Second Heat
Cover art by Guy Aitchison
Studio album by
Racer X
ReleasedFebruary 11, 1987 (1987-02-11)
RecordedNovember–December 1986
StudioPrairie Sun Recording, Cotati, California
GenreHeavy metal
Length35:51
LabelShrapnel
Producer
Racer X chronology
Street Lethal
(1986)		 Second Heat
(1987)		 Extreme Volume Live
(1988)

Second Heat is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Racer X, was released on February 11, 1987, through Shrapnel Records.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal5/10[3]
Rock Hard9.0/10[4]

In a contemporary review, Rock Hard defines Second Heat "a thoroughly convincing piece of work, which can also boast an unusually impressive production" and predicted that Paul Gilbert would be "the first Shrapnel guitarist, who will make a name for himself beyond the circle of guitar freaks."[4]

Andy Hinds at AllMusic considered Second Heat superior to its predecessor and described it as having "some of the most amazing dual-guitar work ever recorded" thanks to the addition of second guitarist Bruce Bouillet in accompaniment with Gilbert. The rhythm section of drummer Scott Travis and bassist John Alderete was also praised as being "one of the most formidable around." Highlights listed included "Hammer Away", "Living the Hard Way" and the instrumental "Scarified". However, criticism was directed at the band's cover of "Moonage Daydream" by David Bowie: Hinds dismissed it as a "backdrop for (you guessed it!) more shredding" at the expense of "all the charm and subtlety of the original".[2] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff found the album "hobbled by the rudimentary, cloddish, New Jersey rock club tones" and cited as the "most memorable thing about this album" the cover of Judas Priest's "Heart of a Lion", "apparently given to the band by Halford without Downings's or Tipton's knowledge."[3]

In 2005, Second Heat was ranked No. 480 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[5]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sacrifice"Jeff Martin, Paul Gilbert4:03
2."Gone Too Far"Martin, Gilbert2:55
3."Scarified" (instrumental)Gilbert, Scott Travis2:40
4."Sunlit Nights"Martin, Gilbert, Bruce Bouillet3:35
5."Hammer Away"Martin, Gilbert3:44
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Heart of a Lion" (Judas Priest cover)Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing, Rob Halford4:04
7."Motor Man"Martin, Gilbert, Bouillet3:46
8."Moonage Daydream" (David Bowie cover)David Bowie3:30
9."Living the Hard Way"Dave Gonzales, Gilbert3:33
10."Lady Killer"Martin, Gilbert, Bouillet4:01
Total length:35:51

Personnel

Racer X

Additional musicians

  • Mike Mani – keyboard (tracks 4, 6)

Technical

  • Steve Fontano – producer, engineer
  • Dino Alden – assistant engineer
  • George Horn – mastering at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California
  • Mike Varney – executive producer
  • Dino Alden – coordinator
  • Guy Aitchison – cover art

References

  1. ↑ "Music: Second Heat". Racer X Band.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Hinds, Andy. "Racer X - Second Heat review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 277. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  4. 1 2 Stratmann, Holger (1987). "Review Album: Racer X - Second Heat". Rock Hard (in German). No. 23. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  5. ↑ Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German). Rock Hard. 2005. p. 15. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
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