Duke Jupiter - White Knuckle Ride (1984)

Tracklist

01. She’s so Hot
02. Rescue Me
03. Don’t Turn Your Back
04. Top of the Bay
05. Backfire
06. Little Lady
07. A Woman Like You
08. Work It Out
09. Me and Michelle
10. (I’ve Got A) Little Black Book

Synthetic drums and keyboards epitomized the '80s and neutered hard rock. Hard-touring party band Duke Jupiter were one of the many casualties. White Knuckle Ride remains the quartet's biggest seller, though the platter didn't even crack the Billboard 100 (number 122). The best bet is just to settle in and mellow out to the polarization of shimmering keys set against Allman-roasted roughshod vocals, and then bask in the inconsistency. But sometimes the songwriting doesn't help the situation either. Opener She's So Hot kicks out the classic fire and desire cliché couplet right off the bat. Rescue Me (not a remake) is a decent disposable duet/duel among Duke's vox men (and the leadoff single), but Top of the Bay cools things down so much that the dull thud of Backfire seems forced (the talk box almost saves it). Radio cruiser Little Lady remains a pleasure, and actually lives up to the album title, but an AOR fog sets in again on side two, though Me and Michelle cuts through. Closer Little Black Book contains some chest-thumping working-class pop under the trite trappings of the period. White Knuckle Ride can grow on you, but never got the chance. Duke Jupiter appeared on MTV and Solid Gold, yet the Rochester boys could not break from the pack and called it quits after the next record (which tanked despite the presence of professional song dude Bob Halligan). Fortunately, the melodic rock elite still cherish the memory of Duke Jupiter.

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