The 1981 Listening Post - Wild Horses - Stand Your Ground

 Wild Horses - Stand Your Ground

#180

May 8 1981

Wild Horses

Stand Your Ground

Genre: Rock

2.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Stand Your Ground

This sounds like Thin Lizzy for a reason. Wild Horses was formed by ex-Thin Lizzy and ex-Rainbow guys, proving that they were not the secret sauce in either of those groups. 

I mean, Robertson shreds and Bain lays down that incessant pulsating bass with the best of them but…the songs…I mean, they aren’t really about anything. Case in point “In the City”. Not really sure who they are warning about life in the city and why but, come on, we all know it’s an excuse to lay down some sweet licks and get in the rhythm section pocket. Right?

It’s all there on tracks like “Back in the USA” and “Another Lover” and               none of which are bad, per se. They are perfectly fine groove rock tunes. And, for my tastes, I’d rather have this than, say, .38 Special or Molly Hatchett, not that this is Southern Rock, just that they are all diluted versions of something better. 

They give up after this album flops. No one is worse off for that, though. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/stand-your-ground/669418746

The 1980 Listening Post - Wild Horses - Wild Horses

 Wild Horses - Wild Horses

April 14 1980

Wild Horses

Wild Horses

Genre: Rock

3 out of 5

Ex-Rainbow + Ex-Thin Lizzy = uninspired rock.

I say this a lot but…the songs aren’t there. I don’t think every band has to have great songs. Lord knows Red Hot Chili Peppers don’t. But they establish a lot with how they play.

Maybe it’s a Cuomo chorus. Maybe it’s dynamic Stevie Ray playing? Maybe it’s Brian may’s delicious solo.

Not every song has to be a complete prize. But you really need to have at least one thing that brings me back.

Wild Horses don’t have that.