Inspirations is the first cover album by the English heavy metal band Saxon, released on 19 March 2021 by Silver Lining Music. Consisting entirely of covers, it was recorded at Brockfield Hall and The Big Silver Barn in York and produced by Biff Byford.
| Inspirations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 19 March 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2020 | |||
| Studio | Brockfield Hall, The Big Silver Barn | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 40:12 | |||
| Label | Silver Lining Music | |||
| Producer | Biff Byford | |||
| Saxon chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Inspirations | ||||
| ||||
Background
editInspirations consists of covers of songs of various artists from the 1960s and 1970s that influenced Saxon over the years. Byford said ″We wanted to do an album based on our influences, the songs and bands that inspired us to write what we did and still do, and it was also interesting to see what my voice could do as I haven't sung many of these songs before.″[1] The songs are mostly from the hard rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, and heavy metal genres. The band played close to the musical styles of the bands they covered, but also added some of their own heavier sound.[citation needed]
To record the album the band travelled to historic Brockfield Hall in York, where they played and recorded the songs live.[2] Byford recorded his vocals at The Big Silver Barn, also in York.[citation needed]
Three music videos were released from this album. The first video was released on 11 December 2020 for the song ″Paint It Black″. The video features a behind-the-scenes look Saxon performing the song at Brockfield Hall, where the album was recorded.[3] The second video was released on 15 January 2021 for the song ″Speed King″. The video features clips of rally cars speeding down various tracks.[1] The third video is a lyric video for the song ″Paperback Writer″. The video consists of a digital animation of a quill writing out the lyrics of the songs on paper as they are sung, cut with shots of the album art during instrumental portions.[4]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Blabbermouth | 7.5/10[5] |
| The Rockpit | 8/10[6] |
| Metal Injection | 7/10[2] |
The album is generally well received. It managed to chart in several countries, reaching a peak of 10 on the German music charts. It was described as ″vibrant and brashly entertaining″ by Dom Lawson in his review for Blabbermouth. He also described being able to hear Biff Byford sing several of the tracks as "an absolute joy".[5]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Music | Original artist (date) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Paint It Black" | Mick Jagger, Keith Richards | The Rolling Stones, 1966 | 3:18 |
| 2. | "Immigrant Song" | Jimmy Page, Robert Plant | Led Zeppelin, 1970 | 2:05 |
| 3. | "Paperback Writer" | Lennon–McCartney | The Beatles, 1966 | 2:19 |
| 4. | "Evil Woman" | Dave Wagner, Dick Wiegand, Larry Wiegand | Crow, 1969 | 3:29 |
| 5. | "Stone Free" | Jimi Hendrix | Jimi Hendrix, 1966 | 3:44 |
| 6. | "Bomber" | Eddie Clarke, Ian Kilmister, Phil Taylor | Motörhead, 1979 | 3:22 |
| 7. | "Speed King" | Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice | Deep Purple, 1970 | 3:31 |
| 8. | "The Rocker" | Phil Lynott, Brian Downey, Eric Bell | Thin Lizzy, 1973 | 3:46 |
| 9. | "Hold the Line" | David Paich | Toto, 1978 | 3:47 |
| 10. | "Problem Child" | Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott | AC/DC, 1976 | 4:09 |
| 11. | "See My Friends" | Ray Davies | The Kinks, 1965 | 2:55 |
| 12. | "Shoot Shoot" | Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg, Pete Way, Andy Parker | UFO, 1975 | 3:47 |
Personnel
editSaxon
- Biff Byford – Lead Vocals
- Paul Quinn – Guitars
- Doug Scarratt – Guitars
- Nibbs Carter – Bass
- Nigel Glockler – Drums
Charts
edit| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] | 27 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] | 102 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] | 34 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[11] | 154 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] | 10 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] | 6 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] | 12 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[15] | 56 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[16] | 2 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[17] | 1 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Louder Sound - Watch Saxon's high-octane cover of Deep Purple's Speed King". 15 January 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ a b Bowar, Chad (18 March 2021). "Metal Injection - Saxon - Inspirations Review". Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Louder Sound - Saxon share cover of The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black". 11 December 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ "Sleaze Roxx - Saxon unveil lyric video for cover of The Beatles' "Paperback Writer"". 6 March 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ a b Lawson, Dom (16 March 2021). "Blabbermouth - Saxon - Inspirations Review". Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ Bilali, Visar (20 March 2021). "The Rockpit - Saxon - Inspirations Review". Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "All Music - Saxon - Inspirations Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Saxon – Inspirations" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Saxon – Inspirations" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Saxon – Inspirations" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Saxon – Inspirations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Saxon – Inspirations" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Saxon – Inspirations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Saxon | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2021.