The latter years of the ‘80s were the formative years for what would soon become Thunder.  With a roster of members that have cut their teeth in other bands, Thunder formed to become an immediate hit with the release of Back Street Symphony.  Using a blend of ‘70s hard rock not too far removed from the sound of Bad Company, and the hair metal bands of the ‘80s, England’s Thunder delivered a string of albums with mixed results.  And while Thunder delivered good songs, they too often sounded familiar and formulaic, more of the ‘same-old, same old.’  Nothing wrong with that, of course, as many bands made their dollars on the successful recipe that Thunder availed themselves of.  And Thunder was perhaps better than many of them. 

Thunder’s songwriting skills were good to say the least; easily comparable to those that preceded them in their style.  But they had passed a period that would have been kinder to them by a few years, just as Rock was once again rewriting its pages.  Regardless, Thunder enjoyed their good times and released multiple albums.  EMI, who had originally signed the band now reaches back to reissue Back Street Symphony (1990); Laughing on Judgement Day (1992); and Behind Closed Doors (1995).  In addition,  there is a comp disc with assorted pieces and previously unreleased tracks, and a 16-track ‘best of’.

From the opening blast heard on “She’s So Fine,” a song in the grand tradition of ‘80s hard rock, to the anthemic “Dirty Love,” and the pumped-up, yet true-to-the-original, “Gimme Some Lovin’,” Thunder unleashed a serious attempt at classic rock with Back Street Symphony.  Thunder followed that up with Behind Closed Doors, which yields pretty much the same as Back Street Symphony, although the former album is better than the latter.  The third, Behind Closed Doors registers a smart yet slight style shift, a represented improvement for the band.  The songs showcase a tighter writing team and adaptable musicians.  If I were to suggest starting points, I’d recommend Behind Closed Doors followed by Back Street Symphony.

The comps include The Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (and a bit) along with the odds and ends comp, The Rare, the Raw and The Rest….  The Best of Thunder draws liberally from the first three albums mentioned here along with a few unreleased tracks that include a heart-felt cover of The Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.”  Their other accumulated set of floating tracks (The Rare, The Raw and The Rest…) include selections of previously unreleased outtake tracks, some live cuts, and a grouping of honoured covers.  Among those is a hardened but unworthy one-take “StayWith Me” (The Faces) that features Andy Taylor, and a surprisingly good rendition of “5:15” (The Who).  Also of interest are an alternate version of “Future Train” (Behind Closed Doors), and a demo of “Between the Covers” intended for Laughing on Judgement Day.

Thunder is a band that would have thrived in the ‘80s.  As is the curse for some good bands, they were just born in the wrong decade.  These jewel-cased reissues bring back some of the rockin’ memories of a by-gone era. But hurry, these are already near extinction.

Thunder	Thunder	Thunder
Behind Closed Doors	Their Finest Hour	The Rare, The Raw & The Rest