Wrabit - Wrough & Wready (1981)

Canada's Wrabit (previously known as Tellemann) at one time seem poised for a major breakthrough, drawing massive crowds to their shows and creating a buzz in the industry upon signing a deal with MCA Records. It was 1981 when their debut, "Wrough & Wready" (aka "Wrabit" in the US), hit store shelves and prompted an onslaught of radio support in both their native country and portions of the US. With a journeyman arena rock sound like Journey, Styx, Survivor and Kansas, Wrabit saw reasonable success almost from the start. However, lineup changes began to plague the band and it wasn't long before half of the band had jumped ship. From that point onward, the next two releases each saw various members coming and going. By the band's final album, "West End Kid" in 1984, the majority of radio support was going towards synth pop, leaving the band's brand of AOR virtually obsolete. The band split that year and members fled to Max Webster, Hanover Fist, Lee Aaron and Big Smile.

As for this album, well, it's quite a powerful first statement for the band. Brandishing an instantly more aggressive tone than what was typical of the day, the album charges from the starting gates with hook laden track after hook laden track, all with impeccable harmonies. Though Nadeau's voice does take some getting used to, his delivery throughout is directly on target, elevating this from what could've been average to something stellar. This kind of transcendence can be felt from the opening track to the final salvo of the ending number. It's really quite startling that this album did not garner the band far greater success than it actually did. Yes, it's that solid.

Since the album is now fetching hefty prices for import only out-of-print CDs, I've included it here for your listening enjoyment. I'll be posting the remainder of the band's recorded output here over the next week or so, but for now, download and be amazed. This rocks!

192kbps @ http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6MR41EUR