TKO-Let it roll

Divebomb
1979/2008 Re-issue



I heard TKO's efforts from the 1980's which fell very much in the category of the style of hard rock that was popular in that decade. I never heard their debut back then though largely because it just didn't seem to be easy to find. Now I get to hear the re-issue and it's quite a different sound and vocalist Brad Sinsel is the only member from this line-up who was still with them in the 80's. The sounds here is very much entrenched in 1970's hard rock sound and even what we now refer to as classic rock because I hear parts of the Who, the Stones, early Boston and maybe even some mid-70's Alice Cooper. The keyboards actually make it sound maybe slightly older than it's release year of 1979. It's a slightly stripped appraoch, but by and large most of the songs work due to some solid vocals and steady if not overwhelming approach to their music. I was shocked by this sound because it has arena rock written all over it. When I first heard it wasn't at all what I was expecting from a band whose other albums were far more along the lines of a hair metal sound. However after this release their label ran into troubles, members left and vocalist Sinsel ended up recruiting a new line-up with new ideas for the next album. Despite the obvious differences in style between this and the sophomore album "In your face" I can still honestly say that the band sounds comfortable with both sounds. I suppose was just due to the members playing off their influences and the two different line-ups followed some different bands. TKO did get to tour the Kinks, Cheap Trick and Heart back around this album came out, but their prospects were soon going to change due to label problems. "Let it roll" was a fine debut even though the band would eventually follow a different avenue. The re-issue includes nine bonus tracks recorded at a radio session in 1978 plus a booklet with lyrics and some history on the band.