Bride - The Lost Reels I

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One thing about Bride that I've liked for years is the fact that they make available albums like this, material that was previously unreleased.  This CD was originally released independently by Bride back in the late 90's, went out of print, then was made available again as the second disc with Bride -"The Matrix Years".  This is a nice "variety pack" of 20 tunes that spans from 1988 to 1993 with four different band line-ups.  The original album cover had some strange symbols on it, didn't look all that appealing, the production is a little weak on some of the tracks, but the songs are excellent.  Here you'll find some different musical sides to Bride.  Most of the songs are hard rock and metal.  These songs easily get stuck in your head for hours.  Some of the songs were the original or raw versions of songs that appeared on Drop.  While most of the songs are spiritual, there are a few that are a litte more on the artsy side, like "Hollywood," "Sugar," "Sleepy Southern Town," and "I Miss Dancing With You."  "Sugar" features a lot of keyboards and sounds kind of cheesy at first, but actually is a fun song to listen to.  The most shocking track is "Sleepy Southern Town."  This is a song that shows that Bride could be a country band if they wanted to.  This song is nothing like anything you've heard from Bride; with sounds of a violin and steel guitar and lyrics that make your picture a sunset on a cool evening, it is completely different than any Bride song you've ever heard!  "Fine Line" is one of my favorite songs from Bride.  I wish they would do this song on a future album.  The lyrics are very creative and show a distinct line between the two items addressed, to make the point of "there's a fine line between evil and good."  You'll also find two different versions of the same song with a slight change in the title; "I Am The Devil" and "It's The Devil."  The song is kind of a story song and reminds me of the old Charlie Daniels Band song "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," no, it's not a country sounding song, but Dale speaks a lot of the lines rather than singing them...like the CDB song.  Apart from the slight title change, one features more keyboards and the other features more guitar work.  Another song that is actually refreshing is "Echoes of Mercy."  This is a slower song that is full of hope.  I could go on and on about "The Lost Reels 1", in fact, it's one my most played Bride CD's.  The original independent release is very hard to find, but with it now being available with "The Matrix Years", it's easy to get and worth adding to your Bride collection.  Gary's Best Songs: "Fine Line," "Only Hurts When I Laugh," "I Don't Get It," "Sleepy Southern Town," "Echoes of Mercy" and "It's The Devil"  (Review by Gary)

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