Continuing with the late John Sykes albums, now it’s time for his band SYKES third effort, 2000’s ”Nuclear Cowboy”. As happened with previous Sykes music, “Nuclear Cowboy” is an entirely Mercury Records Japan production. The CD was released in Europe and America but years after but limited in distribution, so no many fans had the chance to hear this album yet.
This is the final SYKES the band album, and unfortunately the last John Sykes studio album as musician to date. The record saw Sykes experimenting with drum loops and programming on a few songs, however there’s real drums here with former Blue Murder drummer Carmine Appice contributing on 4 tracks. For this new album John was looking for a fresh sound, still rocking and with his trademark voice and guitar tone.
Longtime fans need not worry — ”Nuclear Cowboy” is unmistakably John Sykes, as evidenced by such tracks as the six-string showcase “We Will”, the stupendous “Arc Angel” (love Carmine’s drumming and tight Marco Mendoza’s bass here) plus John’s incredible atmosphere, or the full-on rocker “One Way System” – a vintage ’80s hard rocker like Blue Murder meets Thin Lizzy with a hot solo!
The early 21st century saw John Sykes keep a pretty tight schedule (as he was steadily on the road with a reconstructed version of Thin Lizzy), and somehow still find the time to issue ”Nuclear Cowboy”.
Many of the songs here open up with some monstrous riffs utilizing his signature technique of pick and muted slides up the neck of the guitar. Guitar solos are kept short, but still there are plenty of them. When Sykes lays down some noise, expect harmonic squeals, neck bends, and wah-wah screams, all heard here in abundance.
The man even shows how well his vocals have improved over the years, as evident on the catchy “Arc Angel” and the ballsy “Nothing Means Nothing.”
The requisite heavy ballad is represented with “I Wish it Would Rain”, a great melodic tune, perhaps the most accomplished ballad Sykes wrote: it isn’t your typical ’80s flare, it’s modern and emotional. The CD ends with the chunky “Raising the Devil”, a modern rocker with a great guitar riff.
Not to ignore on “Nuclear Cowboy” the fine supporting cast of musicians, which includes Appice and Mendoza, who complement the guitarist admirably. It is however Sykes’ show, and he delivers a fine album of hard rock and metal with a different approach than his previous work, and that will remind all of just how good an all-around musician he was.
Undoubtedly one of the more underrated guitar shredders of the ’80s, John Sykes showed that his talents were still definitely intact throughout ”Nuclear Cowboy”.
Highly Recommended
01 – Intro
02 – We Will
03 – Nuclear Cowboy
04 – Arc Angel
05 – Nothing Means Nothing
06 – Talking ‘Bout Love
07 – One Way System
08 – Interlude All Good People (Interlude)
09 – Degraded
10 – Sick
11 – I Wish It Would Rain
12 – Raising The Devil
Vocals, Guitar, Bass – John Sykes
Bass – Marco Mendoza
Drums – Carmine Appice
Drums – Tommy O’Steen
Drums – Bonnie Bonapart
Drums – Curt Bisquera
Programming – Mars Lazar, Adam Schiff
Keyboards – Alex Alessandroni, Jamie Mohoberac