When holding this in your hands, you would think this is an obscure Canadian band from Winnipeg. Not a lot of bands operating out of Manitoba, and as it turns out, neither were Alpha Centauri. Apparently the group decided to expand their audience by going up to the northern prairie. An odd bit of research I would think. Not that Alpha Centauri were from the big city - coming from the northeastern town of Greeley. But Denver would have been closer... As I said about Greeley in my review for the Brutal Planet tape: This town is famous for a fine college (University of Northern Colorado) and... the smell of cow poo. Maybe that's why they left?
In any case, what do we have here musically speaking? Ah, that first track is a burner! The perfect blend of jamming hard rock and AOR sensibilities. This is exactly how it should be done. Great fat sounding synthesizers and crunching hard rock guitars. With that setup, most of the tracks deliver a similar type sound. It's more hard rock than commercial, but Alpha Centauri have a deft touch for both. A2 and B3 aren't up to snuff, but the rest more than make up for it. No wonder this title is sought after. Top tier for this kind of sound.
Ownership: LP: 1977 Salt Audio Devices (Canada). Single sleeve with insert. Recent acquisition (2022) from JL at a super price. There is a CD on Rock Candy, and I believe that's where it became known they were from Colorado. Had I not found this LP - knowing what I know after hearing this - I would certainly buy that CD, as the label is first rate. Since they are from here in Colorado, maybe I'll find another LP copy, though I have no idea if they brought many back home. I've never seen it otherwise, even in my first stint here back in the 90s.
10/19/22 (new entry)
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