Fields Of Yesterday

Commercially marginal, but musically competent, Lillian Axe deserves a little credit for almost transcending their original '80s hair metal also-ran status and issuing discs through the '90s. The group had a couple of major-label releases and flashy videos that commanded little if any attention in the days of Warrant and Poison. Coming up as they had in the Southern and Midwestern bar circuit, the group was a pretty formidable live unit, but they never defined themselves enough to separate from the pack of hair farming, guitar spinning, leather pants wearing pack. Fields of Yesterday, although released in 1999, is really a collection of unreleased tracks recording during sessions for Lillian Axe's Love and War and Poetic Justice sessions between 1989 and 1992. There isn't a pronounced drop in quality between these cuts and those that made it on record originally, and songs like "The Last Time" and "Pulling the Rats Out" are as good as any the band recorded during this period. Guitarist Stevie Blaze is in fine form as his riffing and solo moments on tracks like "Deep Freeze" command attention with their sizzle and precision. While by no means groundbreaking, Fields of Yesterday is a solid release of rarities from a decent and slightly under-appreciated hard rock outfit. ~ Vincent Jeffries