Should've Been Huge...

Here's one for the "should've been huge file:" Spread Eagle. My Glam goodness they are great. In some ways, they are even better than Skid Row - and I think that's quite a bold statement.

I'm sure you're familiar with the band, but if not you should know Spread Eagle are from New York.  Ray West (vocals), Rob De Luca (bass), Paul DiBartolo (guitar) and Tommi Gallo (drums)  landed a deal with MCA around 1990. You can tell by that date that the band was just about D.O.A., a sad consequence of time and fate. While the music tides were turning, Spread Eagle were cranking out fabulous Glam -- songs that still stand up today.

If you own Spread Eagle's self-titled debut, consider yourself lucky. If not, you can purchase the reissue on Amazon.com.

Here's the track list:

  1. Broken City
  2. Back On The Bitch
  3. Switchblade Serenade
  4. Hot Sex
  5. Suzy Suicide
  6. Dead Of Winter
  7. Scratch Like A Cat
  8. Thru These Eyes
  9. Spread Eagle
10. 42nd Street
11. Shotgun Kiss

 
Here's the video for "Switchblade Serenade." This track owns.

**So, do you agree that Spread Eagle deserved stardom?  

Comments

[Joe]

Hi Allyson..I agree 100%..Spread Eagle rocked..I knew these guys too..as I'm from upstate New York originally..Super cool guys too..Thanks for the great article and video =)

[Christian]

Yeah, these guys are a lot of fun, no doubt about it.

[Jim Rodgers]

The first Spread Eagle album is awesome for any glam fan, but I think they really showed their musical talent on their second disc, 'Open To The Public' -- which to me is one of the best albums from that era. You can tell they grew leaps and bounds since their first album.
There's a few albums that come to mind that didn't get the respect deserved and had nothing but awesome songs...
Spread Eagle - Open To The Public
Skid Row - Subhuman Race
Tesla - Bust A Nut
Sweet F.A. - Temptation
Tora Tora - Wild America
I could go on...

Definitely check out both of the Spread Eagle discs, if one doesn't appeal to you, the other might.
They are different enough that they can both stand on their own. The first being more ...not glam...but more 'hairy', so to speak... The second being more raw and polished at the same time...polished in terms of songwriting ability and playing ability; but raw in tone and feel. Come to think of it, the second disc really strikes me as similar to Tora Tora's 'Wild America' --- both bands were at their peak of writing and quality on those albums and neither got the respect they deserved.

[chip]

Ah, love for Spread Eagle. I'm the one that posted the video that you've got here - I only remember seeing it once on MTV and was lucky enough to find it a few years ago. Thought I should share it with the world :) Definitely one of my favorites - I still listen to both CDs regularly. Rob DeLuca (bassist) is Sebastian Bach's touring bassist and will be with him on the road this summer. He's also toured and played with Joan Jett, UFO, George Lynch and Helmet. Ray West (singer) has a new band, Hostel Inc. (http://www.myspace.com/hostelinc). You can also hear some additional songs by Ray on his MySpace profile - http://www.myspace.com/spreadeagleraywest

[Jody Row of The Glitter Boys]

My buddy gave me this disc about 4 months ago, and I love their sound, they rock the hell out. But I must say, watching this video and seeing how these guys look and portray themselves is very disappointing. This may as well be outakes from every Skid Row video from their first album! All the bassist needs is a chain from his nose to his ear! No personality, nothing different, I can see where that may have held them back from being bigger. I like the music though, anything that rocks like the good ol days...

[DrCrue]

I love this band, but how come no one ever mentions the song "Spread Eagle" by them? That's one of the greatest songs I've ever heard by any metal band ever.

[Randy]

I didn't like them when they first came out. I even had the cd and sold it to a friend. I heard the album again a couple of years ago, and liked it. They're no Skid Row, but they're o.k.

Another band I didn't dig at the time, but like now is Wildside.

A couple of bands I thought should have been huge but weren't (probably due to the timing) are, TUFF, and Shotgun Messiah.

Tuff's "What Comes Around, Goes Around," was great, and Shotgun Messiah's, "Second Coming," is phenominal. If that album had been released a year earlier they would've been huge.
I still listen to both of these albums regularly.

[aXe mAn]

First off, Spread Eagle kicked ass, and I agree...did deserve more success than they achieved.
Now, I wouldn't call them a "glam" band, as much as just a straight up sleaze rock band.
But none the less, I love their debut album. Good write-up Allyson.
SWITCHBLADE SERENADE!!!

[MotleyCrue666]

I DISSAGREE
THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE MADE IT BIG OVER MANY OTHER BANDS THAT DIDN'T LIKE DANGER DANGER AND BANG TANGO AND BABYLON A.D.
THEY ARE NOT BETTER THAN SKID ROW AND THERE SINGER HAS NO WHERE NEAR AS GOOD OF PIPES AS SEBASTIAN BACH.

[aXe mAn]

Yeah I like Danger Danger, Babylon A.D., and others better...but they are still a good band.

[Kangal]

Oh, how I remember these guys. I first heard "Scratch Like a Cat" on an MCA promo cassette a buddy of mine gave me, and my memory of the song lasted a lot longer than the cassette! ;) I heard them AGAIN when I picked up a Metal Blade CD promo compilation from a secondhand store in North Carolina for a $1 a few years back. I then decided to track down their debut album no matter what, and I finally did on (you guessed it) Ebay. Don't ask what I paid for it - since it's been reissued I don't want to tell you! But it's great that I can buy it again because the CD I bought at auction is very old and barely reads.

As for whether they deserved fame, well, their look was way too derivative. If they had gone for a more Thrash metal approach they might have done better, since things were changing at that point. I remember a friend went to see them at the old Bayou in DC and said that they literally played to an empty house. I think they deserved a hit or two, they were definitely really talented musicians. Somebody should definitely call the guys that run Rocklahoma!!

[chip]

Come on, the look was derivative? EVERY band from that time period had a look borrowed from someone else. Sebastian Bach was a big fan of the band and used to hop on stage and sing with them. A little bit of interesting history - the band, minus Ray West, started out in Boston with a different singer and were named Bang. Apparently they sounded like Van Halen. The rumor is that the song "Kid Ego" by Extreme is about Bang's singer. The rest of the guys moved to New York, found Ray West, and thus Spread Eagle was born. I saw them 3 times (Cleveland, Akron, Columbus) and while they didn't play to packed houses, they did have decent crowds. Needless to say, this is one of my favorites.

[carl]

I have 2 of their cds but yet to listen to them.Hard to get to s far as i have 200 or more cds to listen to.

[alleycat01]

i've known this group since day one and must say this is about as pure as it gets ...to bad for them the label just didnt push this band .....like alot of others that deserved much more than they got...i blame alot of the failure on the record labels .they just didnt push bands ...look at shotgun messiah ..tora tora, roxx gang..every mothers nightmare..tuff..the list goes on..but i am still true to my roots as of today and will remain a fan of these bands forever..rock on

[lajustice77]

Spread Eagle were underrated and kicked ass but better than the mighty Skid Row...hell no!