Against the Law
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Against the Law
- Artist: Stryper
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1990
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album
- Genre: Gospel
Review
A definite improvement over In God We Trust, the grittier Against the Law is not only a more consistently rockin' album, it's also much more focused and inspired. The CD's standout track is an imaginative cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star," which works surprisingly well in a metal/hard rock setting. But originals like "Rock the People," "Caught In the Middle," and "Ordinary Man" aren't anything to be ashamed of, either. Because many of the songs don't have overtly Christian lyrics, there was some speculation that Stryper, like Amy Grant, was going secular. But Stryper's members insisted that they were still very much a Christian band. And it's hard to imagine Mötley Crüe, Ratt, or Warrant recording a song like "Not That Kind of Guy," which finds Michael Sweet turning down the chance to have casual sex with an attractive woman because he doesn't consider it the moral thing to do. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi| Against the Gravity (Album by Elvis Jackson) | |
| Against the Light (Album by Stefanie Sun) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Against the Law
For other uses, see Against the Law (disambiguation).
| Against the Law | ||||
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| Studio album by Stryper | ||||
| Released | August 21, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | USA | |||
| Genre | Glam metal, heavy metal, hard rock | |||
| Label | Enigma Records | |||
| Producer | Tom Werman | |||
| Stryper chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009) |
Against the Law is the fifth release, and fourth full-length album, from the Christian metal band Stryper, released on August 21, 1990 (see 1990 in music).
This album marked a radical change in the musical and visual direction of the band. Gone were the yellow and black spandex outfits, the bold evangelical lyrics and the familiar yellow-and-black band logo with Isaiah 53:5. In their place were leather outfits, and lyrics more focused on rock n' roll and relationships, although arguably from a Christian worldview. The album was praised by many critics as the band's strongest work to date, but a large percentage of Stryper's Christian fanbase felt betrayed by this unannounced creative metamorphosis, and many of them accused Stryper of selling out their image and message for greater mainstream acceptance. As a result, Against the Law sold poorly compared to the band's previous gold and platinum releases.
"Shining Star" is a heavy metal cover of the classic Earth, Wind and Fire song.
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Contents
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Track listing
All songs by Michael Sweet except where noted
- "Against the Law" – 3:49
- "Two Time Woman" – 3:40
- "Rock the People" – 3:34
- "Two Bodies (One Mind, One Soul)" – 5:17
- "Not That Kind of Guy" – 3:59
- "Shining Star" (Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Maurice White) – 4:22
- "Ordinary Man" – 3:51
- "Lady" – 4:53
- "Caught in the Middle" – 3:48
- "All for One" – 4:31
- "Rock the Hell Out of You" – 3:35
Personnel
Stryper
- Michael Sweet – Lead vocals, guitar
- Oz Fox – Lead guitar, background vocals
- Tim Gaines – Bass
- Robert Sweet – Drums
Additional musicians
- Randy "The Emperor" Jackson – Bass on "Shining Star"
- John Purcell – Keyboards
- Jeff Scott Soto – Background vocals
- Brent Jeffers – Drums, keyboards
- Tom Werman – Percussion
Production
- Tom Werman – Producer
- Eddie Delena – Engineer, Mixer
- Michael Bosley – Assistant engineer
- Lawrence Ethan – Assistant engineer
- Buzz Morrows – Assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Rudy Tuesday – Art direction, design
- Patrick Pending – Art direction
- David Perry – Photography, photo printing
- Ed Colver – Photography
- Neil Zlozower – Photography
- Jeannine Pinkerton – Typesetting
- Kyle Tucy Sweet – Make-Up
- Fleur Thiemeyer – Clothing/Wardrobe
Alternative versions
A limited edition version of the album was also released. It included a 14-minute interview with the band, presumably to explain their radical change in appearance and musical direction.
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References
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