THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE

We open up with the speaking clock: At the first stroke it will be three o'clock precisely... And then we hit the opening chords of The Day The Earth Caught Fire, a five-minute opus that fairly powers along, a hard-edged mix of powerhouse vocals and strong fluid guitar, breaking for a middle section that fairly stomps along to a resounding climax. What an absolutely brilliant number - my God, I only wish I'd seen them perform this live! From there it's straight into It's Only The End Of The World, with a wonderful grinding hook and chorus, topped off at the fadeout by some magnificent vocals that hold notes longer than Carlos Santana. Other standouts - Up In The Eighties, featuring a fantastically heavy mix for a real ribcage-rattling thumper, and the closing anthem Ambition, which does flag in places but somehow manages to hold itself together and wins you over through its sheer energy and drive. City Boy were sadly under-rated and put out some great numbers on several oddly-mixed albums, veering from alarmingly naff choppy-poppy-pappy chart-hit attempts to amazingly-crafted concept stuff like this album. A real classic - if you want an introduction to this band, this is the album to start you off!