ON THE PROWL ALBUM REVIEW

 

While Loudness' first record with American singer Michael Vescera two years earlier had a commercial touch but still included a few good and especially new tracks, On the Prowl is a disgraceful effort and might even be the worst release in Loudness' long career. The reason for my harsh rating is very simple: On the Prowl only consists of three new tracks while the other songs are re-recorded Loudness tracks with a few new arrangements and different lyrics. 

 Both the new songs and the revamped tracks are unimpressive. The three new tracks don't have any memorable parts and sound like exchangeable hard rock music that already sounded dated back in the early nineties and that could have been released by a weaker Bon Jovi, Dokken or Whitesnake copy a decade earlier. The new tracks don't have the vivid spirit of the original tunes and changing the lyrics is a slap in the face of original singer Minoru Niihara. Ironically enough, Loudness actually released a decent and heavy track called ''Slap in the Face'' a few months after On the Prowl saw the light of day but Michael Vescera suddenly left the band in the middle of a tour to join Yngwie Malmsteen and slapped his band mates in the face as well. Loudness simply was on a losing streak in the late eighties and early nineties and it would only be in the new millennium after their reunion with original singer Minoru Niihara that the band would get some positive momentum back. 

 On the Prowl only had the purpose to increase sales figures and make the band more popular outside Japan. However, heavy metal and hard rock were already declining in the early nineties and On the Prowl didn't receive much attention or praise while the band's fans of old date obviously disliked Soldier of Fortune and were rightfully furious about On the Prowl. In hindsight, we could say that releasing On the Prowl was probably Loudness' worst idea in a career that approaches nearly four decades by now. The fact that the band has released numerous greatest hits compilations, re-recorded some of its material several times in its career and has also released numerous live albums featuring classic material makes On the Prowl even more forgettable and useless. 

 This release is only interesting if you are into commercial hard rock and glam rock of the eighties and if you have never heard of Loudness before. Die-hard fans will obviously buy anything Loudness has released for the sake of completing their collections. Any other fan of the band should ignore this disgraceful release. The only good aspects about this album are the facts that the songs still sound acceptable due to the excellent source material and that the album cover is one of the most beautiful and detailed ones in Loudness' career.

***Disclaimer*** 

I do not own any copyright for any of this material!

Copyright belongs to Loudness and Atco  Recordings! 

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1. Down 'n' Dirty 04:36   

2. Playing Games 03:47   

3. Love Toys         04:02   

4. Never Again         05:01   

5. Deadly Player         04:47   

6. Take It or Leave It 04:31   

7. Girl                          04:20   

8. Long Distance     04:15   

9. In the Mirror         03:34   

10. Sleepless Night 04:39   

11. Find a Way         07:31