Essential Badlands Songs

Originally Posted 12-17-2014

 In case you aren't familiar with Badlands, it was a group formed by Ray Gillen (one-time vocalist for Black Sabbath) and guitarist Jake E. Lee, who was fresh off a stint in Ozzy Osbourne's band. Funny how these guys had worked with two members of Black Sabbath before forming their own band. They also snagged Eric Singer to bang the drums, who had also played in Black Sabbath as well. They recorded a self-titled album with Singer, before he moved on to Alice Cooper and KISS. Meanwhile Gillen and Lee recorded a second studio album, and even created demos for a third before calling it a day. Now it might be odd how a band with only 2 (and a half) studio albums could have a "greatest hit" list, but hey, I'm calling the shots here. You might learn something, so enjoy.

10. "Seasons" (Badlands)
Most of the first Badlands album is a rip-roaring affair with tons of hard rock to bang your head to, yet they closed the album with this moody, softer number. It reminds me a lot of the first Alice In Chains album, Facelift.

9. "3 Day Funk" (Voodoo Highway)
The first Badlands album was heavy, while the second album was firmly drenched in the blues. I liked the change-over on this album and I feel like I came for the hard rock but became a real fan and stuck around because of the blues-driven rock on Voodoo Highway. I honestly wasn't sure how well I'd like it without Eric Singer, since he was the reason I wanted to listen to Badlands, yet I feel they did just fine without him.

8. "Hard Driver" (Badlands)
Speaking of Eric Singer, I love his drumming on "Hard Driver", as he really drives the song along. It's a full minute before Ray Gillen begins singing but I honestly think they could've just turned this into a high-octane instrumental. I never saw them live, although my friend Kris did, but I feel like this would be the moment of the show where the band would cut loose and turn this into a jam session.

7. "Sun Red Sun" (Dusk)
This song is featured on their third album- Dusk, which was demos that were supposedly finished in just one or two takes. Ray Gillen would use the title of this song as the name of his post-Badlands band, and recently Lynch Mob titled their latest album after it in tribute to the late Ray Gillen.

6. "Walking Attitude" (Dusk)
So the band had two official albums and then one album of demos, which was later released to the masses as an album titled Dusk. Ironically, it's the only album still readily available on iTunes. I felt like the second wouldn't be as good as the first without Singer, and it more than surpassed those little expectations I had. Now with Dusk I had read that Gillen had a falling out with Lee, so I assumed this album had a different vocalist, leading me to set it aside as I jammed the first two for the better part of this year. Boy was I wrong again! This does have Ray Gillen and it feels like a fusion of the previous albums- they brought back the hard rock and mixed it with bluesy goodness for a 1-2 punch. I have no idea what Ray is singing about here but the music is just killer.

5. "The Last Time" (Voodoo Highway)
As I said, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a second album, but this song put those fears to rest. Hearing this for the first time, I felt like the poor village in the video, that it rocked me so hard it blew my hat off my head!

4. "Rumblin' Train" (Badlands)
Jake E. Lee is currently playing this song on tour right now with his new band, Red Dragon Cartel. They played this past weekend in Chicago, which is why I was going to feature them for a "Top Ten" list, and I'm sure this song shook the foundation of the Windy City.

3. "Dancing On The Edge" (Badlands)
Jake E. Lee is the reason why I finally got off my ass and picked up a guitar. The guy proves that his time with Ozzy wasn't a fluke as he continues to shred on this track and the rest of the album.

2. "Dreams In The Dark" (Badlands)
I was going to say, I believe this song was used as a single, then the introduction to the music video confirmed it; Ray said it hit number 1. While it may have it #1 on the rock charts, and with good reason, it didn't manage to make #1 on this list.

1. "Whiskey Dust" (Voodoo Highway)
My number one is a prime example of the bluesy-rock sound that was featured on their second album. It chugs along, but then mid-way through, Jake E. Lee kicks out the jams with a foot-stomping funky solo, then they kick up the tempo and he fires off another! I don't know how to explain it all, I just know it when I hear it, and this song rocks!