Thirty-odd years since they last released any new material, Big, Bad & Back is the eagerly awaited five track EP by the reunited Little Angels. The line-up of Toby Jepson, guitarist, Bruce Dickinson, Jim Dickinson on keyboards, bassist Mark Plunkett and drummer Mark Richardson have debuted these songs to further whet the appetite for the gigs that are due to follow at the end of the month. And they have also included the famous ‘Big Bad Horns’ to sprinkle across that that much loved Little Angels sound.
Opening number ‘All for One’ explodes out of the gate with all of the exuberance and swagger that you would expect. Jepson has always been a reliable vocalist and still sounds terrific, blessed with the range of his younger days. ‘Hero (That Was Then, This Is Now) is another glorious hard edged rocker that shows a real statement of intent – this is a band who are not simply going to go out and play the nostalgia card, the new songs really do measure up to what has gone before. The infectious and melodic chorus of ‘Small Town Boys’ is surely guaranteed to go down a storm when its performed live, and they carry the momentum through the raucous energy of ‘You Want Love’ that features Doris Brendel on back and forth vocals with Toby. The only bad thing about the thumping ‘Raised to the Ground’ is that its the last number here and very much feels like the end of Side One…you just want them to keep going and give us another five tracks of this quality to make it a full length album.
So, can Scarborough’s finest truly claim to be big, bad and back? You bet!
- All for One
- Hero (That Was Then, This Is Now)
- Small Town Boys
- You Want Love
- Raised To The Ground
