Strong Arm of the Law
1980 studio album by Saxon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Strong Arm of The Law is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Saxon. It was released in 1980, seven months after Wheels of Steel, and debuted on the UK chart at #11.[2]
| Strong Arm of the Law | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 7 November 1980[1] | |||
| Recorded | May–August 1980 | |||
| Studio | Ramport (London) | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 38:00 | |||
| Label | Carrere | |||
| Producers | Pete Hinton, Saxon | |||
| Saxon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Strong Arm of the Law | ||||
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Background, music and lyrics
According to Ultimate Classic Rock, the album is a "building block of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal," calling the track Heavy Metal Thunder "genre defining." The title track, "Strong Arm of the Law," has been described as "hard-grooving" musically.[3] According to guitarist Graham Oliver, the track was inspired by an incident where the band was driving in Whitehall and was subsequently pulled over and searched by the security detail of then British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher.[4] The album's final track, "Dallas 1 PM" concerns the assassination of John F. Kennedy.[5] "We thought, 'Should we put one shot in there or should we put three?'" recalled singer Biff Byford. "In the end we went down the conspiracy theory route and had three shots."[6]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[8] |
| Sputnikmusic | [9] |
Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic called the album "equally timeless" to its predecessor, Wheels of Steel and commented, "All the right ingredients pretty much fell into place for Saxon on this amazing record, and though it lacked as many clear-cut hits as its predecessor, Strong Arm of the Law's unmatched consistency from start to finish makes it the definitive Saxon album in the eyes of many fans and critics."[7] After their peak with Wheels of Steel, Canadian journalist Martin Popoff was a little disappointed, calling the album "comfortable and nostalgic if never remarkable", but "definitely betraying Saxon's lack of ideas"; despite their "stripped, basic and enthusiastic delivery of metal... creatively Saxon was getting left in the dust, both looking and sounding a bit like Slade."[8]
Track listing
UK Track listing
All tracks are written by Biff Byford, Paul Quinn, Graham Oliver, Steve Dawson and Pete Gill.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heavy Metal Thunder" | 4:24 |
| 2. | "To Hell and Back Again" | 4:52 |
| 3. | "Strong Arm of the Law" | 4:47 |
| 4. | "Taking Your Chances" | 4:25 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "20,000 Ft." | 3:30 |
| 6. | "Hungry Years" | 5:18 |
| 7. | "Sixth Form Girls" | 4:18 |
| 8. | "Dallas 1 PM" | 6:27 |
US Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dallas 1 PM" | 6:27 |
| 2. | "Strong Arm of the Law" | 4:47 |
| 3. | "Sixth Form Girls" | 4:18 |
| 4. | "Hungry Years" | 5:18 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Heavy Metal Thunder" | 4:24 |
| 6. | "Taking Your Chances" | 4:25 |
| 7. | "To Hell and Back Again" | 4:52 |
| 8. | "20,000 Ft" | 3:30 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 9. | "20,000 Ft." (Live) | 3:30 |
| 10. | "Dallas 1 PM" (Live) | 6:18 |
| 11. | "Hungry Years" (Live) | 5:56 |
| 12. | "Strong Arm of the Law" (Live) | 4:52 |
| 13. | "Heavy Metal Thunder" (Live) | 4:01 |
Tracks 9 to 13 recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon on 15 December 1981
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 9. | "20,000 Ft." (BBC session) | 3:17 |
| 10. | "Dallas 1 PM" (BBC session) | 6:01 |
| 11. | "The Eagle Has Landed" (BBC session) | 7:32 |
| 12. | "747 (Strangers in the Night)" (BBC session) | 4:41 |
| 13. | "To Hell and Back Again" (alternate version) | 4:47 |
| 14. | "20,000 Ft." (Abbey Road mix 2009) | 4:10 |
| 15. | "Mandy" (early version of Sixth Form Girls) | 3:58 |
| 16. | "Heavy Metal Thunder" (Abbey Road mix 2009) | 4:15 |
Tracks 9 to 12 recorded live at Studio B15 on 25 April 1982.
Personnel
- Saxon
- Biff Byford – vocals
- Graham Oliver – guitars
- Paul Quinn – guitars
- Steve Dawson – bass guitar
- Pete Gill – drums
- Production
- Pete Hinton – producer
- Will Reid Dick – engineer
- Saxon – arrangements
- Blechner Poxon – management
Charts
| Chart (1980-81) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Albums (SNEP)[10] | 15 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] | 37 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts)[12] | 11 |
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (Official Charts)[13] | 25 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[14] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||