Gotthard .. help out a newbie

[strangegrey]

OK fuckers, Im liking the clips I hear......but I've nothing from this band. What's the best album to start with?

[conversationpc]

I'm not a big fan but I do really like their "Domino Effect" (2007) album. FYI, their lead singer and founding member, Steve Lee, died in a motorcycle crash about two years ago.

[conversationpc]

Now that I'm thinking about it, Lee sounded a lot like Johnny Gioeli also.

[fightingilliniJRNY]

Domino Effect is good, and I also enjoy Lip Service. And actually, the final album with Steve Lee - Need To Believe - is really, really good, too. I would recommend those three. I love Everything I Want, Anytime Anywhere and Said And Done from Lip Service and about six or seven in particular from Need To Believe.

[kgdjpubs]

ahh, ok, something I can actually contribute to....

the main thing to understand about Gotthard is that there are distinct stages in sound, and distinct sound changes within each stage.

They started off pretty much pure hard rock for the first three albums (Gotthard, Dial Hard, G). Out of those, G is generally regarded as the best.
Then, the acoustic album (D-frosted) hit which was recorded live with a few new songs. It was a BIG hit, which forced a major style change.

Open and Homerun followed with the band somewhere between pop and melodic pop-rock. Listening to those albums, you'd never believe it was the same band that recorded G. They are good for what they are, but very soft and ballad-driven, and alienated the majority of the hard rock fanbase, but drew in a lot of people who had never paid attention to the band before. Human Zoo followed, which pushed a little harder into the harder rock side of things without abandoning the melodic side.

Then, lineup change and Lipservice hit. By this point, they were back to the hard rock of the first albums, but with the melodic sense of the later albums. A lot of people consider Lipservice their best album, and although a bit long, it's very, VERY good. Its late 80s hard rock with no pretensions. Domino Effect and Need to Believe followed on, but with a much more "modern" production. Think the sound of the last couple of Bon Jovi albums for the modern production comment. There are 2 official live albums, Made in Switzerland (recorded on the Lipservice tour), and Homegrown (one of the last shows before Steve Lee passed away, and focusing on the post-Lipservice material). There is also a dvd from the Homerun tour, as well as several more recordings on youtube that were done for television or otherwise.

Once you get to G, pretty much everything after that is very good. They really are one of the most consistent bands on the planet. I'd probably start with either Lipservice (as a studio album) or the Made in Switzerland live album/dvd.

[Behshad]

I'm not a big fan but I do really like their "Domino Effect" (2007) album. FYI, their lead singer and founding member, Steve Lee, died in a motorcycle crash about two years ago.

He got killed when a semi ran into bunch of parked motorcycles and one of them hit Steve.

[conversationpc]

I'm not a big fan but I do really like their "Domino Effect" (2007) album. FYI, their lead singer and founding member, Steve Lee, died in a motorcycle crash about two years ago.

He got killed when a semi ran into bunch of parked motorcycles and one of them hit Steve.

Nice...Was the dude drunk?

[kgdjpubs]

I'm not a big fan but I do really like their "Domino Effect" (2007) album. FYI, their lead singer and founding member, Steve Lee, died in a motorcycle crash about two years ago.

He got killed when a semi ran into bunch of parked motorcycles and one of them hit Steve.

Nice...Was the dude drunk?

dunno. Wet highway, and they say the semi lost control. The bikes were pulled over changing into rain gear when the incident happened. Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Very sad for all concerned.

[Gin and Tonic Sky]

OK fuckers, Im liking the clips I hear......but I've nothing from this band. What's the best album to start with?

Get the Made in Switzerland DVD and CD if it is avaialable in the USA . It really is a great watch/ listen . After that G and Lip Service.

[Rocker Chic]

Frank, where the Hell have you been, man!!!???

kgdjpubs said it best above. Fantastic band! One of my favorites is Domino Effect, as it's a bit darker and more modern sounding than Lipservice, although that is by no means meant as a diss to Lipservice.

I've only heard one song with the new singer so far, Remember It's Me, and I like it. The singer seems to fit in well, but I have yet to hear anything else for me to determine how their writing has fared without Steve Lee's input. They are performing at Firefest this year, so I'm sure there will be lots of feedback on their performance.

Debbie

[BARON BLOOD]

LIPSERVICE is the key album for GOTTHARD !!!.........it's the best one !