Law &
Order
Law and Order - Guilty of Innocence (MCA) 1989
1. "We Don't See God"
(3:07)
2. "Dawg " (4:14)
3. "Your Sister Doe" (4:55)
4. "Say You Love Me" (3:43)
5. "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" (2:42)
6. "Possession of Control" (3:06)
7. "No Love Lost" (5:24)
8. "The Needle and the Spoon" (3:51)
9. "In the Shelter" (2:48)
10. "Love Reality" (4:35)
11. "Soul Inside" (4:43)
12. "Delta Prison Blues" (3:29)
13. "Downtown Suicide" (4:21)
14. "Whiskey" (7:50)
A big 'ol healthy slab of East Coast, blues-saturated, beer-soaked, bar band, hard rock. "Guilty" contains a bit of Aero-Sleaze, especially on songs like "Whiskey" where you can hear that Steven Tyler influence on the vocals.. The standout cut is the cover of "Needle and the Spoon". The songs aren't as immediately catchy as similar style bands like Badlands, Cinderella or even Kik Tracee, but with a few listens, I can imagine this CD will fare fine. While I find this CD enjoyable, I have a feeling that these guys were a far better live act.
Law and Order - Rites of Passage (MCA) 1991
1. Dawn Over Zero (4:57)
2. Why Would You Lie to Yourself (4:04)
3. The Hope and the Hunger (4:10)
4. Sacred (4:35)
5. The Truth About Me (2:52)
6. Plague of Ignorance (4:29)
7. The Open Door (4:41)
8. River (3:45)
9. Mary (3:54)
10. Funeral for the Good Mother (4:59)
11. Decide (3:32)
12. Is Freedom Slavery? (5:53)
Law and Order plays straight-forward, blues-based, hard rock. This is the sort of stuff people go to smokey night clubs to listen to while throwing back some beer and, well, basically ignoring the band.
Law and Order actually fall on the lighter side of hard rock, sounding only slightly modern. They have some similarities to Tesla, Kik Tracee and even the Black Crowes. The track "Mary" in particular has a big Black Crowes vibe. As with many bands of this ilk, there is a lot of Zeppelin influence as well. "Dawn Over Zero" is a good example of a song with that Zeppelin-esque overtone to it. As well, the album has a big John Bonham-esque drum sound. "Plague of Ignorance" is one of the harder rocking songs, while "The Truth About Me" and "Funeral for the Good Mother" have a lighter air to them.
The lyrics aren't your usual rock and roll fair and are intelligent dealing with such social topics as racism, war, materialism, and drugs. The aforementioned "Dawn Over Zero" is a song inspired by war and written from the soldier's perspective.
Overall, "Rites of Passage" isn't mind-blowing and it certainly won't sit well with most strict metal fans. However, it's still a solid slab of rock and roll.
Law and Order - The Glass House (Z Records) 2004
1. Sold (4:38)
2. When It All Comes Down (5:39)
3. Blind Guides (5:17)
4. The Pouring (5:26)
5. Like Animals (4:30)
6. Never Satisfied (4:02)
7. In The Middle (4:39)
8. Memphis (4:23)
9. The Pain Is Gone (4:49)
10. The Crushing Weight (3:19)
11. Four Walls (5:05)
12. Recognized (5:52)
"The Glass House: was recorded in 1992 by the original Law and Order line-up and was suppose to be their follow-up to "Rites of Passage". For whatever reason, the album was shelved by the record company and not released until a decade later. The sound is pretty typical of '92, hard rock with plenty of influences from the grunge rockers at the time. "Like Animals" has a big Pearl Jam influence, especially in the vocals with the slight 'yarl' in Shane's vocals. However, I wouldn't call "The Glass House" a grunge album though that scene was definitely an influence to Law and Order for the writing and recording of this album. There is also a ton of 70's influences mixed throughout. No doubt this band are Zeppelin fans as I even hear hits of Robert Plant in the vocals at times. The band offers some fairly diverse tempos from the uptempo "Blind Guides" and "The Crushing Weight" to the groove of "Sold" to the dark, slightly bluesy acoustic ballad "The Pouring". The albums biggest downfall is the lack of immediate hooks. Perhaps this was the reason the album was shelved. Without a hit single and good hooks, it's hard to market this type of melodic hard rock.