Saxon

Another trio of statements.

And so the Saxon nostalgia trip rolls on. Three more albums from their impressive back catalogue, this time showing how they adapted to the demands of the late 80s.

By 1985’s Innocence Is No Excuse (7/10), the band had signed to EMI. And there’s a slightly more commercial nous brought into focus. However, the music drive is still present, and Back On The Streets and Rock ‘N’ Roll Gypsy are prime value Saxon.

By Rock The Nations (7/10) a year later, long time bassist Steve Dawson had gone, with

Biff handling all the bass parts for the album. The title track is a belter, while Northern Lady is a convincing power ballad. Oh, and Elton John gets behind the piano for the latter and also

Party ‘Til You Puke. There’s real thrust throughout.

In 1988, Saxon were perhaps a little inconsistent on Destiny

(6/10). It does have a superb, surprising cover of Christopher Cross’s Ride Like The Wind, and Where The Lightning Strikes has energy and verve, but some of the rest is slightly pallid.

The CD versions of these albums come with intriguing bonus tracks. Innocence has demos and B-sides. Rock The Nations includes live B-sides, plus three tracks from the band’s 1986 performance at the Reading Festival. Destiny features live B-sides and alternative mixes. These are packaged as 24-page media books. The LP editions have no extra tracks, but come in splattered coloured vinyl. Nice.