Search - Vinnie Vincent :: All Systems Go

Solid and gratifying

sauerkraut | 06/01/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"All Systems Go, the second full-length album from Vinnie Vincent Invasion that was released in 1988, is a consistent and enjoyable piece of music. This disc contains a total of 11 tracks--"Ashes to Ashes," "Dirty Rhythm," "Love Kills," "Naughty Naughty," "Burn," "Let Freedom Rock," "That Time of Year," "Heavy Pettin'," "Ecstasy," "Deeper and Deeper," and "Breakout." Overall, the musicianship is proficient, the songwriting is good, and the sound quality is tight, polished, and clean. All of the material is in a straight-ahead hard rock musical vein. Of the 11 cuts, eight of them are straightforward hard rockers, and the other three are power ballads ("Love Kills," "That Time of Year," "Ecstasy"). Vinnie Vincent, ex-Kiss, does a talented, unique, and energetic job with the guitar playing throughout--he undoubtedly is an original-sounding guitarist. I also think that Mark Slaughter does well with the singing; his high-pitched vocal delivery is both ambitious and spirited. I like every one of the songs. They all contain enjoyable harmony vocals. The ones that I consider to be personal favorites are the opening tune "Ashes to Ashes," the smooth "Love Kills," the pleasing "That Time of Year," and the rewarding "Ecstasy." The effervescent, catchy "Ashes to Ashes" features noteworthy rhythm guitar work and a creative, memorable, fleet-fingered guitar solo from Vincent. "Love Kills," a nice power ballad, displays enjoyable singing and a pleasing, melodic guitar solo. Another tuneful power ballad, "That Time of Year," provides an attractive chorus and a pleasurable guitar solo. The well-written, notable power ballad "Ecstasy," one of my favorite songs from Vinnie Vincent Invasion (and in general), is a touching and infectious confection--it exhibits inspired and impressive vocals from Slaughter, a good guitar solo, and luminescent harmony vocals. Other examples of compositions that I like are the sprightly-sounding "Burn," the hard rocking and urgent "Let Freedom Rock," and the fast-paced "Breakout." "Burn" sports a cool intro, a nice main guitar riff, emphatic harmony vocals, and a feisty, swift-fingered guitar solo. An interesting facet of "Let Freedom Rock" is its intro that's made up of Vincent's cool guitar rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner." I also like the tight guitar riff to "Let Freedom Rock." "Breakout" is also a vigorous one that features a nice falsetto from Slaughter. This digitally remastered CD is an import from England. The CD booklet includes the song lyrics. The back of the CD booklet shows four black-and-white photographs of each individual member of the band. Also, there's an individual black-and-white photo of each of the guys behind the CD tray. The back of the CD jewel case has a group photo that's in color. I like the CD cover artwork, too. The disc's total length is just over 49 minutes. It's nice to finally have All Systems Go on CD and not just on cassette. This is an album that I've enjoyed listening to since I first got it in 1988. It's a worthy and enjoyable album from Vinnie Vincent Invasion."

Vinnie Vincent's finest moment...

Marcus J. Viduya | Campbell, Ca United States | 06/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"... yes, I mean FINEST. This is the Invasion's most promising release (too bad it was this band's last). Both metal appeal and pop appeal, thx to the voice and persona of then-unknown vocalist Mark Slaughter. "Love Kills" and "That Time of the Year" are metal ballads at their finest: both rhythmic guitar picking and strumming and loud leads and ear-catching arrangements not heard in their contemporaries. One complete listen to this album will tell ANY rock music fan that this band had the makings of being one of the hottest bands of their time (late 80s, early 90s) (there are live recording floating around fan club sites which document this band as a moving force in rock at that time). Too bad for Vinnie: it seems there were conflicts between Vincent and Slaughter/Strum (vocals and bassist), and the latter two parted ways with Vincent and recorded (with Vincent's label, no less) as SLAUGHTER, selling millions to both rock and pop fans alike. I say "too bad" because you can hear the beginnings of what SLAUGHER became with this very CD."

All Systems Go!

Matthew Faulkerson | Cuyahoga Falls, OH USA | 11/13/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although this cd is a slightly weaker album than the previous Invasion album, it still kicks. Although Mark Slaughter's High pitched vocals take a little getting used to. Ashes to Ashes is the best hard rock anthem on this disc, followed by Dirty Rhythm. The last 3 songs worht going back to are Love Kills, Ecstasy, and That Time Of Year.
Its a must buy for any metal fan.
Vinnie did hold back on the shredding on this album (guess he wanted to show people he can do more than shred) because of that fact everyone considers this to be watered down, but just shredding does not make good rock music."