The Band
| Greatness | Heaviness | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The best stuff on earth. We're not worthy! |  |
Like a leaf | |
| Most excellent music |  |
You can juggle with this stuff | |
| Enjoy the melodies | |
No problem, I can handle that | |
| Hmmm....background music | |
Get off your backside and rock! | |
| They call themselves a rock band..... | |
Bloody osmium mate | |
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Gotthard are one of the best damn bands on the face of this earth!!!! They kick-ass BIG TIME.
Steve Lee and Leo Leoni first started out together as "Krak" in August 1988. They made a 6 track demo tape which included songs such as "Heart Attack" and "Give Me One More Chance" and supposedly recorded a whole album on their own but it was never released.
Before Krak, Steve played drums in another Ticino band called "Trouble" who sounded very much like old Whitesnake and had an awesome singer in the Coverdale vein.
Gotthard formed in the early 90s, in Switzerland, and named themselves after a mountain in their homeland. They released their self-titled debut in 1992, and a couple of singles from it which did quite well in the charts, mainly in Switzerland and Germany. The album reached Gold in Switzerland, but international status was still to be achieved.
Just prior to the release of their second album, "Dial Hard", the band toured Europe supporting Magnum, and with the release of a couple more singles like "Mountain Mama", the band became more and more popular. "Dial Hard" reached No.1 in the Swiss album charts for several weeks in a row and made it to Platinum.
Gotthard then did a headliner tour through Europe (missing out the UK of course) and from these sets released "The Hamburg Tapes" in 1996.
Their third studio album followed soon after and was without doubt their strongest so far. A successful acoustic tour prompted the release of "DFrosted", an incredible live acoustic album, and gave Gotthard an impressive status in central Europe (mainly Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and also a lot of popularity in Japan. They are still yet to make much impact on the UK though (my homeland).
Latest News
Latest News
The band's 4th studio album, "Open" is now available. It was released at the beginning of February, a few months after their single "Let It Rain". Gotthard are currently on tour in Europe in support of the new album and I may well be going to see them in Belgium in a few weeks!!
Open (1999)
Gotthard's new album is not what I had expected. Or rather not what I had wanted to expect, but had feared underneath. After "DFrosted" being such a success (and a great album it is too), the band (or management?) have obviously decided to stick with the more radio-friendly acoustic rock and have now done a whloe damn album of the stuff. No power, no full-on guitars, no wild vocals and not much in the way of guitar solos either. There is still some element of rock'n'roll in some of the songs, but if you think of "Father (is that Enough?)" or "One Life, One Soul from "G", you'll get the picture.
Not that those songs were bad - I loved them. And there are songs on "Open" that are still quality tunes. Free and Alive starts the album off with some emotion and a slightly hard edge guitar, and it is quite a nice sing-alongable and feel-good opener to the album. Then we get "Vision", which is fairly uneventful. A standard track with a very catchy chorus, but not a great tune. Then we get the likes of Got to be Love, Let It Rain, Blackberry Way, You.....and I think you can get the idea from the track names. None of these particularly stand out as they are all rather samey. Let it Rain is probably the best of the bunch.
Next on is my favourite track on the album, most probably as it is the most rockiest. Cheat and Hide could be on "G" if it had crunchier guitars. It is less hard-edged that the songs on "G" but has more rock'n'roll element in it.
There are a couple more rockier sings on the second half of the album, with Hey Jimi being my second favourite - pretty good kickin' r'n'r, but by no meaans powerfukl.
The album ends with Piece of Mind - geeeze, not nice. An acoustic (of course) little ballad which is nothing compared to the likes of the aforementioned ballds on "G". Steve Lee tries to put way too much emotion into a little tune which does not deserve the atttention.
What a shame Gotthard had to go this way. I can only hope they revert to their old ways of kick ass rock'n'roll. "G" was astonishing on that front.
Buy "Open" for radio-friendly commercial acoustic songs about love and happiness which you can sing along to - otherwise, don't jump at it.
DFrosted (1997)
DFrosted (1997)
The thought of my favourite hard hitting kick ass rock'n'roll band GOTTHARD doing an acoustic album sent nervous twitches down my spine. What are they on? I was expecting a screwed up commercial average "ga-ga" album - but no, this album is superb. It gives the final proof that this band are true talented and skillful musicians, not just a bunch of cock rockers.
The sound is perfect and the arrangements of a lot of the songs are very different and definitely worth having, even if you have all the other albums. The rendition of "Hush" has got to be the biggest highlight of the album, above "Angel", "Sister Moon", "Let It Be" with it's superb percussive beat, and the new track "Love, a Soul Matter".
Of the new tracks, all are essential. Being acoustic, they come across as a bit 'country'y, especially "Out on my Own", but are very enjoyable. My favourite of these must be the afore-mentioned "Love, a Soul Matter" which has an marvellous child choir in it that boost the chorus - an ultimate feel-good song.
I was truly astounded by the quality of this record and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys good melodic light rock/country and to all Gotthard fans. Great for listening in the car too!
G (1996)
G (1996)
Brilliant. More modern sounding than the other two. The best hard rock release of 1996. A classic.
1. Sister Moon :
Wow!
2. Make My Day :
Non-stop!
3. Mighty Quinn : 9/10
Written by Bob Dylan, arranged and performed by GOTTHARD!
4. Movin' On : 8/10
Rockin'!
5. Let It Be :
An AWESOME ballad.
6. Father is that Enough? :
A country ballad!
7. Sweet Little R'R' : 8/10
Rrrrroooooooccccckk 'nnnnnn' rrrrrooooolllll!
8. Fist in your Face : 8/10
Hard and punchy.
9. Ride On : 8/10
A fast energetic rocker.
10. In the Name :
A blinding epic song, slow but hard rocking with real passion in the music.
11. Lay Down the Law : 6/10
An average Gotthard song, fast and kicking.
12. Hole in One : 8/10
Punchy, energetic and megafast.
13. One Life, One Soul :
Beautiful acoustic ballad to finish the album.
The Hamburg Tapes (1996)
The Hamburg Tapes (1996)
GOTTHARD in all their glory - definitely a live band. Tracks that were good on the studio albums are F**KIN' AWESOME here!! Let's ROCK!
Track Listing :
In the Name, I'm Your Travelin' Man, Mountain Mama, Mighty Quinn, Hole in One.
Dial Hard (1994)
Dial Hard (1994)
A bit of a disappointment as I got this album last out of the three, but it still a good album.
Only a few outstanding tracks which is shameful compared to the debut and "G", but still worth getting for those songs.
1. Higher :
Stonking kick-ass rocker in the same vein as a lot of the tracks on the debut but even better! Mega rush of energy - a superb stadium track.
2. Mountain Mama : 8.5/10
Superb rockin' riff on the ol' in-yer-face electric gee-tar, and a good build up to the chorus which shouts "Mountain Mama!". There's also brass in the chorus which makes it swingy too!
3. Here Comes the Heat : 3/10
Hmmm, after a promising start to the album, this song brings it right down. Just a fast paced cock-rocker, nout special.
4. She Goes Down : 6/10
Slower paced rocker with a memorable guitar riff which goes throughout the song. An OK track.
5. Travelin' Man : 8/10
Atmospheric slow rocker with some good songwriting. A more original approach to Gotthard, maybe 'cos it wasn't actually written by one of the members of the band, but their live keyboardist Mandy Meyer. This version does not quite get the full impact of the chorus that you can hear in the live version on The Hamburg Tapes.
6. Love for Money : 5/10
Cock rockin' with an annoying chorus where Steve Lee screams pretty badly! Oh well.
7. Get it While You Can : 6.5/10
Average swinging rocker which actually reminds me of Whitesnake's "Cryin' in the Rain" but not so adventurous.
8. Come Together : 9/10
Yep, it's a Beatles cover, done better than the originals in my opinion. Starting off with an awful rendition of "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?", the song kicks in and rocks like a bastard, maybe sometimes feeling a bit over the top, but I still love it. Beatles fans may well object!
9. Dirty Devil Rock : 7/10
Pretty cool, rocks, not spectacular.
10. Open Fire : 7/10
Same again but a fast rocker which has a cool title to help kick it.
11. I'm On My Way : 6/10
What could have been a nice tune and a lovely way to finish the album, is in my opinion just too overdone. Gotthard are good at putting emotion into their music, but here Steve Lee is way too OTT (over the top). The solo vocal ending I detest! Otherwise an OK ballad. Not as good as the single version (radio edit) which has less cocky emotion and a good ending.
Gotthard (1992)
Gotthard (1992)
AMAZING!!!! Check out "Take Me" and "Angel" - I just wanna die listening to this music!
1. Standing in the Light :
2. Down Town : 8/10
Hard stonking rocker with cool female backing vocals during the chorus.
3. Firedance :
!
4. Hush :
5. Mean Street Rocket : 8/10
6. Get Down :
7. Take Me :
....to Heaven.....
8. Angel :
It truly is.
9. Lonely Heartache :
10. Hunter : 8/10
11. All I Care For : 8/10
The only acoustic song on this album. Nice balladry.
12. That's It (Bonus Track on CD only) : 6/10
Just a bit of cock-around, not a proper song - like what Nirvana do at the end of their albums (except much better).
Other Releases
| Fight for your Life | 1997? | Japanese E.P. |
|---|---|---|
|
The band made this song for a Swiss kickboxer called "Andy Hug". Fight for your Life, Ride On, In the Name, He Ain't Heavy He's my Brother, Fist in your Face. |
||
| Hey, Catch Me If You Can | ??? | Single |
| Hey, Catch Me If You Can, Mountain Mama (Live), In The Name (Live), Mighty Quinn (Live). | ||
| I'm on my Way | 1994 ? | Single |
| I'm on my Way (Radio Edit), Mountain Mama (Live), Love for Money (Live). | ||
| One Life, One Soul | 1996 ? | Single |
| One Life, One Soul, All I Care For, The Immigrant Song. | ||
| He Ain't Heavy... | 1997 ? | Single |
| He Ain't Heavy He's my Brother, All I Care For , One Life, One SOul. | ||
| Mountain Mama | 1994 ? | Single |
| Mountain Mama, ?, ?. | ||
Gotthard Links
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