Only just discovered that 2012 has already claimed the life of someone who featured heavily (ahem) in my metal education.
Mark Reale was the main man in a band called Riot. In June 1977 Riot released their first album called Rock City and while its not a classic it does include three tracks that I regard as utterly essential: Warrior, Rock City and Overdrive.
There is not a metalhead alive who should not own this album for those three tracks. Remarkably, the album originally never got a US release and I think that's because at least on these three tracks Riot were ahead of their time.
Warrior is closest in spirit and pace to Exciter by Judas Priest, which was released nearly a year later, though Priest had released Sin After Sin a couple of months before Rock City appeared. I've always wondered whether Priest heard Riot or Riot heard Priest. I guess I'll never know.
So Warrior is the belt along. Rock City is the crunching mid-tempo rocker, and Overdrive has the slow start before it all kicks into gear and races along to the finish line. Both Warrior and Overdrive feature brilliant, melodic, soaring solos by Mark Reale.
These three songs are so much better than anything else on the album it is breathtaking. I always wanted to ask Mark Reale how these three came about in particular. Missed my chance on that, too.
Riot's next two albums (Narita and Fire Down Under) were stronger albums overall but neither contained any truly classic tracks, although if you haven't got them you must hunt them down. You really must.
Rock City is available to listen to on Spotify so if you're a rock fan and you don't know these songs check them out before you do anything else and smile wistfully at the marvellous guitar playing of the late great Mark Reale.
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