Album Review — Quiet Riot

Quiet Riot — Hollywood Cowboys

It’s hard to keep up with the comings and goings of Quiet Riot. As most know, Randy Rhoads, of Ozzy Osbourne fame, and Kevin DuBrow started the band in the 70s. Rhoads left for Ozzy’s band and DuBrow carried on with Rudy Sarzo, Carlos Cavazo and Frankie Banali to form the most successful era of the band. DuBrow passed away in 2007 and the band took an extended break until 2010. There have been multiple singers since the re-boot with a rash of changes recently. The band changed lead singers after the recording of “Hollywood Cowboys” from James Durbin to Jizzy Pearl, who has been in the band before. Durbin entered the band after the band’s previous singer, Seann Nicols, recorded the full “Road Rage” album and then left. On top of all that, Banali announced he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April.

Somehow the band has continued to release albums with the latest titled “Hollywood Cowboys” released on Frontiers Music.

The first thing I noticed when listening to the new record is that this is Banali’s band. The drums are way up front in the mix, much more so than anything I’ve heard recently. Durbin’s voice has some of the same characteristics as DuBrow, but he doesn’t have the same gruff that DuBrow featured.

There are some good tracks here. The album opener, “Don’t Call It Love”, is a quality up beat rocker. “In The Blood” is next and might be my favorite track on the record. It’s probably the closest sound to the Paul Shortino era of the band which I liked the most.

After a good start, the album takes a dip for me. There aren’t any bad songs, per se, there just isn’t much that stands out. But the album picks up near the end with “Wild Horses”, “Holding On” and the album closer, “Arrows and Angels”. All three are quality tracks that again are more similar to the Shortino era than DuBrow.

To be honest, with all the turnover in the band I didn’t expect a lot from this record. But it’s better than I expected. The good news for the band going forward is Pearl’s voice is similar to Durbin’s so he shouldn’t have any problem performing these tracks. Obviously, Banali’s health is the most concerning and hopefully he pulls through.

If you are a Quiet Riot fan, it’s definitely worth checking out “Hollywood Cowboys”. Overall, some good tracks here and better than I expected.

80 out of 100.

Track Listing

1. Don’t Call It Love
2. In the Blood
3. Heartbreak City
4. The Devil That You Know
5. Change or Die
6. Roll On
7. Insanity
8. Hellbender
9. Wild Horses
10. Holding On
11. Last Outcast
12. Arrows and Angels

*Best Songs