{"id":25898,"date":"2013-01-30T06:30:51","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T11:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=25898"},"modified":"2014-02-16T09:08:15","modified_gmt":"2014-02-16T14:08:15","slug":"vamp-the-rich-dont-rock-deluxe-edition-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/vamp-the-rich-dont-rock-deluxe-edition-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Vamp | The Rich Don\u2019t Rock (Deluxe Edition)<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– News Editor\/Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"VAMP\"How\u2019s this for a recipe for success in 1989? Take an up-and-coming European melodic rock band, match them with a producer (Tony Platt) who had previously worked with AC\/DC and Foreigner, sign them to a major label (Atlantic) contract, and then\u2026 do nothing at all to promote the band or the album. Of all the \u201cshould have been huge\u201d stories of the 1980s (and there were several), the story of German hard rockers Vamp is one that still leaves fans baffled. This is a band whose sound would have gone over huge in 1989 with even the slightest push from the label. Instead Vamp died almost as soon as they started, and only the dedicated followers of the \u201880s melodic rock and hair metal scenes knew of their existence.<\/p>\n

Vamp may not have had a chance to set the world on fire, but they did deliver an absolute gem to melodic rock fans with their 1989 debut The Rich Don\u2019t Rock<\/em>. It was an album that hit that perfect mix of European melodic rock and the popular American hair metal sound. Think Bonfire meets Hurricane (or maybe Europe meets Britny Fox), with huge guitar hooks, catchy choruses, and a strong, dynamic vocal performance, plus that uniquely European sense of melody. There\u2019s a bit of a metal edge to these songs as well. More so than the average Poison or Danger Danger album, that\u2019s for sure. Songs like \u201cHeartbreak, Heartache,\u201d \u201cLonely Nights\u201d and \u201cRenegade\u201d are great examples of Vamp\u2019s powerful arena rocking sound, but the whole album is just a really well written and well executed collection of melodic rock.<\/p>\n

Divebomb\u2019s new reissue of The Rich Don\u2019t Rock<\/em> puts this long out of print album back in fans\u2019 hands, and gives it a true \u201cDeluxe Edition\u201d upgrade as well. It\u2019s a two-disc set that\u2019s loaded with extras. The first disc features the original The Rich Don\u2019t Rock<\/em> album, newly mastered by guitarist Ricolf Cross, as well as 12\u201d EP versions of \u201cThe Rich Don\u2019t Rock,\u201d \u201cWhy\u201d and \u201cShout\u201d as bonus tracks. The remastered audio is a major improvement over the original, and would be reason enough to pick up this reissue. There\u2019s also a second disc though, and that\u2019s where we get a lot of new surprises. It has eight professionally recorded demos from the planned, but never released, follow-up album One Smack Killer<\/em> as well as seven demos from The Rich Don\u2019t Rock<\/em>. The One Smack Killer<\/em> demos are a real eye opener, as they show a band in a much heavier frame of mind not unlike Skid Row, and The Rich Don\u2019t Rock<\/em> demos have a slicker, more AOR vibe than what eventually ended up on the album. Top it off with a nice booklet featuring original cover artwork (both versions), lyrics, vintage photos and a full band interview and you\u2019ve got a first class reissue in every possible way.<\/p>\n

If you are one of the lucky few that already knew about Vamp, then the Deluxe Edition of The Rich Don\u2019t Rock<\/em> is a mandatory upgrade. If you\u2019re a fan of the \u201880s melodic rock sound, particularly European bands like Bonfire and Treat, and you didn\u2019t catch this album the first time around (or couldn\u2019t track down a copy), this is the perfect way to discover one of the best kept secrets in melodic rock.<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nDicki Filszer (d)
\nTom Bellini (v)
\nRicolf Cross (g)
\nOliver Scholz (b)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:<\/p>\n

Disc 1
\n1.\tHeartbreak, Heartache
\n2.\tLike I Want
\n3.\tThe Rich Don\u2019t Rock
\n4.\tLove Games
\n5.\tRenegade
\n6.\tAll Nite
\n7.\tLonely Nights
\n8.\tStand By Me
\n9.\tBleeding
\n10.\tTalk Is Cheap
\n11.\tShout
\n12.\tWhy
\n13.\tThe Rich Don\u2019t Rock (12\u201d EP version)
\n14.\tWhy (12\u201d EP version)
\n15.\tShout (12\u201d EP version)
\nDisc 2
\n1.\tLittle Bit
\n2.\tLove Starved Woman
\n3.\tDead in the Backseat
\n4.\tJunkyard D.O.G. (Dirty Old Geezer)
\n5.\tOne Smack Killer
\n6.\tGimme Some Lovin\u2019
\n7.\tI Don\u2019t Know
\n8.\tThe Big Mess
\n9.\tLonely Nights
\n10.\tWhat About Love
\n11.\tDown and Dirty
\n12.\tWaste of Time
\n13.\tLove Games
\n14.\tDon\u2019t Bite
\n15.\tTalk Is Cheap<\/p>\n

Label: Divebomb Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.vamp-rock.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.25\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – News Editor\/Senior Columnist — How\u2019s this for a recipe for success in 1989? Take an up-and-coming European melodic rock band, match them with a producer (Tony Platt) who had previously worked […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,6906,923,2901,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-25898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2013","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-deluxe-edition","9":"tag-divebomb-records","10":"tag-melodic-rock","11":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}