The third studio album from this fusion power trio packs a two-fisted wallop and takes no prisoners.
Billy Sheehan's bass solos on "Panic Button" and "Sugar Blues" are highlights, but, in truth, much of the record is practically a bass solo.
His sound is crushing -- not unlike the fat tone Chris Squire used to get in the early days of Yes, but pumped up with even more gain.
John Novello wrings astonishing sounds out of the Hammond B-3 organ, and drummer Dennis Chambers gives every track enough rhythmic juice to power a small country.
The instrumental cover of Van Halen's "Mean Streets" verges on silly, however.
"Things Ain't Like They Used to Be" (not to be confused with the similarly titled Duke Ellington tune) isn't much of a song, and Glenn Hughes' guest vocal is overblown, but guitar ace Steve Lukather contributes tasty licks and a hair-raising solo.
Niacin's sound can get a little wearisome after a while, but if muscular, technically adept fusion is your thing, this is your band.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swing Swang SwungJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | Best Laid PlansJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | Sugar BluesJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 4 | Stompin' GroundJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 5 | Blue MondoJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 05:56 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 6 | Panic ButtonJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 05:37 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 7 | Bootleg JeansJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 07:00 | 16 MB | 46 MB |
| 8 | Mean StreetsMichael Anthony, Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth | Niacin | Play | 05:34 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 9 | This One's Called...John Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 10 | KlunkifiedJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 02:58 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 11 | Ratta McQueJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 12 | Things Ain't Like They Used to BeJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 07:21 | 16 MB | 45 MB |
| 13 | BluesionJohn Novello, Billy Sheehan | Niacin | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 65 mins | 149 MB | |||||
| 65 mins | 417 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Anthony | Composer |
| 2 | Evelyn Brechtlein | Project Coordinator |
| 3 | Dennis Chambers | Drums, Percussion |
| 4 | Bill-Dog Dooley | Digital Editing |
| 5 | John Harrell | Photography |
| 6 | Glen Hughes | Featured Artist |
| 7 | Glenn Hughes | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 8 | Steve Lukather | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 9 | Niacin | Primary Artist |
| 10 | John Novello | Composer, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Producer |
| 11 | Pat Regan | Engineer, Mixing |
| 12 | David Lee Roth | Composer |
| 13 | Billy Sheehan | Bass, Composer, Guitar (Bass), Guitar (Rhythm), Producer |
| 14 | Alex Van Halen | Composer |
| 15 | Eddie Van Halen | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |