1. "Axe Victim" (5:14) 2. "Love Is Swift Arrows" (4:12) 3. "Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus" (4:10) 4. "Third Floor Heaven" (2:27) 5. "Night Creatures" (3:34) 6. "Rocket Cathedrals" (3:00) 7. "Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape" (3:23) 8. "Jets At Dawn" (7:19) 9. "No Trains To Heaven" (6:39) 10. "Darkness (L'Immoraliste)" (3:22) BONUS TRACKS 11. "Piece Of Mine" [live] (5:13) 12. "Mill Street Junction" [live] (4:43) 13. "Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape" [live] (7:56)
I was in grade school when this was released. I had already begun to get into bands like Kiss and Aerosmith at this point in my life. I had a friend who was also into these bands. He had a brother who was a record collector. We were hanging out at his house and I noticed the cover for "Axe Victim" sitting on the top of the turntable. I was drawn to the cool skull guitar and the simple layout. As well, the band's haunting band photo was equally Of course his brother played the record for us. I became a fan of this album on that day. I sold all my vinyl in 1990 and basically forgot about this gem until I found a copy on LaLa.com. I had forgotten how much I liked this. "Axe Victim" is guitar oriented, slightly glam, hard rock. Being that "Axe Victim" was the band's first album, I don't think Nelson was 100% sure of the direction he wanted to take his band. Because of this, Be Bop Deluxe offer up an eclectic mix of material that is sometimes jazzy and sometimes heavy. Comparisons to David Bowie and Mott the Hoople wouldn't be far off, although I think Bill Nelson's Be Bop Deluxe possess a sound that is all their own. Nelson's guitar work and soulful vocals are what makes this album so compelling, although Ian Parker's guitar playing, Robert Bryan's bass work and Nicholas Chatterton-Drew drum work is the backbone of the music. This 1990 reissue of their 1974 album contains bonus live versions of 'Piece Of Mine', 'Mill Street Junction' & 'Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape' from 1977 as bonus tracks. The reissue also contains a 12 page booklet with lyrics, photos and a short biography.