1987 1. The Enemy Within 2. Top Of The Rock 3. Prisoner Of Passion 4. Chains And Black Leather 5. Can’t Wait Anymore 6. Rock N’ Roll Renegade 7. Karen 8. Polyvinyl Lady 9. Rockin’ In The USSR 10. Ode To Scoobie Doo When Bombay’s Rock Machine released their debut Rock N’ Roll Renegade back in 1987, it was quite a revolutionary album, though it is considered pop music by today’s standards. India had never really seen a full length album released by a proper rock n’ roll band at the time, and the cassette of Rock N’ Roll Renegade were embraced whole-heartedly by the starving rock music fans of the country. Finally, in the year 2002, Zubin Balaporia, the keyboardist of Rock Machine has mastered the first two Rock Machine albums as well Indus Creed’s self titled release, onto compact disc. Indus Creed, an excellent rock band, is the 90’s metamorphosis of Rock Machine. Rock Machine primarily played pop rock/glam, and fortunately did so rather well. The band comprised of (on both albums) Uday Benegal on vocals, Mahesh Tiniakar and Jayesh Gandhi on guitars, Mark Selwyn on bass, Zubin Balaporia on keys and Mark Menezes on drums, all of whom are extremely talented musicians. When I received this a few days ago, I was frankly expecting the musicianship to be average at best, but the strong rhythm section, Mahesh’s outstanding lead playing and the overall songwriting skills came as a pleasant surprise. Zubin, on this cd’s liner notes, writes that he was about to remaster the original mix of the album but when he heard it again, he realized that the original recording still sounded fresh yet nostalgic, and decided to release the album using its original recording. Nothing against a nostalgic feel, but this is quite unfortunate, as the mix on Rock N’ Roll Renegade leaves much to be desired. The guitars sound much too low and distant, and the vocals are too loud as compared to the rest of the music. This lowers the quality of the music, and I definitely would’ve given this album higher marks if it were actually remastered. Fortunately, the lead sound is still loud enough, as Mahesh’s lead playing is a huge reason why Rock Machine is such a good band. This album is full of well written, short pop rock songs but there is hardly anything here which is particularly amazing to me; however, none can deny its historical importance. After a nice little intro, Rock Machine plunge into a song that became quite an anthem – Top Of The Rock. This is unashamedly 1980’s pop rock music, make no mistake about it. The typical 80’s style keyboards, vocal melodies/style and especially the cheesy lyrics prove this. The song actually flows quite well, the chorus repeating several times, complete with good lead playing. However, Jayesh’s rhythm sound is much too low and I can’t really say I’m a big fan of Uday’s vocals. He does have a good, deep voice and moderate range, but it always sounds like he’s restraining himself and not going crazy. The vocals here need more power in them, as is the case with most of album. Uday’s vocals sound better in slower parts, like during the beginning of Prisoner Of Passion. A very by-the-numbers song with a mediocre riff, it still contains a solid chorus, nice Van Halen-esque keyboards and decent leads. Again, the cheesy chorus could be improved if Uday was putting more effort in. The feeble mix really mars Chains And Black Leather, a song that is actually a good anthem in the vein of mid-era Judas Priest. Of course, the riff doesn’t match up to Priest’s standards, but the yell chorus is fairly good and effectively conveys the feel of the song. Mahesh’s leads are absolutely blistering and the song could do with more of them. Tiresome AOR ballads many-a-times ruin 80’s rock albums for me, and the two ballads here, Can’t Wait Anymore and Karen, do not succeed in altering this problem. Somehow though, I seem to have a soft spot for these silly love songs and let them play on, though I’m sure this won’t be the case with most listeners. On "Can’t Wait Anymore", other than smooth bass playing and average chorus, there isn’t much to write home about. The song just passes by without moving me, and Uday’s vocals don’t even come close to the desperation he’s trying to portray. "Karen" is a bit better, though too long; the vocals are mellow and don’t sound bad, and guitar licks backed by acoustic rhythms go a long way in preventing this from being awful. The rhythm section is quite tight overall especially Mark’s drumming, and the slow lead playing is first-rate though I can swear I’ve heard the first lead somewhere else! Sadly, the song is still very wearisome and the chorus is poorly crafted. The anthem that is the title song, is probably the top cut on Rock N’ Roll Renegade. The theme has been employed by manifold 80’s hard rock and heavy metal bands, and Rock Machine use the cliché successfully here. All the musicians are top notch on this one and song offers many changes. The keyboard playing, lead playing and bridge sections create a progressive feel, something that is more prominent on Rock Machine’s second album The Second Coming. The chorus is effective and memorable; Uday actually manages to sound perfect on it. Polyvinyl Lady immediately brings Dire Straits to mind; the strumming style, keyboards, drum rhythm are all pure Dire Straits. Only Uday’s vocals and the bad mix actually make this a Rock Machine song. I hear Mark Knopfler on Mahesh’s lead too! This is not a bad thing though, the song is still quite nice. The lyrics, especially, are amusing; every self-respecting guy would relate to them.. Remember the feeling of looking into your first Playboy magazine?! Rock Machine obviously played in the USSR during their early years (which is quite a feat!) because Rockin’ In The USSR is obviously about that satisfying experience! With its wonderful 60’s pop feel, this song is one of my favourites on the album. Finger snapping, funky basslines, and that funny "shooby-dooba" backing vocal make for an enjoyable start, and even when the song speeds up it still stays very 1960’s. Mid-era Beatles comes to mind particularly on the chorus (Beatles fans, guess why?!), along with 50’s artists such as Jerry Lewis and Little Richard. Very entertaining! The strangely titled outro Ode To Scoobie Doo ends the album; it (thankfully) doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the nauseating cartoon character, but is a nice acoustic piece and serves as a good finish. That is my assessment of an album that has definitely gone down in the history of Indian rock music. Rock N’ Roll Renegade has its various flaws, a below average mix, and no particularly incredible music either, but it is yet an enjoyable album which I will certainly listen to on rare occasions. However, the next album, The Second Coming was definitely a hard rock force to reckon with. (3/5) P.S.: Another small gripe; the drums are played on digital pads, and I hate that sound. Luckily, the drumming is simple and straightforward, so it doesn’t make that much of a difference.