Leatherwolf Street Ready SEALED LP 1989 RARE Vintage Island Records Radio Promo

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LEATHERWOLF Street Ready  Original Vintage LP SEALED In ORIGINAL SHRINKWRAP
MINT  Radio Promotional Copy 1989 Original Vintage Vinyl ISLAND RECORDS  7 91072-1
Description: I received this promotional copy of Leatherwolf -  Street Ready when I worked in radio. Never played it and as with many of my extra albums it has been stored away for over 30 years in a closet standing upright with hundreds of other unplayed LPs, so the record itself is mint, unplayed and still sealed.
Personnel: Michael Olivieri Vocals, Guitars Geoff Gayer Guitars, Vocals (backing) Carey Howe Guitars, Vocals (backing) Paul Carman Bass, Vocals (backing) Dean Roberts Drums
Track listing Side A 1. Wicked Ways 6:03   2. Street Ready 3:05 3. Hideaway 3:56    4. Take a Chance 3:10    5. Black Knight 2:58
Side B 6. Thunder 3:47    7. The Way I Feel 4:54    8. Too Much 3:34    9. Lonely Road 3:44    10. Spirits in the Wind 5:05
About Leatherwolf: Leatherwolf are an American Heavy Metal band that formed in Huntington Beach, California in 1981. Over their 35 year career, the band have performed on the same bills as some of the 80’s biggest bands, including Metallica and Slayer. The band quickly became famous for being one of the first bands to feature three guitar players, with fans giving them the accurate nickname "Triple Axe Attack". After forming in the early 80’s, a teenaged Leatherwolf began making a real name for themselves in the really exciting South Californian Metal scene, which produced bands including Metallica and Exodus. In 1984 the band signed to indie label 'Enigma/Tropical Records' in America and released their first EP later that year. The band then signed to German label ‘Steamhammer/SPV’ who re-released the EP as a full length album entitled "Leatherwolf". The band also signed to Heavy Metal America who had their rights to the album in Britain, and issued the album under the name "Endangered Species".
In 1986 guitarist Matt Hurich left the band to join the band Stryper and was replaced by Paul Carman. However this line up change didn’t hinder their career, and they soon left their former labels to sign to major label ‘Island Records’, and confusingly released a new album also entitled Leatherwolf in 1987. The first single, The Calling received regular airplay on MTV and the band would go on to tour regularly across the US. After the 1989 release ‘Street Ready’ the band finally their European live debut, playing at a number of European festivals and supported Japanese Rock band and fellow former Heavy Metal Records band ‘Bow Wow’ across the UK. However the band went through a number of changes both stylistically and in terms of the line up. They would later drop their trademark style in favor of a more bluesier approach with Pat Guyton replacing Paul Carman on bass guitar. However, success under the new name proved elusive as Grunge Rock was quickly becoming increasingly popular, causing Leatherwolf and many of their contemporaries to lose popularity. Leatherwolf was one of the few bands that historically many feel never got enough credit and have been ranked as one of the most underrated Heavy Metal bands of the 80’s by fans.
Review of Street Ready from Metal Archive: When reflecting on the most metal moments I’ve ever participated in, one I had about a year and a half ago involving this particular album comes immediately to mind. It has often been customary for a person to down the volume when listening to something considered passé by the propagandized youth of today, particularly at the takeout window of a fast food establishment. But one particular evening when picking up my customary chicken sandwich and curly fries at my local Arby’s, I suddenly began channeling the spirit of 1989 and I had "Wicked Ways" blasting at full volume so that everyone within 30 feet of the window could hear it clear as day.
My faith that some shed of metal’s essence was still alive in today’s generation was given a boost when the 16 year old girl working the window said "Hey is that Queensryche?" It was immediately followed by the on duty manager saying "No, that’s definitely Accept." Naturally both answers were wrong, but given the similarity that the song had with the sound of both bands, along with several others, I was reassured that there is something going on in this travesty that we call 21st century America aside from Nickelback and bombing the Middle East. After kindly informing both of them about the band known as Leatherwolf and their extensive career in the 80s and getting assurances that both of them would check these California metal monsters out, I went home with a new appreciation for this album.
To those who are not familiar with the aforementioned 80s outfit, they play a hard edged, rugged, and more aggressive alternative to the sleaze steeped LA scene. Comparisons to Queensryche and Accept are easily made, along with other famous 80s acts such as Dokken, Crimson Glory, Liege Lord and even "Ram It Down" era Judas Priest. The riffs definitely pay homage to the pre-thrash speed metal work of bands like Grave Digger and Metal Church, but with a helping of 80s power ballad work and some Iron Maiden sensibilities to boot. In terms of the aggression factor, picture a middle ground between the chunky heaviness of Accept and the lighthearted melodic nature of Dokken and you’ll be on the right track.
The distinctiveness that keeps these guys from coming off as generic is vocalist Mike Olivieri. He walks a tightrope between sounding like Don Dokken and Udo Dirkschneider, not quite sounding as soft and sensitive as the former while staying just a little cleaner than the dirty as hell Brain Johnson sounding screeches of the latter. Often he’ll drift a little towards one or the other depending on whether doing a ballad or a hard edged number, but there is definitely constancy to his approach. Forget this band’s glam looking image, and even the hair band looking album cover, this is much closer to what Accept does than the Cinderella oriented stuff that you might suspect based on those red herrings, which also apply in some respects to Riot classic album "Thundersteel".
"Street Ready" is probably the most mainstream and accessible of their releases, but it kicks ass with the best of them. Just one listen to rapid paced speeders like "Too Much" and "Take A Chance" will set any skeptics of the band’s metal credentials straight. The guitars are always at the forefront, pushing out memorable riffs like no tomorrow, often making use of harmony parts between power chords for some excellent detailing. The choruses sound huge as hell, thanks to some heavy reverb usage, creating the same sort of backing chorus that filled out the dense atmospheres on various songs included on Dokken’s "Under Lock And Key" and Accept’s "Russian Roulette".
Even ballads like "Hideaway" and "Lonely Road" rock out something amazing the minute the guitars kick in and the vocal hooks hit the speakers. This is the classic stuff that a lot of speed metal faithful like Helloween and Primal Fear tried to imitate but don’t quite succeed at during the late 90s, and is free of the sappiness and redundancy of some ballads out of bands like Hammerfall and Dream Evil. They carry the same awe inspiring atmosphere that Axel Rudi Pell’s ballads tend to, though with guitar work that sounds more akin to Glen Tipton or Chris DeGarmo and a much more upbeat tempo and a harder approach to choruses closer to what Accept normally puts forth.
The whole album is an absolute keeper, even and including the somewhat AC/DC sounding, hard rock oriented title song, but the absolute trump song that keeps me coming back is the opener "Wicked Ways". Picture an intro that marries the evil and thrashy opening to a late 80s Anthrax song and a bunch of really beautiful dual lead guitar harmony work right out of "Operation Mindcrime" and you’ve got the first minute and a half of this mini-epic. There’s a collection of ballad sections where Olivieri shows off his love of acoustic guitar arpeggios, but mostly the song has this dual "Among The Living" meets "Tooth And Nail" sound to it that segues into this climactic “Heaven And Hell” ending loaded with Iron Maiden style melodic lead work and Judas Priest shredding.
To basically sum up, if anything that made 80s heavy metal great appeals to you, this album is the only excuse you’ll need to grow your hair back down to your ass and play air guitar like an escapee from the leather clad nut house. Each song grabs you and shakes you so hard that you forget that stupid anti-metal slogans like cheesy or glam even exist. Don’t feel guilty about good music like this, blast it out in a fashion that would make Eric Adams proud, and if you’re feel especially metal, flip off or cut off any Kurt Cobain impersonators that happen to be on the road with you.
Condition: Vinyl: Sealed / Mint    Album cover: Excellent + Promotional notch in lower left corner.  
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