Solid Ball of Rock

Solid Ball of Rock
Studio album by Saxon
Released	14 January 1991 [1]
Recorded	1990
Studio	Karo Studios, Hamburg, Germany
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	44:49
Label	CBH/Virgin
Producer	Kalle Trapp, Saxon
Saxon chronology
Greatest Hits Live (1990) Solid Ball of Rock (1991) Forever Free (1992)
Singles from Solid Ball of Rock
"Requiem (We Will Remember) / Altar of the Gods" Released: March 1991

Solid Ball of Rock is the tenth studio album by heavy metal band Saxon released in 1991 on Virgin Records. Five of its 11 tracks were written by new bassist Nibbs Carter, who co-wrote another three songs.

"For our audience – and without an audience there is no band – our focus returned on Solid Ball of Rock…" noted singer Biff Byford. "Since then we've been right on it." ^[2] Phil Sutcliffe in Q Magazine referred to the album as "a modicum of celebratory rock 'n' roll chest beating". ^[3]

Background

Kalle Trapp, who has worked on projects for Blind Guardian and Destruction, was appointed as the producer. ^[4] The title track is based on a rockabilly-style song created by Biff Byford’s friend Bram Tchaikovsky, former member of The Motors. ^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	4/10 [7]
Kerrang!	[8]
Q	[3]
Rock Hard	9.5/10 [9]

On the UK Albums Chart, it became the first studio album since Wheels of Steel (1980) to miss the top 100. ^[10] In contrast, on the German album chart, it remained in the top 100 for twelve consecutive weeks, peaking at number 23.

Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "in the late 1980s, Saxon released several albums aimed at commercial success that were critically panned and were ultimately dropped by EMI. With this tenth studio album, however, the long path to their resurgence began." He added, "Overall, there are still inconsistencies in the songwriting, but young new bassist Nibbs Carter contributed particularly aggressive tracks in recent years, bringing a fresh dimension to the group." ^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Solid Ball of Rock"	Bram Tchaikovsky, Micki Broadbent	4:35
2.	"Altar of the Gods"	Timothy "Nibbs" Carter	3:30
3.	"Requiem (We Will Remember)"	Biff Byford, Graham Oliver, Carter, Nigel Glockler	5:16
4.	"Lights in the Sky"	Byford, Paul Quinn, Paul Johnson	4:03
5.	"I Just Can't Get Enough"	Byford, Oliver, Quinn	4:34
6.	"Baptism of Fire"	Carter	3:08
7.	"Ain't Gonna Take It"	Byford, Oliver, Carter, Glockler	4:47
8.	"I'm on Fire"	Carter	4:24
9.	"Overture in B-Minor / Refugee"	Byford, Carter	5:42
10.	"Bavarian Beaver" (Instrumental)	Carter	1:17
11.	"Crash Dive"	Carter	3:07
12.	"Reeperbahn Stomp" (Japanese only bonus track)	Carter	3:26

Personnel

Saxon

• Biff Byford – lead vocals, engineer
• Graham Oliver – guitar
• Paul Quinn – guitar
• Nibbs Carter – bass guitar
• Nigel Glockler – drums

Production

• Kalle Trapp – producer, engineer

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [12]	23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [13]	28

References

1. "New Albums". Music Week. 12 January 1991. p. 25.
2. Elliott, Paul (August 2016). "The gospel according to Biff Byford". Classic Rock . No. 226. p. 54.
3. Sutcliffe, Phil (5 March 1991). "Solid Ball of Rock review". Q . No. 55. p. 76.
4. Kalle Trapp | Credits | AllMusic
5. Mach, Neil (21 February 2016). "Interview with Biff Byford of Saxon about forthcoming release - Eagles and Dragons". RAMzine. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
6. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Saxon Solid Ball of Rock". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 June 2011.
7. Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 384. ISBN   978-1-894959-62-9.
8. Zell, Ray (19 January 1991). "The great rock and ball swindle". Kerrang! . No. 324. p. 25. ISSN   0262-6624 . Retrieved 7 August 2022.
9. Albrecht, Frank (1990). "Review Album: Saxon – Solid Ball of Rock". Rock Hard (in German). No. 47. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
10. SAXON | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company - 「ALBUMS」をクリックすれば表示される。
11. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Saxon - Solid Ball of Rock Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Saxon – Solid Ball of Rock" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
13. "Swisscharts.com – Saxon – Solid Ball of Rock". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.

External links

• Solid Ball of Rock at Discogs (list of releases)