The Warrior story starts in 1982 with the Boston based band New England, featuring keyboard player Jimmy Waldo, bassist Gary Shea and drummer Hirsh Gardner, and how their plans to record their fourth album with Todd Rundgren were scuppered when their guitarist, John Fannon, unexpectedly quit the group. They put the word out that they required a new singer, and as they shared management with KISS, Gene Simmons recommended an unknown Vinnie Cusano, who was then helping KISS with their Creatures Of The Night opus. Although KISS liked Vinnie Cusano, it was felt that his lack of height was a hindrance to joining them as a full-time replacement for Ace Frehley! Vinnie sent New England a tape of his songs, and an audition was set-up. New England liked what they heard on Vinnies cassette so much that they decided to learn the whole set of songs in preparation for Cusanos audition. The four hit it off, but it was obvious that this was a new band, soon to be christened Warrior, & not just a seamless continuation of New England. What we have here is a what might have been mini-album of previously unheard, original, classic hard rock by four respected musicians at the top of their game. As well as the original six studio tracks, weve been lucky enough to include five instrumental versions, plus a very rare rehearsal tape featuring the aforementioned Fergie Henrikson.
N**C
Disappointing
I've had the Warrior demos for some years now on tape due to the New England connection, well the first 6 tracks anyway and was expecting them to be freshened up plus I was looking forward to hearing the tracks I hadn't heard before. Are they an improvement sound wise? - no I'm afraid not, the quality is pretty much the same i.e. very ropey. The same goes for the instrumental tracks and the tracks laid down with Fergie Frederiksen, it just sounds like people mucking about at band practise - which I guess it is to an extent. Fair enough record it for your own reference but I'm not sure of the value in releasing this "into the wild" as it does no-ones reputation any favours. HNE are releasing some good stuff from the archives but at times their quality really dips. Definitely one for completists who have to have everything an artist has done.
C**G
Its starts so well. But hell the spund on ...
Its starts so well . But hell the spund on the last half off the cd spils it all. But if you Are a fan of Vinny Vincent buy it
D**S
Four Stars
Good album , piece of history
M**L
Buyers beware 2.5 stars
My kiss obsession strikes again,well its bit me this time,this is a really poor quality release,poor sound quality and unlikely to have repeat spins in your CD player.tracks 1 -6 are studio recordings from 1982,prior to Vinnie joining Kiss,average sound quality,they are the best of the disc,disappointing to say the least.tracks 7 - 11 crap quality instrumentals,no better than several bootleg vinyl recordings i've had fpr 30 plus years, very poortracks 12 - 16 poor demos with Fergie Frederiksen on vocals,he would later join TOTO,nothing of any real quality or note.Vinnie would re use some of these tracks on his Vinnie Vincent Invasion releaseCant believe how disappointed this release has made me, stunned that Malcolm Dome of Classic Rock has lent his name to this,fairs fair his liner notes are the best part,pretty informative.
D**G
Five Stars
vinny, can you still shred in 2018?
M**G
In case you love Kiss, and want more from Vinnie Vincent. This is well worth it.
Ok, first let me say I am a huge Kiss fan. I try to get solo projects from all the members, past and present. So Vinnie Vincent, is a very talented man. However, as Gene Simmons says, Vinnie is his own worst enemy. That being said, he has faded away into the realm of forgotten musicians. The man is a recluse now, and that probably won't change in his lifetime. So if you like his music, like I do, (although his image after his time in kiss, was very....how do I put this? He made the band poison look real cool) Not a very good image after Kiss. However, the man can play the guitar, and his voice is awesome. Most people never heard him sing, I say the man's vocal ability is real cool. So what you have here is demos he recorded before his time in Kiss. The first 6 songs feature him on vocals and guitar. (The rest of the band is made up of professional musicians , as this was going to be a real band, until Kiss took him in) the first 6 songs are worth the price of the CD alone. The second set of five songs are instumentals. They sound ok. The last 5 songs were recorded with former one time toto singer, the late Fergie fredrickson. Now the quality of these demos is not the greatest, however the quality is good enough, if you admire Vinnie Vincent, then the CD is a must have, especially the first 6 songs.
J**O
NO ENGLAND !!!!
Si New England a été mon groupe AOR favori en 1979 à l'occasion de la sortie de leur premier album officiel (sachant qu'ils avaient fait une démo en 1978) c'est John Fannon avait seul composé le 1er album de New England, on comprend mieux avec ça ce qui va suivre...Ici Waldo, Shea et Gardner ne servent que de backing band à Vinnie Vincent qui signe toutes les compos, le studio recording, les répétitions instrumentales et pour finir les répéts avec le chanteur pour 2 jours c'est encore la partie la moins pire...on entend pas VV super mais on baigne dans un AOR de série Z à la Foreigner (beurk !!!)Pour le titre "Warrior featuring Vinnie Vincent" aurait suffit sans mentionner les 3 New England, même les garages bands amateurs font mieux et plus original dans la cave ou le garage de leurs parents (on les entend même accorder la guitare... c'était vraiment indispensable)Pour les amateurs de New England passez votre chemin et allez écouter leur Live At The Regent Theatre qui vient de sortir
B**A
Five Stars
fan of kiss and vinnie vincent
W**A
Five Stars
Awesome cd from Vinnie Vincent
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