar and started to forget that later on in his career. I have always been a true PT fan buying everything that he puts out including the new one with Carmine Appice. Nothing beats this record. BUY IT NOW, Thank me later."

Simply Excellent!

Jeff H. Hickman | Lancaster, Pa. | 12/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, after searching in vain for years, I have found the Rock and Roll "Holy Grail!" If you are a fan of The Pat Travers Band, then no collection is complete without this one! I first heard Pat Travers when I was 15 years old and I was hooked! Does anyone write "Funk Rock" like Mr. Travers? Not in '78 anyway. This is a very hard hitting as well as melodic undertaking. Listen to Hammerhead and Prelude, you'll see what I mean! Not surprisingly, this CD still holds up. This is the best line up in my opinion the Pat Travers Band ever had. Pat Thrall is amazing as is the always tasteful and funky Mars Cowling. Tommy Aldridge, of whom I have always been a great admirer of since he was with Black Oak Arkansas, completely lays waste to any other drummer of that era. Technique and groove rule on this album! And lastly, Pat's vocals and heartfelt emotional guitar compositions ALWAYS blow my mind! Do yourself a favor and get this one..And fast!"

THERE"S HEAT ALRIGHT!!

Baddstuff | astoria, ny United States | 02/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You didn't want THIS band opening for your band, uh uh! The track 'Heat In The Street' alone is worth the price of admission here. I have been a Tommy Aldridge fan since his drumming days with Black Oak Arkansas and he is in fine form here. Pat Travers put out some very good material in his heyday and should have been bigger. I saw him during his 'Black Pearl' days and he did not disappoint. Adding this CD to your collection is highly recommended.

www.electriceyes.us"

Classic late '70s metal-boogie

Tom P. the Underground Navigator | Park Forest, IL USA | 05/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was only three when this album was originally released, so I kind of missed out on it the first time around. Sometime in the mid-'90s though, in general captivated by older music, especially when heard on the original vinyl, I was scouring the used LPs at a local record shop (remember those?) searching for lost treasure, when I happened upon the unforgettable cover of the album being reviewed here "Heat in the Street," depicting the members of Pat Travers Band chilling out relaxing in the hot sun, killing off a cold one or two with some remarkably hot women. Now, all these years later, this long out of print vinyl title is forever frozen in time on CD, thanks to the folks at the U.K.'s Majestic Rock label.

The album cover, which has thankfully been faithfully reproduced in the CD version, speaks volumes about the coming to be of the recording as well as the free-spirited nature of the music itself. Recorded in Miami during the sultry summer of '78, "Heat in the Street" is the perfect summer album. Even if you play it in the dead of winter though, the fun and lively spirit of the material is likely to get your body moving. Take "Go All Night" (which is track one of the B-side of the original LP) for instance. The sway and boogie of this track, along with lines like "Just another reason to party all night/If you've got to have a reason why," have seriously got me dancing around the room and in the mood to party many a time. It is followed by another classic track, "Evie," a very sexy number about the virtues of a really hot 17-year-old beauty (jailbait in other words). This album is just so FUN throughout. The band members sound like they had a blast that summer recording it and that translates well to the listener all these years later. One more notable track I must mention is the instrumental "Hammerhead," which is as good an example of late '70s speed metal as any. Classic stuff here.

Being a serious collector, I payed a high import price for my copy of the CD and that's a shame, that an album from a blues rock band as American as they come (though Travers himself is actually Canadian) is so hard to find in the band's own country. But get this album any way you can, even if it's an old vinyl copy (which isn't so bad. The album cover is so much bigger that way!). This material is very true and real, and endures with each passing year. Almost as fun to listen to as being rubbed down by the beautiful blonde girl that drummer Tommy Aldridge had the privilege of being in the cover photo..."

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