ROXX GANG “Things You’ve Never Done Before” from 1988 somehow stands up better than many of the other rock albums from the era.
The Florida-based band has a slightly different twist to their sound. Yes, they used a lot of juvenile themes and lyrics like those of “Scratch My Back” and “Too Cool For School” are a bit silly to those of us who are now the parents (and grandparents), but it somehow they still have a charm to them that goes past nostalgia.
ROXX GANG over the years were a group similar to L.A. Guns, where they had a revolving door of members, some who were actually in L.A. Guns! Vocalist Kevin Steele was really the one consistent in the band and to be honest, he probably never deserved the credit he should have for his diversity.
Yeah, you have plenty of rockers like “Race With The Devil”, “Fastest Gun In Town”, “Nine Loves” and others. But there are a couple songs where he really surprised me, “Red Rose” and “Ball N’ Chain” that brought he and the band outside the boundaries of what you’d expect.
At the end of the day you could easily lump them in with Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, Poison and so on, but you’d have to admit they have something a little different. It could be a slight “gothic” tone, or just the fact they were in Florida instead of L.A. and weren’t influenced by the same stuff, but either way the album has a more timeless vibe than many of the other 80’s bands. It’s more authentic, a little darker and the musicianship is better than the average 80’s band.
