The Privilege of Power is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Riot. It was more experimental than their previous work, being an attempt at a concept album and also including a horn section on some of the tracks.
| The Privilege of Power | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Recorded | December 1988 – September 1989 | |||
| Studio | Greene St. Recording, New York City | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal, progressive metal | |||
| Length | 57:52 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Steve Loeb, Vince Perazzo, Rod Hui, Mark Reale | |||
| Riot chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Racing with the Devil on a Spanish Highway" is a cover of an Al Di Meola instrumental track from the album Elegant Gypsy (1977). "Killer" is about convicted killer Jeffrey R. MacDonald and features a guest vocal appearance by Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen).
The album was re-issued in 2003 by Collectables Records with slightly amended artwork and re-issued on 180g vinyl as a 2-LP set with Thundersteel by SPV on February 25, 2013.[1]
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Classic Rock |   [3] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[4] |
| Rock Hard | 9.5/10[5] |
In 2005, The Privilege of Power was ranked number 354 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[6]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "On Your Knees" | Tony Moore, Don Van Stavern | 6:37 |
| 2. | "Metal Soldiers" | Moore, Mark Reale, Van Stavern | 6:40 |
| 3. | "Runaway" | Moore, Reale | 5:11 |
| 4. | "Killer" | Moore, Reale, Van Stavern | 4:53 |
| 5. | "Dance of Death" | Moore, Van Stavern, Reale | 7:17 |
| 6. | "Storming the Gates of Hell" | Reale | 3:43 |
| 7. | "Maryanne" | Moore, Reale | 4:55 |
| 8. | "Little Miss Death" | Eric Mauk, Moore, Reale | 4:12 |
| 9. | "Black Leather and Glittering Steel" | Moore, Van Stavern | 7:07 |
| 10. | "Racing with the Devil on a Spanish Highway (Revisited)" (Al Di Meola cover) | Al Di Meola | 7:17 |
Personnel edit
Band members edit
- Tony Moore – vocals
- Mark Reale – guitars, producer
- Don Van Stavern – bass
- Bobby Jarzombek – drums
Additional musicians edit
- Tower of Power horn section: Greg Adams, Emilio Castillio, Steve Kupka, Lee Thornburg, Steve Gross
- Randy Brecker, Jon Faddis, Dave Bargeron, Ron Cuber, Lawrence Feldman – horn section
- James 'Blood' Ulmer – guitar
- G. E. Smith – guitar
- T. M. Stevens – bass
- Joe Lynn Turner – vocals on "Killer"
- Bob Held – bass on "Little Miss Death"
Production edit
- Steve Loeb – producer, executive producer
- Vince Perazzo – executive producer
- Rod Hui – producer, engineer, mixing
- Nick Sansano, Chris Shaw, Kirk Yano – engineers
- Dan Wood, Dave Swanson, Jason Vogel, Kenny Almestica, Glenn Zimet – assistant engineers
References edit
- ^ "SPV launch an exciting new series of catalogue vinyl releases". Archived from the original on January 1, 2014.
- ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Riot The Privilege of Power review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ Barton, Geoff (February 2010). "Riot - Thundersteel/The Privilege of Power". Classic Rock. No. 141. p. 93.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 365–366. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ Stratmann, Holger. "Rock Hard review". issue 36. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- ^ Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Rock Hard. 2005. p. 68. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.