This quartet of delights from Cherry Red lets the listener immerse themselves in a world long left behind due to the stress of mortgages and rising supermarket prices. In Part Three of four delightful boxset releases from Cherry Red, we look at Oliver/Dawson Saxon – Screaming Eagles : The Complete Works.
The Cherry Red Boxsets – Oliver/Dawson Saxon
Screaming Eagles : The Complete Works
Words: Paul Monkhouse
With Steve ‘Dobby’ Dawson leaving the mothership in 1986 and Graham Oliver following him nine years later, it was almost inevitable that these two key members of the early ‘classic’ Saxon line-up would work together again.
Initially heading out under the pre-Saxon moniker of Son Of A Bitch, the band blended new material with classics before switching to the less potentially offensive and more commercially savvy name of Oliver/Dawson Saxon.
Screaming Eagles : The Complete Works is an exhaustive six-disc set that includes studio albums, along with live sets and a disc of solo material from the two musicians.
Often hidden in the big machine of Barnsley’s finest, the writing talents of both Oliver and Dawson are thrown into glorious light here, and their playing is allowed to truly breathe. Whilst there are certainly traditional elements, to stray too far from the formula that saw them become much-loved mainstays of the scene would have been a tad foolish, there are still some refreshing different elements and songs that could easily become rock classics with the right exposure.
Whilst S.O.B. album Victim You has its fair share of nuggets, the title track and Bitch Of A Place To Be are particularly strong, it’s 2012’s Motorbikin’ that sees O.D.S. at their peak. The sledgehammer punch of Chemical Romance and frantic riffing of Ghost are just two of a whole raft of killer cuts that bridge the gap between the NWOBHM and the vital pulse of modern Metal.
With a generous smattering of extras and punch the air takes on Saxon classics, this set makes you wonder just what would have happened had the same line-up that produced such an unbeatable string of early ground shakers could have done.
Certainly, as a collection of its own, this is more than just a necessary purchase for Saxon completists and should be warmly embraced by anyone who loves well-written and skilfully played bone-crunching hard rock and Metal.
The Cherry Red Boxsets:
Hanoi Rocks – The Days We Spent Underground 1981-1984
Raven – Faster Than The Speed Of Light
Oliver/Dawson Saxon – Screaming Eagles : The Complete Works
Magnum – Great Adventures : The Jet Years 1978-1983
To read about each at MetalTalk, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/cherry-red-boxset
DISC ONE – Motorbiker
(Studio Album 2012)
1 Chemical Romance
2 Motorbiker
3 Whippin Boy
4 No Way Out
5 Just Another Suicide
6 Sinternet
7 Ghost
8 Nevada Beach
9 Screaming Eagles
10 World’s Gone Crazy
11 Hell In Helsinki
12 Nursery Crimes
BONUS TRACKS
13 Denim And Leather (Live At WinterStorm, Troon)
14 Crusader (Live At WinterStorm, Troon)
DISC TWO – ReLanded – Live (2000)
1 Power And The Glory
2 Rock N Roll Gypsy
3 Strong Arm Of The Law
4 And The Bands Played On
5 Past The Point
6 Dallas 1pm
7 Rockin’ Again
8 747 Strangers In The Night
9 The Eagle Has Landed
10 Motorcycle Man
11 Wheels Of Steel
BONUS TRACKS
12 One Sour Krout
13 World’s Gone Crazy
14 Nursery Crimes
DISC THREE – It’s Alive (2003)
1 Power And The Glory
2 Rock N Roll Gypsy
3 Strong Arm Of The Law
4 Past The Point
5 Dallas 1pm
6 747 (Strangers In The Night)
7 The Eagle Has Landed
8 Bitch Of A Place To Be
9 One More For The Road
10 Motorcycle Man
11 Medley: Wheels Of Steel/ Devil Rides Out
12 Strong Arm Of The Law
DISC FOUR
1 Schwermetal Fur Immer
2 Past The Point
3 Everybody Up
4 Crusader
5 Whippin Boy
6 Redline
7 Motorcycle Man
8 Denim And Leather
9 Dallas 1pm
10 Fetzen Fliegen V
11 Princess Of The Night
12 Rock N Roll Gypsy
13 Strong Arm Of The Law
14 And The Bands Played On
DISC FIVE
Son Of A Bitch (Oliver/ Dawson/Gill) – Victim You (Studio Album 1995)
1 Bitch Of A Place To Be
2 Drivin Sideways
3 Past The Point
4 No-ones Gettin’ Over
5 Treacherous Times
6 Love Your Misery
7 I Still Care
8 Old School
9 More For Me
10 Evil Sweet Evil
11 Victim You
12 Running Away (From You)
BONUS TRACKS
13 747 Strangers In The Night (Live At WinterStorm, Troon) 14 Wheels Of Steel (Live At WinterStorm, Troon)
15 Devil Rides Out (Live At WinterStorm, Troon
DISC SIX
Solo Selections
Steve Dawson
1 She
2 Step Inside Love
3 All We Dream Of
4 2Late
5 Answer To My Prayer
6 Wings At Dawn
Graham Oliver
7 Born To Rock And Roll
8 End Of An Era
9 Goodbye To Yesterday
10 Never Surrender
11 Ride Like The Wind
12 Wamita
13 Golden Shred Jam
