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"Battere il ferro finché è caldo!": questo avranno pensato i dirigenti della Crysalis Records all'indomani del successo di "Photo-Finish" con il quale il genio di Ballyshannon tornò al "power trio" degli esordi assieme ai fidi McKenna e McAvoy alla sezione ritmica. Per tale ragione, ecco quindi che un anno dopo, ossia nel 1979, esce ufficialmente questo Top Priority, nome proposto, a sua volta, dalla casa discografica per sfruttare al meglio il magic moment di Rory e soci.
Dal punto di vista stilistico, tale album non si discosta molto dal precedente, ma la qualità complessiva del platter resta di ottima qualità: la partenza, infatti, è di quella al fulmicotone con il trascinante Hard Rock di "Follow Me" che rappresenterà da lì a poco uno dei maggiori cavalli Live del buon Rory.
Segue poi un altro pezzo intenso come "Philby" dedicato alla figura del noto agente britannico vissuto a cavallo degli anni Trenta e Quaranta Kim Philby, poi successivamente arruolatosi al soldo dell'allora URSS, e dove spicca un inedito (ma non troppo) sitar elettrico, precisamente un Coral, prestatogli niente popo' di meno che tal celeberimmo Pete Townshend dei The Who, con il quale disegna un paio di assoli abbastanza brevi ma intensi, come suo solito.
"Wayward Child" è un altro pezzo Hard Rock assai tirato, nonché altro pezzo amato dal suo pubblico in versione Live, così come è molto incisivo il duo "At The Depot" e "Just Hit Town", due pezzi altrettanto veloci che stavolta strizzano decisamente l'occhio al caro vecchio Rock 'N' Roll di Chuck Berry e soci del quale Rory provava del resto grandissima ammirazione.
Però c'è anche spazio per dell'ottimo Rock/Blues con l'avvolgente "Keychain" (da ascoltare anche la versione Live presente in "Stage Struck") e, soprattutto, con "Off The Handle" che rappresenta senza dubbio una delle vere punte di diamante dell'album, dove la chitarra di Rory assume qui connotati decisamente infuocati con almeno un paio di assoli strepitosi che ricordano da vicino alcuni pezzi in chiave "Hard Blues" a firma AC/DC della "fase Bon Scott", in particolare "Night Prowler" alla quale assomiglia proprio tale pezzo dal punto di vista strutturale.
Ma il capolavoro assoluto è indubbiamente "Bad Penny" altro magistrale esempio di Hard Blues che trasuda letteralmente passione e good vibrations da tutti i pori con marcati accenti di Southern Rock decisamente notevoli.
Chiude, infine, "Public Enemy No.1" che in realtà nulla toglie né aggiunge a un altro ottimo album Hard Rock cui farà seguito il già citato "Stage Struck" dell'anno successivo e una fase, quella degli Ottanta, per lui difficile più che altro dal punto di vista della salute (soprattutto per la piaga dell'alcoolismo che lo piegherà drammaticamente il 14 giugno 1995 con la morte), ma che regalerà dal punto di vista artistico altri due ottimi album come "Jinx" del 1982 e "Defender" del 1987.
Da segnalare, in ultimo, la presenza nella riedizione su CD del 2018 di altri due ottimi pezzi come "Hell Cat" (presente anche in "Strage Struck") e "The Watcher", anche questi tutti da ascoltare e godere.
Elenco tracce testi e samples
01 Follow Me ()
I want to plant to the star in the sky,
One you can find at the end of the night.
I want to climb a ladder to space,
Leave without trace, `cos now is the time.
Things are gonna be so clear,
When I`m light years from here,
In some other space.
Let me take the tear from your eye,
Leave it behind, stay by my side.
Won`t you follow me where I`m bound,
Time`s for borrowing now.
Won`t you follow me, time is tight,
Before things swallow me down.
I`ve been locked in this cage,
Gonna break away, before it`s too late.
I`m gonna re-write the page,
Take the stage, and live tomorrow today.
You`ll find the dreams you mislaid,
They won`t run away, all the dues have been paid.
Yes, it`s time to depart, go with your heart,
Follow the flame.
Won`t you follow me where I`m bound,
Time`s for borrowing now.
Won`t you follow me, time is tight,
Before things swallow me down.
Won`t you follow me where I`m bound,
Time`s for borrowing now.
Won`t you follow me, time is tight,
Before things swallow me down.
Won`t you follow me where I`m bound,
Time`s for borrowing now.
02 Philby ()
Now ain't it strange that I feel like Philby, there's a stranger in my soul
I'm lost in transit in a lonesome city, I can't come in from the cold
I'm deep in action on a secret mission, contact's broken down
Time drags by, I'm above suspicion, there's a voice on the telephone
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Well it sure is dark in this clockwork city, contact's never gonna show
I've got a code which can't be broken, my eyes never seem to close
Well, I'm standing here in the silent city, shadows falling down
I'm disconnected but I don't need pity, the night's gonna burn on slow
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Now ain't it funny that I feel like Philby, a stranger on a foreign shore
I've got my plans and I must move quickly, there's a knock upon the door
Still in transit and I'm close to danger, my cover can't be blown,
It's getting strange and it's getting crazy, tell me, what is going on?
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Four o'clock and nothing's moving, six o'clock and the daylight's stirring
Morning comes, must be moving on
All night long my mind's been burning, makes me feel such a long, long way from home, home
Now ain't it strange that I feel like Philby, there's a stranger in my soul
I'm lost in transit in a lonesome city, I can't come in from the cold
03 Wayward Child ()
Well you always were a problem
Always running wild
Trouble is your middle name
You know you're the wayward child
You always get your feet wet
You always play with knives
Watch that you don't cut yourself
You know you're the wayward child
They call you the wayward child
Well you've always gone your own way
Sometimes you play with fire
Well can you run forever
Before you run right out of time
Will you run right out of time
Nothing's gonna change you
It ain't no use
Well who is gonna tame you
Tie you in a noose
Well no one's gonna change ya
Ain't no use
And no one's gonna tame you
Tie you in a noose
Well you always were a problem
Never meek and mild
Life is just a street fight
Well you know you're the wayward child
You always get your feet wet
You always play with knives
Watch that you don't cut yourself
You know you're the wayward child x3
04 Keychain ()
I need a keychain
to lock up all this trouble
I need a fast train
leaving on the double
I'm going some place
that's hard to follow
Got that feeling
that i should be long gone
I'm as bad as i can get
I'm playing Russian roulette
I need a keychain
baby right now
I'm playing no games
this ain't no water pistol
Ain't it insane
there's no chance of missing
No one holds me
you ain't got my number
If you see me
just run for cover
Well i'm as wild as i can get
I'm playing Russian roulette
I got no keychain
,baby, right now
Well I'm in a guided missile
and i'm lost in the sky
I won't be returning untill
things feel right
I got a poison pen letter
Ain't that all i need
some pretty woman's
trying to make a ghost of me
I got a keychain
to lock up all my sorrow
i need some fast plane
I'm leaving in a hurry
I'm going some place
where you can't follow
I got that feeling
that i shouldn't be long gone
I'm as mad as i can get
i'm playing Russian roulette
Need a keychain, baby, of mine
05 At the Depot ()
Well, I'm hanging round the depot boys,
Trying to get a job,
I`m so sick and tired of being laid off.
No silver lining, no rainbow's end,
Bills in my mail-box, that's all they ever send,
All they ever send.
Well, I'm hanging round the corner, boys,
Holding up the well,
Feeling kinda sloppy, waiting for a call.
Running out of patience, running out of cool,
Don't turn on the radio, I don't want to hear the news,
Don't want to hear the news.
Yeah...
Well, you sure look good,
Baby, sure look neat,
Sure make sense from your head to your feet.
You don't want to know me now,
But you're gonna change your mind,
I'm going to Fat City, gonna do things in style.
Well, you sure look good,
Baby, sure look neat,
Making all the ice melt when you walk down the street.
You don't want to know me now,
But you`re gonna change your mind,
I'm going to Fat City, gonna do things in style.
Yeahhh...
Well, my motor won't run men,
I'm sure it's on the blink,
Ain't had no gasoline since God knows when.
I'm waiting for that woman, ain't she ever gonna show?
Don't keep me waiting, I got some place else to go,
Some place else to go.
Well, I'm hanging round the depot, boys,
Can't get a job,
I'm so sick and tired of being laid off.
No silver lining, no rainbow's end,
Blues in my mail-box. that's all they ever send,
All they ever send,
All they ever send.
Yeahhhhh....
06 Bad Penny ()
Well, like a bad penny you've turned up again,
You're in my sights, there's a mist on my lens.
I think you know how it was when I tripped and fell,
Well, you double-dealed me, baby and I broke like a shell.
Like a bad penny you've sure lost the glow
But I'm out of reach, your smile's sure gone cold.
Well, it can't ever be like it was then,
Well, don't you fool with me, baby,
Don't you mess with my plans.
Some stormy nights, your memory haunts me,
You won't go away.
Well, like a bad penny you have turned up in the change,
Try to fit into the picture, you can't get inside the frame.
I think you know I'm still sore, but I'm on the mend,
Times sure have changed, it won't happen again.
Well, like a bad penny spins around and around,
Well, you won't know what's gone wrong when it all falls down,
You got to learn from now on to stop playing games,
You ought to keep on moving, you got to spin on your way.
Some lonely nights, I hear you calling,
Won't you go away?
Well, like a bad penny you have turned up again,
You're in my sights, there's a mist on my lens.
I think you know how it was when I tripped and fell,
Well, you double-dealed me, baby, I cracked like a shell.
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