70: Mass – New Birth

Mass - New Birth at Amazon

Ah, nostalgia. You are such a siren calling us back to things we dismissed and then letting us destroy ourselves on the rocky shores. You make us remember Def Leppard fondly only to temp us to listen 20 years later and vomit. You make us remember the time White Lion opened for Aerosmith and think maybe, just maybe White Lion didn't suck ass until we hear that song "Wait" again and realize ass was only one of the many things they sucked. Nostalgia, what did I ever do to you?

Thankfully, my objective ear for rock confirmed one album I loved from 80s pseudo-metal was great and still holds up well today. Mass' New Birth (1985) was and is still a standout album. It is epic and accessible. Mass is actually a band that is still around and didn't receive that much mainstream play. I should take the time to explore them further just to see if their other albums measure up to the quality of New Birth. When they released New Birth on CD a few years ago I bought it immediately and thanked Baby Jesus that my MP3s I ripped from the cassette tape were no longer necessary.

Veteran producer Tony Platt helped New Birth become a fusion of pop metal and progressive artistry. Songs like "Too Far Gone", "Do You Love Me", and especially "Watch Her Walk" were obviously products of the time. However other songs like "Voyager (Look for the Edge)" and "Time" have the construction only certain Canadian progressive rock bands can engineer.

I firmly believe this album is more important than the credit it has received. And since it's my own personal School of Rock, I'm right.

Read more about Mass at No Life 'til Metal.

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Tagged as: 100 Days 100 Albums, Def Leppard, Mass, Music, School of Rock