Went up to Oxford recently. No, not to visit some of my true blue, well-connected University chums...but to make a ‘dangerous’ trip up to see...uhrm...DANGEROUS, courtesy of the Maggi Farran Press Office.
The the exact destination was the decidedly non-seedy, all-seated Oxford Apollo (There's a good pub just round the back - Ed.), where DANGEROUS were supporting those hardy, perennial, archetypically heavy metalers SAXON.
DANGEROUS, to the unacquainted, are a quintet led by singer/ guitarist/ songwriter Doug Palfreeman. The press blurb described them as being in their early/ mid-twenties. Perhaps, but I'm not so sure about Doug. The ‘boy’ has been on the scene for a good few years now. It's been a chequered past. Doug was one of the integral parts of a band called GLORY, who incidentally featured one of my old college chums on keyboards. The band were controversial winners of the Daily Mirror-sponsored ‘Battle of the Bands’ national band competition, beating off the likes of NO SWEAT, who ironically enough went on to better things. GLORY, in sharp contrast, sunk without a trace.
Putting the past aside, DANGEROUS performed creditably enough with their brand of bright punchy rock, most notably on songs like The Devil's Got to Me. Whilst not remotely original, no obvious comparisons sprung to mind, although Crazy Kind of Love has a guitar riff that's a dead ringer of the riff on Don't Let Me Down by ELO!
In Palfreeman, they have a distinctive enough frontman; confident and with a slightly off-centre persona, but personally the overall effect doesn't quite gel. No prizes either for their cover of BRYAN ADAMS' The Kids Wanna Rock. After the spate of bands who have already covered this ham-fisted chant, who needs another one!?
With a little more cohesion and imagination, DANGEROUS might still gain a foothold on the slippery slope Rock face, but whilst there is some potential there, they still have a long way to climb
Mark Liddell
Riff Raff
November, 1991
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