I have been a Quiet Riot fan for years and one of my frustrations is that the band never seems to play in Brooklyn or Manhattan. I think the band's last show in the city was 2003 at B.B. King's. I rarely go to shows outside of the area but last year I drove to Staten Island to see the band's show at the St. George Theatre and it was a fabulous show. The band looked and sounded better than they did in 2003.

Finally, Quiet Riot are playing a show in the city. They are playing the Canal Room on April 6th. (There is another show in the area on April 7th at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ)

The band is continuing to tour behind their CD Rehab, which was released late last year on Chavis Records. This CD has been on my iPod for the last few weeks and I really like the band's change in sound. The glossy production and party-rock sound of past releases is gone and the band's current sound is harder and more blues oriented. A point of comparison would be Humble Pie or the David Coverdale lineup of Deep Purple. The Deep Purple comparison seems particularly appropriate as Glenn Hughes sings and plays on a few cuts, including a fabulous cover of Evil Woman (which was recorded by Spooky Tooth in the late 60s).

The band sounds in great form on this release. There is one track that is a throwback to "party rock" sound (It Sucks to be You ) but, other than this, the band's sound is firmly routed in early 70's British Rock. Some of my favorite cuts are South of Heaven, Black Reign and Old Habits Die Hard. The later song even features a gospel chorus which fits perfectly within the song.

The band has an integrated sound on this disc and all instruments and vocals flow together. Prior to listening to this disc, I hadn't heard of session guitarist Neil Citron before. He plays some amazing leads and Tony Franklin (x-The Firm), Frankie and Kevin all sound great. As great as the band sounds on disc, the touring lineup that includes Alex Grossi and Chuck Wright sounded even better at the Staten Island show last year so Neil and Tony's contributions aren't necessarily missed. (I still would like to see Kevin sing live with Glenn Hughes though).

You can find all Quiet Riot news through Frankie Banali's website. There are a couple of interesting interviews posted to Frankie's site that are worth checking out.

- Frankie discusses Rehab track-by-track - Link
- KNAC.com interviews Frankie on the (then) new release - Link