Description

Check the video of the LP for sale:

<————— Check the video of the LP for sale

---

Tell No Tales is the third studio album by the Norwegian hard rock band TNT. It was the best selling TNT album in the US, according to their bassist Morty Black.

VERH 39

Track listing:
“Everyone’s a Star” (Harnell, Tekrø) 3:21
“10,000 Lovers (In One)” (Harnell, Tekrø, Dahl) 2:54
“As Far as the Eye Can See” (Harnell, Tekrø) 3:41
“Sapphire” (Tekrø) 1:14
“Child’s Play” (Harnell, Tekrø) 4:25
“Smooth Syncopation” (Harnell, Tekrø) 0:50
“Listen to Your Heart” (Harnell, Tekrø) 3:18
“Desperate Night” (Harnell, Tekrø) 3:33
“Northern Lights” (Harnell, Tekrø, Nessjø) 4:10
“Incipits” (Harnell, Tekrø) 0:50
“Tell No Tales” (Harnell, Tekrø, Dahl) 2:21

Band:
Tony Harnell Vocals
Ronni Le Tekrø Guitars, guitar synthesizer
Morty Black Bass guitar, pedal synthesizer
Morten “Diesel” Dahl Drums, percussion

Additional personnel
Håkon Iversen Background vocals
Baard Svensen Keyboards and programming
Bjørn Nessjø Keyboards and programming
Carlos Waadeland Keyboards and programming

Year Country Position
1987 Norway 1
1987 Sweden 41
1987 United States 100

Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1987 “10,000 Lovers (In One)” Norway 2
1987 “Everyone’s a Star” Norway 1

There are two different music videos for the song “Everyone’s a Star”. Apparently the band wasn’t satisfied with the first video, jokingly referred to as “pølsevideoen” (the sausage video), so they went to London and recorded a new video there.

The proper version:

+ (the sausage video) alternate version of the popular TNT video:

5.0 out of 5 stars The album that defined my music taste!,
The fine orchestration of guitars and and gut wrenching vocals is mesmerising. A must have for any 1980s heavy metal fan!
=================================================
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant melodic rock album,
This was the album that got me into AOR/melodic rock – brilliant guitar playing, incredible vocals, what more could you ask for? “10,000 lovers” and “As far as the eye can see” are hit single type catchy AOR with massive hooks and great guitars. Great anthemic stuff. “Northern Lights” is a beautiful ballad with Tony Harnell’s gut wrenching vocals and the title is one of the fastest, most insane metal tracks ever – Harnell delivers a truly violent vocal delivery and it has a guitar solo which can only be described as “mad”. If you like powerful melodic rock with loads of harmony vocals BUY THIS ALBUM!!!!
=============================================
5.0 out of 5 stars Nostalgia!,
I remember hearing this lot in the later part of the 1980s, and being blown away by some of the guitar playing.
The highlight, for me, is the track Child’s Play with some heart-felt vocals and lucid guitar playing, which is finished with a sweet acoustic guitar instrumental (Smooth Syncopation). A great song, in other words. “Desperate Night” and “As far as the eye can see” are the rockier highlights, with some fine guitar work and helium vocals.

---

Their first masterpiece – 98%
It took them three years to follow ‘Knights of the New Thunder,’ and when they did, they clearly had some different aims in mind. So what if it was more commercial? So what if it was even slicker? So what if it was even more melodic than ‘Knights…’? So what??? Everything gelled, and it was the sound of authority. It was the same lineup from the previous album, and it was a band on a very serious mission, coming up with a gem EVERY – SINGLE – SONG. Wow.

If you dig Dokken and Def Leppard, if you like the fiery histrionics of Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Trinity’ and ‘Eclipse,’ if you ever liked anything about TNT – and what self-respecting metal fan can’t find something to love about vocalist Tony Harnell and guitarist Ronni Le Tekro – you must add this album to your collection and put it into rotation immediately. This is a totally incredible, elite, beautiful slice of melodic metal mastery. No one has ever done it better. No, not even Dokken…

‘Tell No Tales’ (T.N.T., geddit?) kicks off on a pristine note, the one-two punch of “Everyone’s a Star” and “10,000 Lovers (in One)” showing a glistening, crystalline TNT emerging from and surpassing the myth-metal direction they could have gone in after the previous album. It’s all love and positive vibes and celestial cleanliness here. Catchy as the flu, too. There’s no denying how they totally own it on these two openers, as well as third track “As Far as the Eye Can See.” Glory. Glory. And more glory.

Then we get into the balladic side of TNT. “Child’s Play” is grandiose, and a rather excellent display of Harnell’s incomparable voice. The song stacks on the lush layers of sound the band were starting to slather on many of their compositions, and the Brian May-esque approach of guitarist Ronni Le Tekro is in keeping with the Queen-like studio approach that TNT display throughout this album. Later ballad “Northern Lights” is the ethereal flipside of “Child’s Play,” a step into pure AOR territory, and it’s undeniably beautiful. My only problem with this album is the appearance of two ballads. Had they held back one of these songs for a single, or the next album, this would qualify as a 100-percenter of an album. Commercial, super-slick, squeaky clean authority comes back with “Listen to Your Heart,” a track of considerable emotional weight.

So is there anything resembling ‘Knights…’-level power metal glory here? Absolutely. “Desperate Night” is dark and brooding, a mid-paced thing of epic stature, something Q5 would have proudly recorded for ‘Steel the Light,’ or something MSG never quite reached, but certainly hinted at many times–if you get my drift. Textured and layered, “Desperate Night” may indeed be the ultimate TNT track if you’re looking for serious epic metal within an unapologetic melodic foundation. Then there’s the title track: melodic speed metal like Dokken’s “Lightnin’ Strikes Again” plus “Til the Livin’ End” then amped up in precision and power. This song smokes. It has to be considered in any serious metal fan’s library of greatness. “Tell No Tales” decapitates with its sharp Le Tekro riffing and insane solo, topped by the incredible command Harnell has of his high pitched wail.

Segues such as the Paginini-on-acid “Sapphire” and haunting “Incipits” underscore the special, individualistic talent of Le Tekro. They also deepen the journey of this very special album. Just try to ignore the cover art. It’s enough to induce a gag reflex even in those of us who don’t mind ‘80s fashions. Its looks just do NOT match up to the superiority of the music itself, and I have to be a traditionalist and admit that I lament the absence of the classic TNT logo, which is relegated only to the back cover (which features more glamor shots of the boyzzz). Hey, it was 1987, what are you gonna do?

Despite that latter cosmetic gripe: this…fucking rules.

---

The gem of 80s glam metal! – 99%
I’ve heard alot of talk about fellow Norwegian band TNT. So I’ve decided to give them a listen. Since this was their most popular album, I’ve decided to start off with this album. Man, was I blown away by the awesomeness of this album. This has to be the best glam metal album of all time, or at least from what I’ve heard so far. It even beats Motley Crue’s Shout At the Devil, and that was one hell (haha get it?) of an awesome album. I don’t see anything wrong with this album, it’s pretty much flawless. That is if you are into the style of course.

First of all, the singer’s voice is amazing. He’s pretty much the big-haired version of Bruce Dickenson/Rob Halford. He has such high vocal range, and he sounds so emotional as well. He pretty much makes Tony Kakko (Sonanta Arctica) seem emotionless. He’s one hell of a singer, and he even pulls of falsetto very well without sounding annoying like the guy from Nitro. The other members pull their weight as well. The guitarists can solo like crazy, and they pull off some pretty damn catchy riffs.

The best songs would have to be the hits Everyone’s a Star, 10,000 Lovers in One, as well as As Far As the Eye Can See, and especially Listen To your Heart with that emotional yet still fun sounding chorus. Hell, even the two ballads, Child’s Play and Northern Lights are pulled off perfectly. Hell, there really isn’t a single song on here that isn’t worthy of mention. As I said before, this album is pretty much flawless.

If I could compare this band to any two bands, it would have to be Europe meets Poison. It has the emotional feel of Europe, yet also has the fun side of Poison which go together perfectly. I really wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who isn’t a fan of 80s metal/hard rock, but if you like Poison, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Europe, or pretty much any glam metal band form the 80s, you will absolutely love this album. It’s a flawless glam metal album, and thus it is certainly worth seeking out. This is an underrated album form an underrated band. Why I didn’t know about this band sooner, I’ll never know.

Έχοντας εδραιωθεί με τον μνημειώδες “Knights of the new thunder”, οι ΤΝΤ θα έπρεπε να δώσουν δισκογραφική συνέχεια νωρίτερα, αλλά οι δυσκολίες επέφεραν μια καθυστέρηση 3 ετών μέχρι να βγει το παρόν. Αναμφίβολα, υπήρχε και μουσική διαφοροποίηση με το γρήγορο metal του 1984. Το “Tell no tales” τους βρίσκει πιο μελωδικούς και με πεσμένες ταχύτητες να ακροβατούν ανάμεσα στο μελωδικό metal και το σκληρό hard rock. Το εύρος της φωνής του Αμερικανοφερμένου Tony Harnell επέτρεπε στον LeTekro να ενσαρκώσει όλες του τις μουσικές φαντασιώσεις. Άλλωστε το ζευγάρι τραγουδιστή-κιθαρίστα είχε περάσει μεγάλο από το μεσοδιάστημα συνθέτοντας μαζί. Αν και σε πολυεθνική, αν και γεμάτο δουλεμένες συνθέσεις, ένα πιο ευθύ Malmsteen-ικό αποτέλεσμα (είπατε τίποτα; Για ακούστε το “Sapphire”, ή το “Desperate cry”), δεν είχε την τεράστια επιτυχία που θα έπρεπε, αφού δεν το προώθησαν αρκετά για την εποχή. Παρόλα αυτά, είναι μάλλον το πιο επιτυχημένο εμπορικά των Νορβηγών. Με τα πρώτα δυο τραγούδια να έχουν μείνει στην ιστορία της μπάντας, ίσως να φαίνεται πως το άλμπουμ γέρνει κάπως προς την Α πλευρά (ναι, για το βινύλιο μιλάμε). Τα “10000 lovers” και “Everyone’s a star” παραμένουν κορυφαία. Αυτό που χτυπά μετά από 25 χρόνια είναι τα υψίφωνα του Harnell, που λες και του κρατάνε σφιχτά τ’ αχαμνά του, ακόμα και στις μπαλάντες! Ναι, ίσως να μαρτυρά την ηλικία του το “Tell no tales”, όμως αυτό δεν το μειώνει γιατί μουσικά είναι αυτό που έχτισε το όνομα των ΤΝΤ. Α και να μην ξεχάσω, το ομώνυμο κομμάτι αποτίνει φόρο τιμής στο power παρελθόν και είναι ότι πρέπει για κοπάνημα. [Γιώργος Κουκουλάκης]