The nuclear race may have been over, and the cold war over. But, the Russians still had an invasion planned.
Gorky Park was formed in 1987, and would become the only Soviet Union band to break borders charting on both MTV and Billboard's charts in the USA. The leading force behind their success was the MTV televised Moscow International Peace Festival, which was headlined by such notable artists as Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Scorpions, Cinderella and Skid Row. Basically, viewers tuned in to see their favorite US artists, and got so much more in the process.
The original lineup consisted of Alexei Belov, Nikolai Noskov, Alexander Minkov, Yan Yanenkov, and Alexander Lvov, who together with producer Stas Namin, crafted the bands self titled debut in 1989, Gorky Park, or парк Горького.
As I fired it up for today's Retro Spin, I was greeted by the band's classic track, Bang. However, at first, I was a little confused by the roaring crowd, almost concerned that I had unknowingly picked up a live album. Fortunately, there was no error, and the cheering soon faded out as the studio track kicked in.
What my ears were greeted with over the following fifty-two minutes were some great hard rock thrashers and ballads, akin to the bands noted above from the festival the group appeared with. It was new, but familiar, and fantastic at the same time. A diamond in the rough, so to speak.
Though I picked a few tracks for my shuffle list, as a whole, I wouldn't hate hearing this album again. The stand out track for me was, of course, Bang, which was the song I bought the album for. However, Danger, and the ballad, Try To Find me, also jockeyed for center stage. Just when I thought I heard it all, the Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora collaborated duet, Peace In Our Time, slapped me in the face. This was followed by a rockin' cover of The Who's My Generation. It's decent, but it's by no means superior to the original. Typical, and no surprise there.
Overall, I was pleased with Gorky Park, and had they had additional albums in the 80's, I could definitely see myself digging in a bit more. Sadly, with their debut hitting in 1989, there were no options for this. It's probably for the better anyway, as issues when the band began their USA tour resulted in lead singer Noskov leaving the band.
The group's popularity in the USA dissolved quickly after their debut. It wouldn't be until 1992 that their follow up album would be released. Albeit, with new lead singer, Alexandre "Big Sasha" Minkov on vocals. However, it would only sell 500,000 copies. Minkov remained with the band through their final album, Protivofazza (1998), as well as for their album prior to that, 1996's Stare. Despite both being recorded in Los Angeles, these albums were only released in Russia. Gorky Park has never officially disbanded, but they've been inactive since 2001.
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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
March 13, 1982
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