Shakin' Street were formed in Paris in the mid-60s by guitarist Eric Lévi and singer Fabienne Shine. Fabienne was born in Tunisia, moving to France as a child, like so many of the "pieds noirs" did after the countries of the Maghreb gained independence. Soon she embarked on a "career" as a model, actress, and singer. I use the word "career" in brackets, since her biggest claim to fame pre-Shakin' Street seems to be appearing as a... female tree in Roger Vadim’s Barbarella, and joining Led Zeppelin's entourage. Apparently she dated Jimmy Page, and followed the band on tour, not as a groupie but as a fellow musician - according to her bio, at least. Page and Plant encouraged her to form her own band, which she soon did. She must have thought "what do they have that I do not?" and not come up with the obvious answer "one is a virtuoso guitarist and the other has an exceptional voice". Well, Fabienne didn't have a great voice but what she had was a shit-ton of attitude - and sometimes, certainly around the time that punk broke out, that's way more important. Her singing style actually reminds me of a more shouty Patti Smith. Soon, Shakin' Street found themselves at the epicenter of a musical revolution, appearing on the second European punk festival at Mont-de-Marsan (1977) alongside The Clash, Police, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Damned, and Lou Reed, among others. A little-heard LP called Vampire Rock followed. Fabienne somehow managed to get Blue Öyster Cult's Sandy Pearlman to listen to it; he liked it, and that led to a recording deal with Columbia Records and a relocation to San Francisco. More importantly, when it turned out that original lead guitarist Armik Tigrane had sold his guitar to buy heroin, Pearlman arranged for the perfect substitution: Ross "the Boss" Friedman, formerly of punk/hard rockers Dictators. Together they recorded this well-received album, and started gathering a live following, even securing a place in the historic Black and Blue tour, which was co-headlined by Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult. Ross Friedman must have made quite an impression on that tour, because when Ronnie James Dio -then the lead singer for Black Sabbath- was asked to recommend a guitarist for this new heavy metal band called Manowar, Ross "the Boss" was top of his list. The loss of the lead guitarist curtailed Shakin' Street's progress, and pretty soon the rest of the band also went their separate ways. The music on this album isn't easy to categorize; there are elements of punk, heavy metal, new wave, power pop, and AOR. If I had to choose one label, that would be "High Energy Rock'n'roll", as befits a band named after a song by MC5. "No Compromise" makes for a strong opener, a galloping garage rocker with powerful vocals and a short but sweet solo. "Solid As A Rock" and "No Time To Loose" are also fast rockers, with a somewhat more radio friendly chorus, and backing vocals repeating the title creating a nice hook for the songs. "Soul Dealer" is a somewhat slower, with a nice repeated riff, Patti Smith-like vocal delivery, and a B.Ö.C.- like solo by Ross the Boss. Nice percussion bit at the end, too. "Susie Wong" is a poppier new wave number. It's a good song, but it highlights Fabienne's vocal limitations; she's an energetic singer who can shout and scream as well as anyone in the louder songs, but not a great fit for the melodic ones. Really, depending on your taste, her voice can be an asset or a liability. "Generation X" introduces itself with a classic boogie guitar riff followed by Fabienne's bloodcurdling screams. The guitars remind me of Ronnie Montrose while the lyrics seem to reference The Who's "My Generation". "So Fine" has a Sixties swing to it, think The Ramones covering The Ronettes or Beach Boys. "I Want To Box You" starts off as aggressively as the title suggests; generally the trick with the backing vocalists repeating the song title ("box you!") works well - but here it sounds out of place - like a disco chorus on a Motörhead rocker. Certainly it's the heaviest track here, with Ross the Boss going wild on guitar. All in all, this is a wild rock and roll album, not quite garage punk nor heavy metal but something in between. It's very much up my alley, but it's not without its flaws: firstly, as I mentioned earlier, Fabienne isn't the best singer; her passion and conviction shine through, but her voice and technique leave something to be desired. Secondly, it's the songs: while they're energetic, and catchy enough to stick to your brain for a while, they're not particularly original or remarkable. Still, a fun album to play loud, and easy to get hold of, in vinyl at least (not so much on CD). Next time you find a cheap copy at a record fair, don't pass it by.
P.S. The band reunited in 2004 and have been intermittently active since then - or at least were, until 2019. I couldn't find any signs of activity since. Eric Lévi sat out the reunions, focusing on film music and his successful new age project, +eRa+.
**** for No Compromise, Solid As A Rock, No Time To Loose, Soul Dealer, Generation X, I Want To Box You
*** for Susie Wong, Every Man Every Woman Is A Star, So Fine