Earth Crisis＜Red Vinyl＞

Not quite the landmark that Handsworth Revolution was, Earth Crisis suffers from uneven songwriting and dated, polished production that's sometimes too slick for its own good. What's more, the album is poorly sequenced, placing the weakest cuts, "Steppin' Out" and "Tightrope," at the very beginning. "Throne of Gold," the album's love song, has beautiful lyrics but lacks a truly compelling melody to get them across. After that, the album picks up with a string of superior songs, all of which decry social injustice and have powerful music to back them up, though they occasionally drag on longer than they need to and are saddled with horn and synthesizer parts that sound superfluous. Still, the strength of material in the album's second half definitely proves why Steel Pulse earned their reputation as a top-notch act. Had the songs been more focused, the production less slick, and the album sequenced correctly, Earth Crisis would stand as a watershed album of the '80s. As it stands, it's certainly worth hearing, but probably not the place where newcomers should be introduced to Steel Pulse's talents. ~ Victor W. Valdivia