Another big noise band from the years that time forgot. Spread Eagle do admittedly have more in common with the gyrating sleaze of Guns 'n' Roses and heavier Skid Row than with alterno-metal, but somehow this little gem of a record has the swagger to at least prop up the likes of Love/Hate and Saigon Kick, remaining far too cool to be just another sleazy hair record. The band may wear cowboy boots and have big hair, but there's far more substance here, mainly in vocalist Ray West who literally blitzes the speakers with his catty growl which is part Axl, part Sebastian Bach but made all the more noticeable by some of the large grooves on offer. Spread Eagle, like so many others from this period, simply faded away whilst lesser talented acts took the limelight, but you can't go wrong with a track like 'Switchblade Serenade', driving rock with just a hint at colour which promises even better things. I heard their second album ('Open To The Public') was cool too, but as Nirvana mania suffocated the radio waves, Spread Eagle were destined for the garbage bin. Shame.
7.5/10
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