The Rods
' self-produced independent debut album, 1980's
Rock Hard
, accomplished its primary mission of obtaining the fledgling heavy rock trio from upstate New York a major-label deal, and with none other than
Clive Davis
'
Arista Records
, which at the time was better known for housing soft rockers like
Air Supply
and
the Alan Parsons Project
, not to mention
Barry Manilow
! But the signing didn't come without a few minor concessions, and
the Rods
were in fact made to re-record the album under more "professional" circumstances, while replacing a few of its less "tasteful" cuts (e.g.,
"In Your Panties"
) prior to its 1981 release. And, for a final touch, the newly self-titled LP was repackaged inside a suspiciously
Ramones
-like photo of the denim- and leather-clad musicians leaning up against a crumbling brick wall, leading to some speculation that
Arista
mistakenly thought they'd signed a punk rock band. But there was literally nothing punk-like about the metal-plated heavy rock dominating the final results, which essentially ran the gamut of '70s-born influences one would expect from a trio of seasoned vets like these. Only problem was,
were still so personally invested in those influences that they never quite managed to establish a focused style of their own with these excellent but invariably derivative songs. To be fair, bluesy rockers like
"Woman,"
"Get Ready to Rock & Roll,"
"Roll with the Night"
could have originated anywhere from
Elvis
to
Fleetwood Mac
AC/DC
, but other tracks nicked instantly recognizable bits from specific metal classics, such as
Deep Purple
's
"Highway Star"
(for the bridge of
"Power Lover"
) and
Black Sabbath
"Neon Knights"
(see the opening riff used for the high-powered
{|"Nothing Going on in the City"|}
). Others owed their entire frameworks to well-known metal classics, including
{|"Music Man"|}
(based on
{|Rainbow|}
{|"Man on the Silver Mountain"|}
),
{|"Rock Hard"|}
(part
{|AC/DC|}
, part
{|Scorpions|}
), and
{|"Ace in the Hole"|}
(
{|Triumph|}
, although it was written by future
{|Vinnie Vincent Invasion|}
singer
{|Robert Fleischman|}
), leaving barely any room for the blustery '80s metal that
{|the Rods|}
would eventually latch onto, aside from the excellent
{|"Crank It Up."|}
In
' defense, though, their powerful delivery, superlative musicianship, and sheer balls still managed to override this album's innumerable borrowed sounds and non-cohesive set list, making it darn near impossible to resist for any but the most jaded fans of pre-peroxide American '80s metal. Nevertheless, this excessive reliance on '70s influences is the only thing holding
' debut back from a "pick of the crop" nod, which instead must go to its more self-possessed successor,
{|Wild Dogs|}
. [The 1997 reissue of
{|The Rods|}
by
{|High Vaultage Records|}
contains two bonus tracks drawn from the original LP version,
{|"Getting Higher"|}
{|"Wings of Fire"|}
-- the second of which showcases the band's proto-thrash energy to perfection.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia