Before the Storm (Samson album)

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Before the Storm
Samson Before-The Storm.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1982 [1]
RecordedAugust–September 1982
StudioMusic Works Studios, London
Genre Hard rock
Length39:48
Label Polydor
Producer Jo Julian
Samson chronology
Shock Tactics
(1981)
Before the Storm
(1982)
Don't Get Mad, Get Even
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 9/10 [3]

Before the Storm is the fourth studio album by British hard rock/heavy metal band Samson, released in 1982. It is the band's first album with vocalist Nicky Moore, who was recruited to replace Bruce Dickinson after Dickinson joined Iron Maiden. The drummer Mel Gaynor was also replaced by Pete Jupp, when Gaynor left to join Simple Minds. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia described the album as a "promising start" to the new line-up, with the music moving more toward hard rock and away from heavy metal. [2]

Contents

Before The Storm was included in the three-disc The Polydor Years, issued by Caroline International in 2017. The set also includes the Don't Get Mad, Get Even album and a third CD with various B-sides, live and studio rarities.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dangerzone" Paul Samson, Chris Aylmer, Nicky Moore 5:24
2."Stealing Away"Samson, Aylmer, Moore4:22
3."Red Skies"Samson, Bruce Dickinson, Aylmer, Thunderstick 3:46
4."I'll Be 'Round"Samson, Aylmer, Moore, Pete Jupp 3:14
5."Test of Time"Samson, Aylmer, Moore, Jupp4:09
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Life on the Run"Samson, Aylmer, Moore, Jupp4:01
2."Turn Out the Lights"Samson, Dickinson, Aylmer, Thunderstick4:02
3."Losing My Grip"Samson, Dickinson, Aylmer, Thunderstick3:29
4."Young Idea"Samson, Aylmer, Moore, Jupp7:24

2002 CD Reissue bonus tracks

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Running Out of Time"Samson, Aylmer, Moore4:21
11."Driving with Z.Z."Samson, Aylmer, Moore, Jupp4:18
12."Living, Loving, Lying"Samson, Aylmer, Moore, Jupp5:17
13."Pyramid to the Stars"Samson, Dickinson, Aylmer, Thunderstick5:09
14."Front Page News"Samson, Aylmer, Moore, Jupp4:31
15."Riding with the Angels" (Russ Ballard cover) Russ Ballard 4:34

Source: [4]

Personnel

Samson

Additional musicians

Production

Notes

The song "I'll Be 'Round" was originally written with Dickinson and appears as "Gravy Train" on the Live at Reading '81 album. Nicky Moore would re-write the lyrics for the re-worked Before the Storm studio version.

2-track recordings of "Red Skies" and "Turn Out the Lights" from a June 1981 rehearsal, with Dickinson on vocals, are included as bonus tracks on the 2001 Castle Music re-issue and the 2017 Dissonance Productions edition of Live at Reading 81.

The original version of "Losing My Grip", recorded with Dickinson during the Shock Tactics sessions in early 1981 but left unreleased for two decades, can be found on the 2001 Castle Music re-issue and the 2017 Dissonance Productions edition of Shock Tactics.

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References

  1. "Metal Archives". 23 November 2022.
  2. 1 2 Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Samson - Before the Storm review". AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  3. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 306. ISBN   978-1894959315.
  4. "Samson - Before the Storm". Discogs .