Description
Very hard to get LP. Bernie Shaw is the vocalist here, along with Phil Lanzon on keyboards/ piano. Both went to Uriah Heep later on, and Bernie to Praying Mantis among others, while Phil went to play with Lionheart. Andy Beirne the drummer, was in the legendary Dirty Tricks before, later he went to play with Max and The Broadway Metal Choir.
Grand Prix s/T’ – “During The Late 1970s and early 1980s the British hard rock scene was exploding with new groups. Dubbed the NWOBHM, it was a movement that sent the genre back to basics, feeding off the punk do-it-yourself ethics. Groups such as Iron Maiden, Samson and Saxon reaped big rewards but, beneath the top layers of success, a number of other highly-talented rock bands were also looking to make an impact. Grand Prix were one such act. Signed to RCA records, the band were launched to solid critical acclaim, but their music was quickly identified as being far too sophisticated to truly align them to the NWOBHM. Like Praying Mantis, White Spirit, Tobruk and Shy, the bands penchant for polish, melody and complex arrangements meant that they were quickly sidelined by many in favour of the more in-your-face attributes of the competition. With a sound steeped in American radio rock, comparisons were immediately made to Styx, Kansas, Saga and Journey. However, Grand Prix were, it must be said, practically the only British band of the era that could hold a candle to the serious melodic sensibilities of their American cousins. Part of the reason for this was the appointment of vocalist Bernie Shaw, a Canadian citizen who had moved to the UK in search of new opportunities.
PL 25321 |
UK | 1980 |
| Personnel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phil Lanzon keyboards, synthesizers, piano, vocals [Uriah Heep] Michael O’Donoghue guitars, vocals [Bronz] Ralph Hood bass, vocals Andy Beirne drums, percussion Bernie Shaw lead vocals [Uriah Heep] |
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Bernie Shaw is today a great vocalist with Uriah Heep, and the first Grand Prix album is excellent because of Phil Lanzon’s writing abilities.
Great UK pomp rock band ,second only to Magnum in that respect.
Excellent debut release, and probably my fave of the three (although the others are recommended aswell). Great songs throughout with ‘Which Way Did The Wind Blow’, ‘Westwind’ and ‘Feel Like I Do’ being the standouts for me. Waiting for the Night starts the album off with a great bouncy feel…the bass sounds great. Which Way Does the Wind Blow is a classic song. You must really get all three all are worth a place in your collection.
This is pure pomp, as good as it gets (along with Magnum),IMO. For some reason the best offerings from these two bands remind me in a subtle way of having Yes influences, although I really can’t explain why. Vocal harmonies? 90125? Maybe it’s just the mood they put me in, I don’t know. Grand Prix sure was a great band though, unashamedly theatric.
Good debut album by Grand Prix that had in its first line up the very talented vocalist Bernie Shaw (nowadays and since a long long time ago with Uriah Heep)…Pomp Rock ala old school is what they delivered on this album…my faves are “Thinking Of You”(nice & catchy),”Which Way Did The Wind Blow”(nice),”Westwind”,”Next To You”,”You Know It Can Be” (reminded me of the band Triumph in here) & “The Very Last Time(Dreamer)”(nice)….90/100
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