Who knows why some bands reap the rewards of success while other, more talented acts tend to fall by the wayside? It’s a quandary, and no more so than when attention is turned towards Shakin’ Street. Fronted by sultry singer Fabienne Shine, this quintet performed with Blue Öyster Cult and Black Sabbath whilst releasing two smoking hot albums, yet the buzz surrounding the group never transferred into record sales. As if to remind us of our folly, Liberation Hall have unearthed an unreleased live set that captures the band at the peak of their powers, doing what they did best and leaving it all on the stage, and it finally gets unleashed as Scarlet: The Old Waldorf, August 1979.

August of 1979 was a magical time for French/American band Shakin’ Street. They had their second (and best) album in the can and waiting to be released while Ross “The Boss” Friedman (former Dictators and future Manowar) had joined on guitar. The stars were aligning and the signs were looking good, and Shakin’ Street were a band who knew they were on the cusp of greatness, and as opening track ‘Solid As A Rock’ proves, they sounded like it, too. They hit the ground running to deliver a hard, punchy sound which evidences a band firing on all cylinders, and the result is barrage that’s akin to running head-on into a wall of riffs. Like all the best bands (think Ramones) Shakin’ Street operate like a street gang and they proceed to dish out a premeditated act of musical violence (but in the best way, of course).

Shakin’ Street always class themselves as a hard rock band, yet there’s definitely a punk influence going on here, and the live environment certainly makes that clear. The majority of this set is culled from their soon-to-be-released record, yet cuts such as ‘Soul Dealer’ and ‘Generation X’ (named after the UK punk group) have an energy and chutzpah that was missing from their studio counterparts. Scarlet: The Old Waldorf, August 1979 exists in that magical spot between the two genres; these are songs that have the proto-punk energy of MC5 but are played with metal musicianship. That’s party due to “The Boss” who had feet in both camps, yet mostly it’s the prevailing zeitgeist into which the band were tapping and a high-octane cover of The Stooges’ ‘I Want To Be Your Dog’ makes the band’s position perfectly clear.

Vocalist Fabienne Shine spent time with Led Zeppelin on one of their jaunts across the States, and you can hear that hanging out with Robert Plant had an impact on her glass-shattering screams. Yet, she’s also restrained and only brings her shrieks to the fore at optimum moments, and this makes them all the more precious. Musically too, there’s a nod to Led Zeppelin; the cascading chords on ‘Suzie Wong’ and the introduction of harmonica on certain songs suggests a kind of worldliness that elevated Shakin’ Street above their peers. This set found the group opening for the Jim Carroll Band, and on the evidence of this recording, they must have been a hard act to follow.

Shakin’ Street are like a well kept secret amongst music aficionados, but Scarlet: The Old Waldorf, August 1979 is going to let the cat out the bag.

• Scarlet: The Old Waldorf, August 1979 is released via Liberation Hall on 22nd March 2024 and is available here.

Track List:

1. Solid As A Rock
2. Soul Dealer *
3. Generation X
4. Where Are You Babe *
5. Blues Is The Same
6. Scarlet
7. Every Man, Every Woman Is A Star
8. Suzie Wong *
9. No Time To Lose
10. I Want To Box You *
11. No Compromise
12. I Want To Be Your Dog
13. Vampire Rock

* On CD and Download Versions only