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Nothin' But Trouble (Blue Murder album)

Nothin' But Trouble is the second and final studio album by hard rock band Blue Murder. Released on 31 August 1993 by Geffen Records, the album was produced by the band's vocalist-guitarist John Sykes.

Nothin' But Trouble
Studio album by
Blue Murder
Released31 August 1993
StudioJohn Sykes' Home Studio
GenreHard rock
Length55:33
LabelGeffen
ProducerJohn Sykes
Blue Murder chronology
Blue Murder
(1989) 		Nothin' But Trouble
(1993) 		Screaming Blue Murder: Dedicated to Phil Lynott
(1994)
Singles from Nothin' But Trouble
  1. "We All Fall Down"
    Released: 1993

After the dissapointing sales of their debut album, Blue Murder entered a prolonged period of inactivity. Eventually bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice left the group, leaving Sykes to put together a new line-up, featuring bassist Marco Mendoza, drummer Tommy O'Steen and keyboardist Nik Green. The album was recorded at Sykes's home studio in Los Angeles.

Nothin' But Trouble failed to chart, something Sykes attributed to Geffen's lack of promotion. In spite of this, the record received mostly positive reviews, although it was less well-received than the group's debut album.

Background

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After the disappointing sales of their 1989 debut album, Blue Murder entered a long period of inactivity. According to bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice, Sykes was deeply affected by the record's failure.[1][2] Progress on a follow-up was slow, partly due to Sykes constructing a new home studio.[3] Franklin and Appice, meanwhile, grew increasingly tired of waiting.[1][4] Appice eventually left Blue Murder in early 1991 and was briefly replaced former Yngwie Malmsteen drummer by Anders Johansson.[5][6] Franklin announced his departure in August 1991.[7]

Production

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On the album, Sykes was joined by bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Tommy O'Steen.[3] Keyboardist Nik Green was also promoted to a full-time member, having already performed on the group's debut.[8] Prior to his departure, Franklin had already recorded seven songs for the record, while Appice was brought back briefly as session drummer on nine.[1][4] Sykes also recruited former Baton Rouge vocalist Kelly Keeling to the band as a second guitarist, but he left a day before shooting the music video for "We All Fall Down".[8][9] In addition to backing vocals throughout the album, Keeling performs lead vocals on the track "I'm on Fire".[10]

Nothin' But Trouble was self-produced by Sykes at his home studio in Los Angeles.[11] The record was then mixed by Mike Fraser and mastered by George Marino. Additional engineering was provided by Nik Green and Alex Woltman.[10] Producer Mike Stone was also briefly involved in recording process.[5]

Music and lyrics

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"We All Fall Down" tackles drug abuse and "losing sight of one's identity" because of it.[12] "Itchycoo Park" was originally released by the Small Faces in 1967. The song was one of Sykes's favourites as a child.[3] "Runaway" was written about "kids who go to Hollywood and end up on the streests".[12]

Release and reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [13]
Chicago Tribune    [15]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[14]
The Corsair     [16]
Herald News    [11]
Metal Hammer3/7[17]
Rock Hard7.5/10[18]

Nothin' But Trouble was released on 31 August 1993 by Geffen Records.[19] It failed to chart, something Sykes blamed on the label, whom he felt "didn't do anything" to promote the record.[20] Tony Franklin also opined that by 1993 grunge had become popular in the mainstream, which left groups like Blue Murder "out of vogue".[1] "We All Fall Down" was released as the first and only single, reaching number 35 on the Album Rock Tracks chart.[21] A music video was also produced for the track.[22]

Nothin' But Trouble was generally well received by music critics, but commonly described as a step-down from the band's debut.[18] The Chicago Tribune's Brenda You described the album as "one of the strongest metal albums of late", while The Corsair's Rei Nishimoto gave it three-and-a-half stars out of a potential five.[15][16] Donald DiIorio, writing for the Herald News, commended Sykes for not chasing then-current musical trends, instead sticking to "good, old-fashioned hard rock".[11] Save for two tracks ("We All Fall Down" and "Itchycoo Park"), Metal Hammer's Jörg Staude gave the album a negative review, describing the lyrics as "embarrasing" and the choruses "run-of-the-mill".[17]

Track listing

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All tracks by John Sykes, except "Itchycoo Park" by Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott.[10]

No.TitleLength
1."We All Fall Down"4:47
2."Itchycoo Park" (Small Faces cover)3:46
3."Cry for Love"6:57
4."Runaway"5:58
5."Dance"4:08
6."I'm on Fire"4:45
7."Save My Love"4:48
8."Love Child"5:29
9."Shouldn't Have Let You Go"4:10
10."I Need an Angel"7:02
11."She Knows"3:38
Total length:55:33
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Bye Bye"4:14
Total length:59:47

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[8][10]

Blue Murder
Additional musicians
Technical
  • John Sykes - production, engineering
  • Mike Fraser - mixing
  • Nik Green - engineering
  • Alex Woltman - engineering
  • George Marino - mastering
Management
Design
  • Wendy Sherman - art direction, design
  • Stuart Watson - photography
  • Diggy - cat direction
  • Robin Sloane - creative direction
  • Sofie Howard - creative services manager
  • Masa Ito - liner notes (Japanese release only)

References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d "Blue Murder Bassist Talks John Sykes, the Breakup & Whitesnake". full in bloom. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ Appice & Gittins 2016, p. 195.
  3. ^ a b c Douglas, Nick (1993). "Blue Murder". Metal Hammer. Vol. 10, no. 9. Berlin, Germany: ZAG Zeitschriften-Verlag. pp. 128–129.
  4. ^ a b "Carmine Appice Talks Blue Murder Breakup, 1989 Album, Nothin' But Trouble, John Sykes, Budgets". full in bloom. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ a b Johansson 2016.
  6. ^ "News". Metal Hammer. Vol. 8, no. 4. Berlin, Germany: Jürgen Wigginghaus. 1991. p. 9.
  7. ^ "Franklin Blue over Murder-ous split". Kerrang!. No. 353. London, England: United Newspapers. 10 August 1991. p. 6.
  8. ^ a b c Ito, Masanori (1993). Nothin' But Trouble (booklet). Blue Murder. Geffen Records. pp. 2–6. MVCG-125.
  9. ^ Koolen, Martin. "Kelly Keeling Interview". RockUnited.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d Nothin' But Trouble (booklet). Blue Murder. Geffen Records. 1993. GED24419.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ a b c DiIorio, Donald (10 June 1994). "Blue Murder psyches out on 'Nothin' But Trouble'". Herald News. Woodland Park, New Jersey, United States. p. 15. Retrieved 26 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b Miller, Michael (15 April 1994). "Wizards club built for rock 'n' roll". The State. Columbia, South Carolina. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Blue Murder - Nothin' But Trouble". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  14. ^ Popoff 2007, pp. 56 –&#32, 57.
  15. ^ a b You, Brenda (10 March 1994). "Blue Murder Nothing But Trouble (Geffen)". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois, United States. p. 63. Retrieved 26 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b Nishimoto, Rei (23 March 1994). "Blue Murder/Nothin' But Trouble". The Corsair. Santa Monica, California. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  17. ^ a b Staude, Jörg (1993). "Blue Murder - Nothin But Trouble (MCA/BMG Ariola)". Metal Hammer. Vol. 10, no. 9. Berlin, Germany: ZAG Zeitschriften-Verlag. p. 54.
  18. ^ a b "Blue Murder - Nothin' But Trouble". Rock Hard. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Sykes: Er Lebt". Metal Hammer. Vol. 10, no. 7. Berlin, Germany: ZAG Zeitschriften-Verlag. 1993. p. 7.
  20. ^ "June 1999 Interview with Tony Nobles of Vintage Guitar Magazine". 27 March 2008. Archived from the original on 27 March 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Mainstream Rock Songs - Week of April 16, 1994". Billboard. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Blue Murder - We All Fall Down". BlueMurderVEVO. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via YouTube.

Sources

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