In 1991 the funk-metal explosion was in full swing with albums from Extreme, Dan Reed Network, Living Colour, Kingofthehill and others seeing solid coverage in the press and airplay everywhere you could possibly look. The Prince-meets-glam metal combination would prove to be a short-lived phenomenon but it appealed to not only the headbanging nightclub goer but also to those that liked to get their groove on a bit whilst banging their heads. These bands often had one thing in common: incredible musical chops.
Enter Los Angeles’ funky, trippy, musically bone crushing quartet Slam, led by Jeff Scott Soto and George Bernhardt
By this point, Soto had recorded vocals with Yngwie Malmsteen, the band Eyes, and just begun working with Swedish group Talisman. Guitarist George Bernhardt was known for his work with Canadians Hanover Fist, Lee Aaron and most recent to that timeline, Beau Nasty.
After a few hit and miss personnel changes bassist Ricky Wolking and drummer and percussionist Mark Bistany joined However, as Soto noted, “George and I had the vision, the songs and the intention…finding the right cast of musicians and personalities took a minute but we finally landed on it all sadly just before the demise of the band”.
Hitting the Los Angeles clubs with the subtlety of a hammer to the skull, the band showcased for semi-interested labels, none of whom could make a full commitment to the band. “We knew we had the goods but the music scene was shifting so quickly back then we just seemed to be a little late to the table at the time” recalled Bernhardt.
With the holy grail out of reach, the members of Slam would go on to projects with varying degrees of success and a band with boundless possibilities would go by the wayside. However, the few cassettes being shopped seemed to fall into non-industry hands and the band demos were shared worldwide becoming an underground phenomenon for the then defunct group.
Thirty years after the recordings, specialty label 20th Century Music, (with the cooperation of Soto & Bernhardt who dug up all the digital finals and had them mastered) will officially release sixteen tracks recorded between 1991 – 1993 as a double vinyl release late summer, while for those that prefer streaming and digital download options, the album will be available 12th May.
Included amongst the fifteen original numbers is a cover of the Billboard Top 5 single ‘Wildflower’ from the Canadian act Skylark. “George called me one morning saying he heard a song on the radio he loved as a kid and hadn’t heard in ages thinking it would be a great vehicle for my voice if we covered it, I couldn’t agree more!” recalled Soto.
The full tracklist is: ‘Love Parade’, ‘Body Language’, ‘Lonely Shade Of Blue’, ‘What U Want It, Wastin’ Our Time’, ‘Dear God’, ‘Candy’, ‘Dance The Body Elektrik’, ‘Funk Me’, ‘4 U’, ‘B-Jam,’ ‘Wildflower’, ‘People’, ‘Y U Doggin’’,‘Monogamy & Lust’ and ‘EverybodyWantWhatTheyCantHave’.
Slam can be purchased here worldwide.
