Angel was formed in the early 1970's by singer Frank DiMino, guitarist Punky Meadows, and keyboard player Greg Giuffria. After their third album, Mickie Jones was replaced with Felix Robinson. Punky Meadows and Mickie Jones had previously recorded an album with the band BUX in the early '70's. This band also featured vocalist Ralph Morman who went on to record with the Joe Perry Project.

 

 

Angel began as a progressive glam-rock band and progressed into a more melodic pop rock band by the early 1980's. In 1982 the band fell apart with not much heard from most of the members. Keyboardist Gregg Giuffria went on to form Giuffria then House of Lords. The band, while never officially "breaking up" came together in 1999 and put out a new studio album titled "In the Beginning."

 

Angel (Mercury) 1975

1.       Tower (6:59)

2.     Long Time (7:02)

3.     Rock & Rollers (4:01)

4.     Broken Dreams (5:15)

5.     Mariner (4:23)

6.     Sunday Morning (4:10)

7.     On & On (4:19)

8.     Angel (Theme) (1:39)

 

This is one of the most underrated progressive rock albums of all time! "Tower" is one of the greatest songs ever written, however, the entire album is a good listen all the way through. Unlike most of the albums to follow this one, Gregg Giuffria's keyboards are up front and play a vital role in the songs.

 

Angel-Helluva Band (Mercury) 1976

1.       Feelin' Right (4:42)

2.     The Fortune (8:40)

3.     Anyway You Want It (2:31)

4.     Dr. Ice(5:23)

5.     Mirrors (4:28)

6.     Feelings (5:42)

7.     Pressure Point (5:26)

8.     Chicken Soup (4:46)

9.     Angel Theme (2:32)

1970's pomp glam metal meets progressive rock. Angel's second album is nothing short of brilliant. "Helluva Band" is the easiest of any Angel album to find.

 

Angel-On Earth As it Is In Heaven (Casablanca) 1977

1.       Can You Feel It (4:44)

2.     She's a Mover (3:37)

3.     Big Boy (3:44)

4.     Telephone Exchange (4:12)

5.     White Lightning (4:40)

6.     On the Rocks (3:39)

7.     You're Not Fooling Me (4:03)

8.     That Magic Touch (3:38)

9.     Cast the First Stone (4:38)

10.  Just a Dream (5:15)

 

In any case, "On Earth" was Angel's most popular album, and if I am not mistaken, their peak in popularity in the 70's. This is with good reason as "On Earth As It Is In Heaven" is an excellent 70's heavy metal disc. Gone are the progressive tendencies of the past two discs. Gregg's keyboards are now pushed to the back seat to make way for Punky's heavy guitar rhythms and leads. This is probably due to the fact that Kiss produced Eddie Kramer was brought in to produce the band. Eddie succeeded in bringing out the best in this band, but unfortunately this would be the last album of this caliber for the band as their hunger for success would begin to push them further and further into pop territories. I have to also mention that one of my favorite songs off this album, "White Lightning" is actually a reworking of an old Bux tune.

 

Angel-White Hot (Mercury) 1979

1.       Don't Leave Me Lonely (4:00)

2.     Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore (2:50)

3.     Hold Me, Squeeze Me (3:49)

4.     Over and Over (3:01)

5.     Under Suspicion (4:42)

6.     Got Love If You Want It (4:28)

7.     Stick Like Glue (2:38)

8.     Flying with Broken Wings (Without You) (3:32)

9.     You Could Lose Me (4:53)

10.  The Winter Song (3:44)

Angel were desperate to make it by this time, and for some reason, despite the fact that they had the image, the cool logo, the label backing, the press, the big stage show, the chops and everything else going for them, they couldn't break big like label-mates Kiss and Parliament. So they went for the mid 70's pop rock sound. It didn't work for them either. Cool cover art.

 

Angel-Sinful (Mercury) 1979

1.       Don't Take Your Love (3:30)

2.     L.A. Lady (3:45)

3.     Just Can't Take It (3:44)

4.     You Can't Buy Love (3:37)

5.     Bad Time (3:41)

6.     Waited A Long Time (3:13)

7.     I'll Bring the Whole World To Your Door (2:54)

8.     I'll Never Fall In Love Again (3:33)

9.     Wild and Hot (2:59)

10.  Lovers Live On (2:58)

11.   20th Century Foxes (5:23)

12.  Virginia (3:58)

 

Angel-Live without a net (mercury) 1980

1.       Tower

2.     Can you feel it

3.     Don’t leave me lonely

4.     Telephone exchange

5.     Ain’t gonna eat out my heart anymore

6.     Over and over

7.     Anyway you want it

8.     On the rocks

9.     Wild and hot

10.  All the young dudes

11.   Rock and rollers

12.  White lightning

13.  Hold me, squeeze me

14.  Got love if you want it

15.  Feelin’ right

16.  20th Century foxes

Angel's last studio disc for ten years is actually a lot better than most reviewers said. Granted it's in a more pop oriented direction, but overall it's still one fine rock 'n roll disc. Originally this album was to be called "Bad Publicity" and had a totally different cover. Apparently, however, the label felt this would ruin Angel's image. Some promo copies with the original cover art made it out onto the market. The cd re-issue includes this banned cover art inside the insert. The re-issue also includes two bonus tracks, "Virginia" a cool power ballad, and "20th Century Foxes" a terrible disco track written for the movie of the same name.

 

Angel-An Anthology (Mercury) 1992

1.       Angel (Theme) (1:34)

2.     Tower (6:56)

3.     On & On (4:19)

4.     Rock & Rollers (3:59)

5.     Feelin' Right (4:42)

6.     Anyway You Want It (2:31)

7.     Can You Feel It (4:41)

8.     White Lightning (4:39)

9.     Don't Leave Me Lonely (4:00)

10.  Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore (2:50)

11.   Got Love If You Want It (4:28)

12.  Flying With Broken Wings (3:32)

13.  The Winter Song (3:49)

14.  Don't Take Your Love (3:31)

15.  Bad Times (3:41)

16.  Walk Away Renee (2:55)

17.  I'll Never Fall In Love Again (3:33)

18.  Wild & Hot (3:00)

19.  20th Century Foxes (3:45)

20.The Christmas Song (4:02)

Anthology was the first of any of Angel's music to see re-issue on cd, so of course. The disc contains material from all of their albums, except "Live Without a Net." It is really interesting to see the progression in this band. Angel headed into a more pop-rock direction in an attempt to gain (or hold on to) a fan base. Still Angel had a certain charisma that holds true for all their music and this disc is a nice collection of it. There is also a few rarities on "Anthology" including the "Christmas Song," which is a re-write of the "Winter Song" and "20th Century Foxes" which was the theme song of the movie by the same name.

 

Angel-In The Beginning (Coalier Entertainment) 1999

1.       The Crow (4:54)

2.     The Rain Song (4:49)

3.     Hero (4:08)

4.     So I'll Say Goodbye (5:52)

5.     Long Gone (3:44)

6.     In the Wake of the Storm (The Millennium Y2K) (4:48)

7.     Set Me Free (4:36)

8.     The Greatest Love of All (5:17)

9.     Shangra La (4:17)

10.  Trapped in Paradise (4:43)

Angel reunite to bring us a disc that sounds more like Led Zeppelin, than the pomp rock of the 1970's Angel. Ah, who cares, this is good rock and roll. I'm not sure if Angel are actually reuniting or if this is just a studio project, I assume it is the latter. In anycase, it's good to hear Frank DiMino's voice again. Guitar hero Punky Meadows makes an appearance on this disc as well playing lead on "Hero" and "Set Me Free."