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Female fronted hard rockers PRINCESS PANG were labelled as an American group, but actually, the band born in Sweden and half of the members are from this origin.
Singer Jeni Foster met bassist Ronnie Roze Johansson in New York at the middle of the '80s, but both decided to fly to Sweden and start to work on a new band there. After assembling the group with guitarist Andy Tjernon and drummer Brian Keats, they wrote a bunch of songs, recorded some demos and returned to USA when Metal Blade Records showed interest.
The self titled "Princess Pang" was recorded with Ron St. Germain (Living Colour) behind the desk and the result was a kickin', energetic slice of American Hard Rock yet not in the typical glammy style from the end of the '80s.
Sure, there's some tracks in this vein like "Trouble In Paradise", the razor "Any Way You Want It" (a highlight on the disc) and "Scream & Shout" (which reminds me Lee Aaron) driven by sharp guitar riffs and Jeni Foster's strong pipes.
But Princess Pang was a different beast - and that's perhaps the reason for their lack of commercial success - because they added to their music a strong bluesy feel like on "Find My Heart A Home" (some kind of Tesla with female vocals), the honky "No Reason To Cry", the groovy "Sympathy" or the slow burner "Baby Blue" (title says all).
Additionally on numbers such as "China Doll" they are closer to Pat Benatar than the Californian glammy hard rock of the era. I mean, the overall sound on the album is edgy & rockin' and I like it a lot, but surely not what was in the major public's mind, eager to find the new Heart, Bon Jovi or Poison.
After presenting the album on tour together with the likes of Mr. Big and Ace Frehley, "Princess Pang" disbanded and this sole CD is their legacy. And a very good one. "Princess Pang" is an album that after the second spin gets stuck in your head, because is rich in great melodies and true Rock 'n Roll substance.
Quite unknown and pretty hard to find, this a rip from the American CD edition (sounds much better than the German) at maximum quality including artwork.
01. Trouble In Paradise
02. Find My Heart A Home
03. South St. Kids
04. No Reason To Cry
05. Sympathy
06. Scream & Shout
07. China Doll
08. Baby Blue
09. Too Much, Too Soon
10. Any Way You Want It
11. I'm Not Playin'
Jeni Foster - lead vocals
Andy Tjernon - guitar, background vocals
Jay Lewis - guitar, background vocals
Ronnie Roze Johansson - bass, background vocals
Brian Keats - drums, percussion, background vocals
PRINCESS PANG real 320
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