Search - Accept, Quiet Riot :: Take 2

Decent overview of 80's metal stalwarts

William Matson | Maine | 08/15/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"'Take Two: Accept/Quiet Riot' is a budget-priced release which takes five songs from the early catalog of each artist. Both Accept and Quiet Riot were giants in the early 80's metal pig pile. Some of the songs which earned them that status can be found right here.



Three albums by Accept, recorded during their prime, are represented on this collection. "Fast as a shark" and "Princess of the dawn" are both favorites from 1983's 'Restless and Wild.' Accept's breakthrough album, 'Balls to the Wall' from 1984, is represented by the title track (their biggest single/video) and the song "Guardian of the Night." The remaining selection is the title track from the 1985 effort, 'Metal Heart.' This covers the five songs included here for Accept. Overall, there is little to complain about.



Quiet Riot's representation leaves a little something to be desired. "Cum on Feel the Noize" and "Slick Black Cadillac" can both be found on the 1983 multi-platinum album, 'Metal Health.' While these cuts are great choices from the album, it is hard not to include the title track. Casual fans will be looking for that one, not "Slick Black Cadillac."



The follow-up, 'Condition Critical' (1984), is represented by the title track and "Party All Night." Although the song, "Condition Critical", is a favorite among rabid fans of Quiet Riot (and for good reason), "Mama weer all crazee now" was an actual single/video from this album. One has to question the song selection here, since there are only five slots available on 'Take Two' for Quiet Riot. For that reason, the ideal thing would be to use the biggest singles.



As you might guess, this period of Quiet Riot was when they were in their prime. During this period, they recorded an album called 'QRIII' in 1986, which was the follow-up to their records from 1983 and 1984. For whatever reason, that one is not covered here. The release that came after that one, titled 'QR', is highlighted on this collection with the song, "Run to You." "Run to You" is a ballad in the vein of Whitesnake that doesn't hold up as well as Quiet Riot's other music. The fact that original singer, Kevin DuBrow, had been temporarily replaced by solid (but undistinguished) journeyman Paul Shortino may have something to do with that. There is a better song on the album, like the single/video, "Stay with me tonight."



In theory, this lineup of music by Quiet Riot is a pretty good one but some of their biggest hits will not be found here. I suppose it doesn't matter but it would have been nice to have something, such as "The Wild and The Young" (a single) from 'QRIII.' Whatever the case, four of the five songs here for Quiet Riot are strong.



'Take Two: Accept/Quiet Riot' is still a very enjoyable listen and you won't really need to skip over anything on here. It does do a much better job of presenting Accept than Quiet Riot, who got the short end of the stick. Die-hard metal fans may prefer Accept's original studio albums from this time period, 1983-1985, as there isn't a definitive collection of their work to promote (their live albums don't count). A Quiet Riot fan (die-hard or casual) will almost certainly be forced to search out a greatest hits collection, because a lot of their key songs are missing here. Fortunately, there are a lot of alternatives out there that are easily available. You can expect to find limited liner notes and no new material, since everything here can be found on other albums. Based on the price alone, this is a low-risk purchase. With that said, there is no reason to pick this up if you already own the catalogs of Accept and/or Quiet Riot.







"