Inspirations (Saxon album)

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Inspirations
Saxon - Inspirations.png
Studio album by
Saxon
Released19 March 2021 (2021-03-19)
StudioBrockfield Hall, The Big Silver Barn
GenreHard rock, heavy metal
Length36:29
LabelSilver Lining Music
ProducerBiff Byford
Saxon chronology
Thunderbolt
(2018) 		Inspirations
(2021) 		Carpe Diem
(2022)
Singles from Inspirations
  1. "Paint It Black"
    Released: 2020
  2. "Speed King"
    Released: 2021
  3. "Paperback Writer"
    Released: 2021

Inspirations is the twenty-third studio album by the English heavy metal band Saxon, released on 3 March 2021 by Silver Lining Music. Consisting entirely of covers, it was recorded at Brockfield Hall and The Big Silver Barn in York, UK and produced by Biff Byford.

Background[]

Inspirations consists of covers of songs of various artists from the 1960s and 1970s that influenced Saxon over the years. Byford said ″We wanted to do an album based on our influences, the songs and bands that inspired us to write what we did and still do, and it was also interesting to see what my voice could do as I haven’t sung many of these songs before.″[1] The songs are mostly from the hard rock, Psychedelic rock, Blues rock, and heavy metal genres. The band played close to the musical styles of the bands they covered, but also added some of their own heavier sound.

To record the album the band travelled to historic Brockfield Hall in York, where they played and recorded the songs live.[2] Byford recorded his vocals at The Big Silver Barn, also in York.

Three music videos were released from this album. The first video was released on December 11, 2020 for the song ″Paint It Black″. The video features a behind-the-scenes look Saxon performing the song at Brockfield Hall, where the album was recorded.[3] The second video was released on January 15, 2021 for the song ″Speed King″. The video features clips of rally cars speeding down various tracks.[1] The third video is a lyric video for the song ″Paperback Writer″. The video consists of a digital animation of a quill writing out the lyrics of the songs on paper as they are sung, cut with shots of the album art during instrumental portions.[4]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blabbermouth7.5/10[5]
The Rockpit8/10[6]
Metal Injection7/10[2]

The album is generally well received. It managed to chart in several countries, reaching a peak of 10 on the German music charts. It was described as ″vibrant and brashly entertaining″ by Dom Lawson in his review for Blabbermouth. He also described being able to hear Biff Byford sing several of the tracks as "an absolute joy".[5]

Track listing[]

Inspirations track listing[7]
No.TitleMusicOriginal artist (date)Length
1."Paint It Black"Mick Jagger, Keith RichardsThe Rolling Stones3:18
2."Immigrant Song"Jimmy Page, Robert PlantLed Zeppelin2:05
3."Paperback Writer"Lennon–McCartneyThe Beatles2:19
4."Evil Woman"Dave Wagner, Dick Wiegand, Larry WiegandCrow3:29
5."Stone Free"Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix3:44
6."Bomber"Eddie Clarke, Ian Kilmister, Phil TaylorMotörhead3:22
7."Speed King"Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian PaiceDeep Purple3:30
8."The Rocker"Phil Lynott, Brian Downey, Eric BellThin Lizzy3:45
9."Hold the Line"David PaichToto3:46
10."Problem Child"Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon ScottAC/DC4:08
11."See My Friends"Ray DaviesThe Kinks2:56
Japan bonus tracks
No.TitleMusicOriginal artist (date)Length
12."", , , UFO3:46
13.""SaxonSaxon4:16
14.""SaxonSaxon3:38

Personnel[]

Saxon

Charts[]

Chart (2020) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] 27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] 102
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] 34
French Albums (SNEP)[11] 154
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 56

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Louder Sound - Watch Saxon's high-octane cover of Deep Purple's Speed King". Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Bowar, Chad. "Metal Injection - Saxon - Inspirations Review". Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  3. ^ "Louder Sound - Saxon share cover of The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black". Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "Sleaze Roxx - Saxon unveil lyric video for cover of The Beatles' "Paperback Writer"". Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Lawson, Dom. "Blabbermouth - Saxon - Inspirations Review". Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Bilali, Visar. "The Rockpit - Saxon - Inspirations Review". Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "All Music - Saxon - Inspirations Overview". Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  8. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Saxon – Inspirations" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Saxon – Inspirations" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Saxon – Inspirations" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "Lescharts.com – Saxon – Inspirations". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Saxon – Inspirations" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  13. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Saxon – Inspirations". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Saxon | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 2, 2021.

External links[]

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