Reviewed by Paul J Zickler
Released: September 5 1981 Clientelle Destination Unknown Genre: Friendly NWOBHM Prog Metal Rating: 3.9 out of 5 Highlights: My Lady Nice Girl Missing Persons Bike The four fellows in the band Clientelle all hailed from St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, where they got together in 1977. Their only full length release was 1981’s Destination Unknown. Part of the band split off in 1984, playing with various drummers and new lead guitarists between 1986 and 2003, when they ended things for good. The album opens with a blast of what I would call friendly metal. “All you gotta do is play to win / You’re not gonna tell me that it’s a sin / Play to win / Play to win.” Not the strongest opener, but it does have some nifty phased guitar effects and a grin-inducing weedly weedly solo just before the goofy repeated chorus that closes things out. What’s next? “My lady / She’s a rock and roll woman / She screams and shouts when she don’t get what she wants.” These are the opening lyrics of the fine second track, titled My Lady. It’s a sweet little song, complete with memorable melody, ace arpeggios, peppy power chords, bouncy bass line, serviceable solos, dependable drums and vivacious vocals. “Me and my baby goin’ out tonight / We’re gonna hit the city in sty-ull / Money in my pocket / Songs to sing.” I'm somehow reminded of both Boston and the Faces. This is the kind of metal you could listen to with your mates, but also take home to meet the folks. Can’t Forget ruffles a few more feathers with lyrics like “You’re playin’ on my mind / And your makin’ me mad / I’m so mad! / Somehow girl / I’m gonna get your blood.” But not for one second do I believe these guys are capable of violence. Maybe among real metalheads that would be a negative, but it makes me like them even more. “Ha ha / Don’t know the meaning of pain / I know / You want me back again / But I can’t forget / No no! / I’m a loser again.” There is an unfortunate bit of chanting in this song that makes the last minute unlistenable. In a quest for some atmosphere, Destination Unknown opens with a high, quiet riff over sweeping wind effects. “There must be a way / A way to find / In this uncertainty / Some peace of mind.” Maybe Clientelle are just hippies at heart. Again, this does not make me like them less, even though this might be the weakest song of the lot. It’s not a bad idea to give the fans a chance to veg for six and a half minutes before you rock them into submission again, right? Nice Girl puts things back on the right track, as the boys let their hair down and rock out. Still, it never gets too rowdy. “Feelin’ lonely / Do ya want company tonight?” sings Rockit Roy Powell, and then Rik Taylor busts out a screaming lead, then the song modulates a whole step higher for a verse, before settling back into the original key for another blast of metal shredding from Rik, a scream from Roy, some chugging rhythms from bass player Steve and drummer Phil, and the whole thing wraps up in just under four minutes. Skyflier incorporates a galloping rhythm and repeated guitar figure to invoke the spirit of Prog, but not the pretentious kind. Mostly they just repeat “All the people” over and over, throw in some Yeahs and Whoas here and there, and try to have a good time. It doesn’t quite work, but it doesn’t distract much from the overall vibe. “I had a dream / It came true / Just a dream I gave my time to / I made some money / I had a good time / Ate the best food / Drank the best wine.” Weedly weedly weedly wee! Missing Persons fits nearly everything cool about NWOBHM into 2:51. Wham bam, thank you ma’am. The very next track, simply titled Bike, keeps the chugga chugga beat going, adding some vocal harmonies, a siren sound effect, and a slightly faster tempo. The lyrics are about a kid riding his bike way too fast while he imagines he’s in a race car, leading to what sounds like a wipeout. It’s a ride! This is the kind of music this band was good at making. I’m glad they got to make it and I get to listen to it. Clientelle closes the album with a nearly eight minute long epic called Missing Presumed Dead. There are some lyrics I couldn’t quite discern about the devil, a black cow coming over a mountain, the earth and the golden moon. The middle section slows down, adding spacey reverb, noodling guitar, and more far out lyrics about … something. Then it’s weedly weedly time again. Someone jumps on a charger and defeats the powers of evil over some heroic chord changes and a few minutes of wandering dual guitar solos bring it home. While they were never going to give Rush any serious competition, they sound like they had a good time trying. “Clientelle opened for Motorhead in St Albans on Saturday 28th May 1983. (40 years ago last weekend!). DID YOU KNOW? - "This gig was running late. The main doors were delayed in opening and no time for a Clientelle soundcheck.” This is the most recent post from the band’s still-active Facebook page. When I say “still active,” I mean somebody (possibly Steve Trudgett) has been posting photos, newspaper clippings, gig posters, YouTube videos, band quotes, home recordings, and memories on a regular basis from May 30, 2019 to this very day, exactly four years later. While there are only 162 followers, every post elicits likes and comments aplenty. This is a band that had a devoted local following and inspired some lasting memories. They seem like genuinely good blokes. Alas, not all of Clientelle have lived to tell the tale. Lead guitarist Rik Taylor died suddenly in 2008, and original drummer Phil Goodfellow passed away in 2020. Steve and Rockit Roy continue to interact with their fans via Facebook. Rock and roll will never die! Throw up the horns for Clientelle. Oh, and do check out their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/ClientelleRockBand/ I listened to this entire album (except Missing Presumed Dead) twice, and I didn’t even start listening until after 10 pm. That’s got to be a good sign, right? I can’t say I’m a metal fan, but I feel like I’ve been lucky enough to stumble onto some pretty fun metal records here at the Listening Post, and this is one of them.
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