Great, but incomplete
Accept still sounds wonderful, and the music included is among their best. I owned Restless and Wild and Balls to the Wall on vinyl, so I was excited to find the combination of the two on CD. My only disappointment was from not reading the track listing closely enough. I didn't realize that this CD didn't include all of the tracks from both albums, and was disappointed with the songs omitted. If you're not looking for 100% of the songs on both albums, it's a great CD with most of the tracks included. If you're trying to replace your vinyl albums as I was, buy the separate CDs. Either set is well worth a listen.
"They're gonna break their chains"
The two best albums by the best band from the Fatherland in one package. At first glance, I thought this was one of the best metal deals on Amazon. On closer inspection I have to ask What's Up? The tracks are all mixed up, interspersed between the two albums. Why aren't they in order? Then the biggest problem: the absence of five tracks. If these tracks included the "Love Child," "Turn Me On," and "Losers and Winners" which are the weaker, lyrically peculiar or hedonistic tracks off Balls to the Wall or "Flash Rockin' Man" which is the weakest track off the masterpiece Restless and Wild, I would almost accept it, but the missing tracks include some excellent metal. "Head of the Pack" rocks. "Get Ready" is a furious, adrenaline pumper. "Demon's Night" is a heavy hitter from Restless. "Fight it Back" is one of the best off Balls. "Guardian of the Night" is the only absent track I would not miss that much but I would rather have it. Restless and Wild, in particular, is one of the best metal albums of the 1980s, and is best heard with its tracks in order and all in place. The only thing I can praise about this CD is the price and I hope it will encourage record buyers who are curious about Accept to check them out.
Anyway, here are the tracks offered here reviewed by album in its original order:
Restless and Wild (Accept's 4th album, released in 1983):
Restless and Wild is my favorite Accept album and is in my top 10 metal albums of all time list. The first track is the furious "Fast as a Shark," which probably was a precursor to thrash. "Restless and Wild" was the first Accept track I heard and it remains my all-time favorite of theirs. "Balls to the Wall" is intense, but "Restless," to me, packs a heavier punch and Stefan Kaufmann's fast drum work is incredible. "Shake Your Heads" has that slow metal chanting style Accept is known for. The 6:00 "Neon Nights" is incredible! It has a Judas Priest Defenders of the Faith-era sound (of course, this album came out the year before Defenders). Even with those raw, screeching vocals, Udo puts a lot of emotion in this slower yet intense track. The first track here from side two is "Flash Rockin' Man. " It is my least favorite track on Restless but that shows how solid this album is as "Flash" is no slouch but is a dark, intense track with a killer guitar riff at the bridge. "Don't Go Stealing My Soul Away" may be the most accessible song on the record as it has a catchy melody. The guitars really drive this track. Like with "Neon Nights," the second side ends with a long (6:27), slower epic song "Princess of the Dawn. " It is an incredible track to end one of the best metal albums of all time.
Balls to the Wall (Accept's 5th album, released in 1984):
Germany's answer to Judas Priest begins this album with their most famous and one of their best tracks. "Balls to the Wall" kicks well what the title suggests or, in my case, something else entirely (I'm a metal chick). While I favor "Restless and Wild" as their best track, "Balls" is incredibly intense. "London Leatherboys" got some attention back in the day, especially coupled with the cover artwork and the band photo on the inner sleeve (in vinyl terms). The cover, of course, has a seductive (well, it depends on what you're into) look at a leather-clad man's hairy leg. The inner sleeve shows Udo in his customary military garb surrounded by his shirtless bandmates (I don't think very many people in the world wanted to see a shirtless Udo). Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and drummer Stefan Kaufmann even have their arms linked [these photos were on the Balls to the Wall vinyl release, not necessarily included on this CD]. I'm not speculating on anything here, but hearing the German metal demons chanting "London Leatherboys" is a bit unnerving. Still, the song, musically, is good. Moving on, the rest of the tracks on side one are amazing. "Head Over Heels" is a catchy song. The music doesn't follow the lyrics which are very sexually-driven about a man needing to peep at a couple getting hot and heavy in a dark alley. "Losing More Than You Ever Had" is a slower, more accessible track. Unlike Restless and Wild, which is solid from first track to last, the first half of Balls is much better than the second. "Love Child" probably has the most peculiar lyrics: "Feeling the power of lust when the guy's passing by" and more directly "Don't know what I am a woman or a man. " "Turn Me On" is just a straight up, raw shot to the groin ("I can't wait to get you down on the dirty floor"). "Losers and Winners" is another odd track. It is very harsh lyrically. It is about a man pining after a woman. Udo advises him to write her a letter expressing his feelings. It is a little comical hearing the German metal gods chanting "Write a letter!" Then the tables are turned: "You should give me the letter I'll use it for my own (haha)" and later "Why don't you take it easy and sc**w the girl who's next to you. " Wow, rough stuff. While the music takes center stage on side one, the lyrics seem to overpower the music for most of the songs on side two. It ends with "Winterdreams" which has a nice guitar intro and offers a pleasant, calming mood. It is a slow track but with a more uplifting sound than other slow Accept numbers that are almost always dark. It is a nice way to end the metal brutality of Balls to the Wall. Both albums are highly recommended to any fan of metal.
__DO NOT BUY THIS! __
Believe me, if you like Accept, you'll want to have _all_ of the songs from these albums, particularly "Ahead Of The Pack" from R&W & "Fight It Back" from BTTW, neither of which is on this CD. The music is awesome, but this CD doeesn't have all of the songs from the original albums.
Exceptional Accept- The only Accept you need
But this compiliation shows that 2nd place can still be pretty good. Accept seems a band destined to win the silver and lose the gold. This CD combines 15 tracks from their 2 strongest albums -Restless & Wild and Ball to the Wall- to provide over an hour of vintage metal, circa '83/'84. The music is pretty derivative of the usual suspects -Judas Priest, AC/DC, and especially the Scorpions- but Accept plays it well. The guitars squiggle & squeal in the right places, the drums are as fast as -well- a shark, and Udo's rusty razor vocals accomplish things they would not seem capable of. What puts Accept ahead of the rest of economy class metal are their lyrics. No songs about demons and wizards or up all night, sleep all day. Like the Scorps, Accept mostly write lyrics about the lives they live, working class rockers chock full of sex, sex, sex. Several songs like Head Over Heels, Love Child, & London Leatherboys are sexually ambiguous; pretty risky for the ultra macho metal of the early 80's. Losing More Than You Ever Hand is one of the most complex breakup songs you'll ever hear and Losers & Winners offers some helpful relationship advice -or else. Of course, the CD closes with Accept's one bonafide smash: Balls to the Wall. I defy you to not sing along. If you like your rock hard, fast, and aggressive Accept no substitutes.
Great songs, questionable arrangement
This album takes 15 songs from the Restless and Balls albums. I've never been a fan of compilations, mainly because I thing song selection is questionable on many of them. There are 20 total songs among those two. So why not just add the extra 5 songs and make it a double cd set? I recommend just buying both Restless and Balls cds.
You can see a complete list of all Accept discography, or go back to the Accept tabs
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