“We’ve come too far , too turn back now'” sings Mike Peters during a particularly telling moment on The Alarm’s new album, RAW. This is The Alarm laid bare, cut to the bone The RAW album is a catharsis for The Alarm, a way to cleanse the system after 10 years of hard rock n’ roll. The Alarm’s first all new release of the nineties sees the band stripped of all excess. Producing themselves for the first time, the RAW album revolves around the four primary colors of rock ‘n roll- guitar, bass, drum and vocals.
Above the 12-string acoustic guitar intro of the title track, “RAW”, the emotion of Peter’s voice is at once naked and beautiful until the nervous calm is shattered by Dave Sharp’s savage, but controlled electric guitar. Coupled with the volatile rhythm section of bass player Eddie MacDonald and drummer Nigel Twist, this is The Alarm at the sharp end.
Lyrically, RAW’s songs are incisive and direct, reflecting the band’s need to come to terms with itself and its audience in the face of an uncertain decade ahead. “Moments In Time” tells the story of a life that has seen so much, yet still has all to do. The raucous “God Save Somebody” is a plea for sense amongst the confusion and fits perfectly alongside the the Alarm’s frantic cover of the Neil Young neo-classic, “Rockin’ In The Free World”. Young, in fact, recently joined the band onstage to perform the song together, a nod to the band’s growing stature as respected international artists.
The saying “they don’t make them like this anymore” is very true of RAW, an album recorded on 24 tracks in 28 days in a liverpool studio. “The idea was to limit ourselves in the studio so that we were forced to work with the bare essential of our music” says Peters. “There was no room for elaborate overdubs, no time to indulge ourselves.” Indeed, RAW is exactly that. The driving, propulsive “The Wind Blows Away My Words” and the near skiffle of “Wonderful World” are rock at its purest form. The arrangements may be economic, but this allows the individual members of the Alarm more time to express themselves and the range of expression on RAW is all encompassing.
Formed in 1981, the Alarm signed with I.R.S. after an impressive self-financed debut single, “Unsafe Building.” Their first I.R.S release was a virtually acoustic e.p. featuring such classics as “The Stand” and “Marching On”.
DECLARATION, the group’s first full album lived up to the e.p.’s bold promise. Called “a brilliant record” by musician magazine, DECLARATION demanded attention. So did the Alarm’s live performances, where a unique blend of acoustic and electric sounds became a source of inspiration to many. “68 Guns” and “Where Were You Hiding” became British top 20 hit singles, and constant touring in the tradition of all great bands saw the Alarm establish themselves in the U.S.
STRENGTH confirmed the Alarm’s forceful arrival on the music scene, and several of the songs (“Spirit Of ’76”, the title track) became major radio hits. The band capped its exhaustive touring with a landmark Los Angeles show, broadcast around the world by MTV.
EYE OF THE HURRICANE was released in the fall of 1987, featuring the hook lade hit song, “Rain In The Summertime” and the blistering “Rescue Me” among others. A series of world tours, including and acclaimed 2-month outing with Bob Dylan solidified their reputation for all out live shows, and culminated in the band’s first ever collection of live songs, ELECTRIC FOLKLORE.
With CHANGE, the Alarm broke new ground, on all levels. The album was released not only in English, but Welsh too (titles NEWID) and hit new chart highs the world over. This included the #1 American AOR track, “Sold Me Down The River” and the poignant U.K. success, “A New South Wales” (recorded with the Morriston Orpheus Male Vooice Choir). And, because the Welsh people embraced NEWID so fondly, a Welsh version of RAW will be made available shortly.
STANDARDS a collection of the Alarm’s finest recordings was issued as a retrospective of the band’s history, but also contained a glimpse of the future with the new song “The Road”
The future of the Alarm is now. RAW will be released in the U.S. on April 23, and the band will begin playing North America shortly thereafter. And like the RAW album, the RAW tour will be an essential study in basics – a band, an audience, and a lot of great rock ‘n roll.
