On Chavis Records

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Back in the 80's, Quiet Riot were one of the first metal bands to hit Number One on the Billboard Charts with "Metal Health." It may be over 20 years, since "Bang Your Head" graced the top of the charts, but the band that sang that popular 80's anthem have possibly just released their best album of their career with "Rehab.”

Over the years Quiet Riot have gone through major line up changes. With the departure of Rudy Sarzo and Carlos Cavazo, Quiet Riot has taken on a new modern sound. In order to compete in today's musical market, Quiet Riot knew that they would have to change their 80's hairball image and create a new sound that is more diverse and solid. Over the years Kevin Dubrow and Frankie Banali always had a bluesy British Invasion style and were always more capable of falling into the same "Cum On Feel The Noize" mode than their fellow musical peers. In order to sing and perform the blues, you have to put your whole heart and soul into the song. On Quiet Riot's latest release, “Rehab” the core of Quiet Riot featuring Dubrow and Banali focus on the structure of a song, sing and play from the heart, and brought in one of the top session guitarists Neil Citron, and veteran bass player Tony Franklin to perform on the album. Quiet Riot also brought in Glenn Hughes, who also co-wrote a few songs and also teamed up for a duet with Kevin on the gutsy remake of the Spooky Tooth song, "Evil Woman”, which is one of the powerful tracks on “Rehab”.

“Rehab” contains 11 songs that sound nothing like the Quiet Riot from the 80's. The song writing is solid, Kevin Dubrow is sounding a lot like Steve Marriott from Humble Pie, and Frankie Banali takes his Led Zeppelin drum style technique to a new level, pounding out some of the funkiest grooves to date.

Opening track, ”Free" has a modern day heavy style that is due to the fact that Alex Grossi helped co-write the song. I had to listen twice to the song, and make sure it was really Quiet Riot. I really like the heavy modern guitar approach mixed with Kevin's vocals. Next up "Blind Faith" starts off with a nice acoustic intro, great lyrics, and catchy rhythm guitar that drags you in from the get co.“Rehab” is very well mixed, and accelerates the core of Quiet Riot's powerful performance.

The album is full of surprises, and contains many classic Quiet Riot gems including my favorite, ”South Of Heaven." Drummer Frankie Banali weaves his Bonham like drum style around Kevin Dubrow's strong, bluesy vocals. Kevin told me, he wrote this song with Frankie in mind. In my opinion, "South Of Heaven" is one of Quiet Riot’s strongest song to date. Another sure pleaser is "Black Reign", written by Dubrow. The tune has a catchy chorus, and nice guitar work.

Another highlight includes, "Old Habits Die Hard." If you are a big fan of the British Invasion sound, "Old Habits Die Hard" could have easily been a great Rod Stewart song. The song has a great bluesy feel, lyrics that make you feel the pain, and a driving drum beat that haunts you. Again, if you are looking to find the same old cliché of "Bang Your Head", you won't find it anywhere on "Rehab." What you will find is solid songwriting, passionate vocals, and excellent drum work. The guitars and bass are all centered on what Dubrow and Banali hope to capture. A strong bluesy sound, infused with a dash of modern guitar work that is very different from the 80’s Quiet Riot that we have known for years. Kevin Dubrow and Frankie Banali have grown up musically, and are re-writing a chapter in their career that they can be proud of.

Not many 80's bands continue to put out music that the fans want to hear. Quiet Riot has managed to reinvent them with “Rehab”. You will have to listen to this record two or three times, to realize that it is Quiet Riot, all grown up and ready to show the world that Quiet Riot is indeed, "Alive and Well." The core of Quiet Riot featuring Kevin Dubrow and Frankie Banali have taken charge of their career, writing possible the best album of their career. The two veteran rockers combine their musical influences, write from the heart, and deliver a performance that is outstanding and powerful.

Other highlights include, "In Harms Way", and the bluesy rendition of "Evil Woman," which features a duet with Kevin Dubrow and Glen Hughes. "Evil Woman" features two strong vocal performances of Dubrow and Hughes, which make "Evil Woman" one of the best cuts on the CD.

If you are a fan of the band Quiet Riot from the 80's, and want to hear how the voice of Quiet Riot Kevin Dubrow and drummer extradonnaire Frankie Banali have expanded their musical talents pick up a copy of“Rehab”and you will be pleasantly surprised.

I recently had the opportunity to ask Kevin, what his thought were on “Rehab”. This is what he had to say and I could not agree more.

"It is something that you should give a chance before you write off us off as just another 80's cheese ball band. It is not what you think it is going to be. I think it is going to be better than you expect it to be" Kevin also discusses with me the sound the band was aiming for in the studio. We always listened to 70's music. Quiet Riot started in 1975. I started to going to concerts in 1970. I was influenced by songs from the late 60's and early 70's era. Quiet Riot, in the case of Frankie and I have always been capable of more than just "Bang Your Head." Not everyone else was. But we were. So once we surround ourselves with other musicians who freed up our ability to play a variety of styles, we could to a lot of things that we enjoyed listening to as rock fans, but not necessarily able to play with the people in the band with. A lot of stuff is blues based. I mean we are not a blues band, but a lot of stuff is more blues oriented. It is really fun for us because that is what we grew up listening to."

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