Greg Lake
	Produced by Greg Lake (Track 3 by Alex Grobb)
	Released on October 1981
	UK CHART POSITION #62 . . . US CHART POSITION #62
	Find it at GEMM
CHR 1357 cover [high resolution photo]

G iven that Greg Lake’s fan base consisted mostly of ELP fans, you have to wonder what the L he was thinking by making a wanky little hair metal album like this (or half of one, anyway). No, it’s not really hair metal, but no one bothered to tell Gary Moore and the other guitarists that, who proceed to upstage Lake with a pony show of pyrotechnic commentary. Any credibility that Lake had going into this record is squandered thirty seconds into “Nuclear Attack,” and it never really comes back. Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse (and, trust me, you’ll be thinking that), Lake trots out a song cowritten with Bob Dylan (!) and even tries to sing it with a slightly raspy swagger. Let’s face it, if Bob Dylan loved the idea so much he would have kept it. After drifting so far afield of expectations, the singer hedges his bets with a limp ballad, “It Hurts,” that at least shows restraint. “Black And Blue” could have been lifted from any number of Fleetwood Mac songs written by Christine McVie (they tend to sound alike). And then, from out of nowhere, comes “Retribution Drive,” finally delivering on the promise of a post-ELP album by Greg Lake (and not a moment too, ah, whatever). The second side repeats some of the first’s mistakes, from the annoying guitar wankfests (“Long Goodbye”) to the wimpy ballads (“Let Me Love You Once Before You Go” rocks about as hard as the theme to “Cheers”). Thankfully, Lake shakes off the sleep for a pair of ambitious numbers that stand with the better moments of Love Beach (yup, that’s the most you can hope for): “Someone” and “For Those Who Dare.” Even “The Lie” succeeds in arriving at a kind of Asia minor. So do the good tracks balance out the bad ones? Nope, not even close. Better by far is John Wetton’s debut, Caught In The Crossfire, and frankly I hold Greg Lake to higher standards (in fact, the standards of his earlier solo work with ELP). Of course, it’s worth mentioning that I really, really hate that cheesy processed metal guitar sound from the ‘80s, whereas apparently some people actually enjoy it. For those who dare, then, dive right in (but don’t be surprised if you hit bottom sooner than expected).

CHR 1357 back cover	CHR 1357 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. NUCLEAR ATTACK    (Gary Moore)    4:27
2. LOVE YOU TOO MUCH    (Bob Dylan/Helena Springs/Greg Lake)    3:55
3. IT HURTS    (Greg Lake)    4:27
4. BLACK AND BLUE    (Greg Lake)    3:56
5. RETRIBUTION DRIVE    (Greg Lake/Tony Benyon/Tommy Eyre)    5:03
6. LONG GOODBYE    (Greg Lake/Tony Benyon/Tommy Eyre)    3:55
7. THE LIE    (Greg Lake/Tommy Eyre/Tony Benyon)    4:44
8. SOMEONE    (Tommy Eyre/Greg Lake/Tony Benyon)    4:08
9. LET ME LOVE YOU ONCE BEFORE YOU GO    (Steve Dorff/Molly Ann Leiken)    4:16
10. FOR THOSE WHO DARE    (Greg Lake/Tony Benyon)    3:53

CREDITS

GREG LAKE -- bass, vocals
TOMMY EYRE -- keyboards
GARY MOORE -- guitar
Clarence Clemmons -- saxophone
Willie Cochrane -- piper
Bill Cuomo -- keyboards
Michael Giles -- drums
David Hungate -- bass
Jode Leigh -- drums
Steve Lukather -- guitar
Tristram Margetts -- bass
Greg Mathieson -- keyboards
Ted McKenna -- drums
David Milner -- piper
Dean Parks -- guitar
Jeff Porcaro -- drums
Snuffy Walden -- guitar
Haydn Bendall -- engineer
Brian Robson -- engineer
Steve Short -- engineer
Paul Dobe -- engineer
Harold Blumberg -- engineer
John Timerly -- engineer
Nigel Walker -- engineer
Tony Benyon -- cover concept
Rocky at Cucumber -- fibre-optic design
John Pasche -- art direction

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