''Desperate Measures'' is the second album by the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Hardcore/

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

Leeway Leeway is the amount of drift motion to leeward of an object floating in the water caused by the component of the wind vector that is perpendicular to the object’s forward motion.Bowditch. (1995). The American Practical Navigator. Pub. No. 9. 1 ...

. It was released in June 1991 on Rock Hotel/

Profile Records Profile Records was one of the earliest hip hop labels. As well as hip-hop they released disco, dance, and electro records. History In 1980, Cory Robbins, who was 23 at the time and had worked briefly for MCA, wanted to start a record label ...

as was its predecessor, ''

Born to Expire ''Born to Expire'' is the debut album by New York City band Leeway. It was recorded in November 1987. Delays postponed its release to January 1989 – jointly on Rock Hotel and Profile Records. It was followed up by '' Desperate Measures'' in 1 ...

'' in 1989. It was followed by 1994's '' Adult Crash''. It features two line-up changes from the previous album: Jimmy Xanthos and Pokey replace Zowie and Tony Fontão on bass and drums respectively.

Overview

While the previous album showed a clear hardcore influence, the sound on Desperate Measures is of

akin to

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Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller no ...

. However, like its predecessor, it had fans in both metal and hardcore camps. Guitarist and songwriter, A.J. Novello, had this to say on the album:

...it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. (It) was a little too metallic. Eddie's vocals were drenched in effects (Suttons' critical comparison to Ozzy began here), the songs were more left-field, and we initially disappointed some fans.

In contrast to Novello, guitarist Michael Gibbons perceives the album in a more positive manner:

I still love Desperate Measures. Eddie's vocals were mixed too heavily, I agree. But, as a metalhead from Queens first, before I was even a hardcore fan, I've always loved that recording. A lot of hardcore fans also loved it, as well as some prominent people from the NYHC scene who have admitted that to me through the years.An interview with Gibbons with No Echo: http://www.noecho.net/interviews/michael-gibbons-leeway

Unlike the previous album, Desperate Measures shows more

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...

yet a

melodic A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term c ...

oriented sound with more variety, such as songs like "Kingpin" incorporate elements of a

rap metal Rap metal is a fusion genre that combines hip hop music, hip hop with heavy metal music, heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, Rapping, rapped vocals and sometimes turntablism, turntables. History O ...

rapcore A number of overlapping punk rock subgenres have developed since the emergence of punk rock (often shortened to ''punk'') in the mid-1970s. Even though punk genres at times are difficult to segregate, they usually show differing characteristics i ...

sound, while another track like "2 Minute Warning" had more of a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

influence.

Track listing

#"Make Me An Offer" (Eddie Sutton, A.J. Novello, Michael Gibbons) – 5:49 #"All About Dope" (Sutton, Novello, H Ackerman) – 4:27 #"Soft Way Out" (Sutton, Novello) – 3:29 #"Stand For" (Sutton, Novello) – 3:41 #"No Heroes" (Sutton, Novello) – 3:46 #"Kingpin" (Sutton, Novello, Gibbons) – 3:53 #"Who's to Blame" (Sutton, Gibbons) – 4:06 #"Ball Hugger" (Sutton, Gibbons) – 3:23 #"2 Minute Warning" (Sutton) – 2:01 #"The Future (Ain't What it Used to Be)" (Sutton, Novello, Gibbons) – 7:27

Personnel

* Eddie Sutton – vocals * A.J. Novello – guitar * Michael Gibbons – guitar * Jimmy Xanthos – bass * Pokey – drums * Recorded in April, 1990 at Normandy Sound,

Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The reg ...

, USA * Produced by Chris Williamson * Mastered by Howie Weinberg at

Masterdisk Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production. Their clients include such n ...

, USA * Re-issue re-mastered by Alan Douches at West Westside Music

Notes

External links

Leeway official website
{{Authority control 1991 albums Leeway (band) albums