SirAlex's Full Review: Whitford/St. Holmes by Whitford/St. Holmes
Joe Perry wasn’t the only guitarist fed up with the way Aerosmith was operating during their late 70’s, early 80’s era of drinking and drugging. Brad Whitford left during the sessions that became 1982’s Rock in a Hard Place (a surprisingly strong album). Out of frustration, he hooked up with ex-Ted Nugent guitarist Derek St. Holmes. You can definitely hear the Nugent influence in the songs, but it’s a fairly strong effort musically. Lyrically, it’s pretty generic 80’s rock fodder. And Derek’s vocals sound like they should be in a Pontiac commercial. Remember those 80’s Pontiac commercials?
You can hear the blues inflected barre-chord attack of Whitford in these songs that you will recognize from his writing with Aerosmith (“Voodoo Medicine Man, “Round and Round”, “Nobody’s Fault”, “Krawhitham”). It’s no surprise that the best songs from a musical standpoint are the four tracks that he co-wrote (“Hold On”, “Sharpshooter”, “Spanish Boy”, “Mystery Girl”). His soloing is the biggest highlight of this album and fans of Aerosmith should all realize his influence, especially in the live performances. And yes, that’s him playing the solo on “Jaded”.
It opens with a Bad Company-esque bluesy rocker called “I Need Love”. The riffs are decent, though nothing too groundbreaking. However, during the bridge section, the combination of feedback and some furious drumming pump it up a notch and Whitford’s solo is short and sweet. He’s really carrying the band on this tune. Too bad the lyrics and vocals are just so… 80’s. The opening of “Whiskey Woman” is some grooving palm muted staccato blues chords. It has a bit of a Yardbirds tinge to it, and is a decent anthemic rock song. Once again, if Derek St. Holmes’s vocals weren’t so Steve Perry-ish and overbearing, I could dig the songs a lot more.
“Hold On” is actually a fairly strong track despite my usual instincts about songs like this. It has a bit of an R&B feel and the harmony vocals seem to be a bit cheesy at first. But I love the groove and the message and the song sort of makes up for itself once you get into it. Whitford’s fills are very tasteful and show a bit of soul in his playing. One of the heaviest and fastest songs is “Sharpshooter”. It is certainly the most well known song of the album because of its inclusion on the Aerosmith boxed set. If you have Pandora’s Box and have heard this song, then you know what to expect from this disc. This song has some good riffs and soloing, though it’s a bit generic and once again lacks in the vocal/lyrical department.
I just think this song should be on the soundtrack to something like Flash Dance.
The fifth song is titled “Every Morning”. It is about a zillion times better than the Sugar Ray song of the same name. God, I hate that song. Oh yeah, and every other Sugar Ray song I’ve ever heard. “I…. Just hope they die… put a noose around ‘em baby, put a noose around ‘em baby…” Anyhoo, this song is one of the weaker songs. Whitford saves it from complete disaster by picking up the pace midway through and adding a blistering guitar solo. But, a solo rarely saves a boring song, and not all songs require solos. A song with typical 80’s not-so-subtle sexual metaphor is a song called “Action”. The lead work is pretty stellar, though it’s all too often buried in the mix. But, oh god… the inanity of the lyrics!
The generic lyrics continue with “Shy Away”. But I do enjoy the driving beat, and of course the guitar work. Usually I can hang with bad lyrics if the singer has a good voice, such as Motley Crue. But not when it’s some Steve Perry and Patty Smyth hybrid, I cringe a little. But, the guitar tracks are really quite awe-inspiring. Whitford is so much more deserving of sharing the stage with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, and Joey Kramer. “Does It Really Matter” is a bit more haunting, then the rest of the tracks. It adds some depth to an album that really doesn’t have much. It’s still not a really great song, but shows the potential and ability in the two featured musicans, Whitford and St. Holmes.
Brad Whitford loves to rock and he also enjoys showing off his chops. He’s able to do it on “Spanish Boy” in great quantities. It’s hard to follow the lyrics, so it’s difficult to tell exactly what this Spanish boy was trying to do or overcome. Oh well… probably wanting to play guitar or be a drug dealer or something. What else was rock and roll about in 1981? The last cut, “Mystery Girl” opens up with some driving, energetic chords that are a precursor to some of the heavier guitar work that would arise in Aerosmith. The music has a lot of promise, though so I usually just focus on what Brad Whitford is trying to accomplish.
Well, I doubt my epinion will convince anyone to buy the album or to even acknowledge that there is another guitarist in Aerosmith besides Joe Perry. As much as I enjoy Perry’s work, you can’t quite fathom just how overlooked Whitford is. It’s so much like Izzy Stradlin in Guns N Roses. But, you don’t want to have too many stars in the band because of the burnout factor. But, Brad is a huge influence on me and he’s taught me that it’s important that people hear the music and not worry too much about the individual glory. But his solo on Aerosmith’s “One Way Street” is definitely one of the band’s single greatest moments.
I'd like to recommend it. But it's hard to. I'd give it a higher rating if I were simply judging instrumentals.
Song Selection:
1. I Need Love
2. Whiskey Woman
3. Hold On
4. Sharpshooter
5. Every Morning
6. Action
7. Shy Away
8. Does It Really Matter
9. Spanish Boy
10. Mystery Girl
Top Picks: Sharpshooter, Hold On, Does It Really Matter
Band Members:
Brad Whitford: guitars
Derek St. Holmes: vocals, guitars
Dave Hewitt: bass
Steve Pace: drums
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