Girl - Wasted Youth (CD) - CD

Details: Digitally remastered and expanded 2-CD Edition containing 12 bonus live recordings. 1982 sophomore album from this legendary London based band featuring future LA Guns vocalist Philip Lewis and Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen. They couldn't have been more different; five musical rouges from London who had, almost by accident, joined a NWOBHM street party and found themselves sticking out like dandies in bare knuckle cage fight. That these guys were unique was the least of their worries. Fortunately, they made amends by tooling up with razor sharp riffs, knock out hooks and raw production. They were also fronted by a charismatic lead vocalist that taunted the crowd by blowing kisses to bikers. Wasted Youth was the band's second album for Jet Records and one that was recorded in two phases, amidst getting bogged down in the sort of unnecessary label aggro that had already started to erode their faith. Learning from their previous visual faux pas, they decided to dial down the glam look and concentrate on beefing up their sound, with tough guy bravado and a dress code to match. It was a brave attempt to redress the balance but, despite the coordinated effort and finely honed material, the project was still not firing on all six with a label still unable to connect the dots. Wasted Youth, sadly, was lost in space, a fate accentuated by the departure of guitarist Phil Collen, accepting an offer to join Def Leppard for their epoch making Pyromania album. Later, Phil Lewis went on to front highly successful rock outfit LA Guns. Both of them left behind a 24 Karat legacy, one that has been hailed by several high profile musicians as a huge influence on the glam rock explosion.