NO PROMISES ... NO DEBTS

Exit Jan Spits (ex-Supersister) for this fourteenth GE studio album. He was never prominent in the band (although he recorded four albums with them) but here and there his prog touch could still be noticed.

The line-up here is a more conventional one (the main four guys are there for a long time now) and so is the music that can be discovered on ''No Promises...No Debts''. The way was already paved with their previous ''Grab It?'' and the music contained is no surprise.

Most tracks (nine out of eleven) are around the three minutes limit, which says enough about the content: relatively rock tunes, some with a heavier angle (''Heart Beat'') while others are catchier (''Sellin' Out'', one of my fave).

It is clear that the band is looking for a second breath: their creative song-writing is rather absent from this release like with the bluesy ''Snot Love In Spain''. The interest has often picked up while the band signed longer tracks, and in a certain way ''Save Your Skin'' which clocks at almost seven minutes can be considered as a good track, with theme and rhythm changes but we are far from songs as ''Mad Love's Coming'' only to name a not too old one. The fine fluting from Barry in the middle part is very pleasant.

As we could experienced on prior releases, the second half of the album is better IMO: my fave from all is the excellent and punchy ''Tiger Bay''. It is a song that could compete with the good ones that the band has released all along its prolific career. Not the top ten best, but just after probably. In any way, it is an enjoyable rock track just as ''Don't Close The Door'' which has a groovy beat.

In all, this album is average. Great tracks are scarce and two stars seem to be fair. Little by little, but irresistably, the band is losing his particularities to turn into a good average band.

Okay I understand the difference between a PROG review vs Basic Album Review. Mine will be a basic rock album review as it relates to GE albums.

I assume anyone reading this is thinking about getting this album since they are interested in GE. I am a GE fan. I have over 20 of their albums and have been a fan since about 1982. Cut was their first album I ever heard by them. I have most of their releases from 1970 and on. I do not love every song by GE. In fact there are almost entire albums I cannot listen to (To The Hilt is my least fav album by them). I write this review in 2012. It is not a review of how it fared in 1979 but rather - is it listenable now?

With this mind -- my review. (1 to 5 stars.)

Overall notes... GE leaves the Prog world of the mid-70s and decides to go mainstream. If mainstream is not for you, that's fine. I got these albums and dove in. This album contains some good music. It's a little funny to hear how the boys phrase certain songs as English is not their native language. There are 11 songs on this release. The last song appears to be an unfinished tune they were going to add to another piece or couldn't figure out a good lyric. Try as they did they couldn't get the recognition they wanted.

1 ? HEARTBEAT. Rocker. The guys go for a little hard rock pop song. It's got nice twangy guitars and at just 3 minutes should have made some impact. Unfortunately they still had some keyboard and guitar parts that just seemed a little strange to American tastes of the day. Still listenable today though. 4/5

2 ? NEED HER. Light Rocker. This compares to the songs on their next album. I like the long guitar parts and Barry's vocals. Nice mix of acoustic and electric guitars. Should have been a minor hit. 4/5

3 ? SELLIN' OUT. Light Rocker. This song has some great potential. It just needed a better hook in the chorus. George is on main vocals and there is a great ending wail that he's good at. I wanted this to be better. 3/5

4 ? SNOT LOVE IN SPAIN. Funky Rocker. Okay I'm turned off by the lyric with "snot" in it. The bridge leading to the chorus is weak. The chorus is also weak. There is some nice harmonica in this one. I find myself skipping one a lot. 2/5

5 ? SAVE YOUR SKIN. Rocker. This is one of those songs that continues to build up steam for the first couple of minutes and then jumps into a great groove. George and Barry share vocals. The middle section is very cool. It seems to jump back in time to MOONTAN for a bit and then right back into the main song. At almost 7 minutes it's a highlight of this album. 5/5

6 ? D'LIGHT. Rocker. Straight Ahead Rock N Roll. Nice lyrics and great guitar solo in the middle. 5/5

7 ? TIGER BAY. Rocker. One of those songs that just does not do it for me. It's got a pleasant enough groove but leaves me flat. This song needed better lyrics. I skip this one most times. 2/5

8 ? WEEKEND LOVE. Pop Rocker. One of my favorite GE songs. Sure it sounds a little poppy but it's got the right hooks, acoustic and electric guitar blend, vocals. After hearing this song how can you not sing along. Barry and George sing 2-part lead vocals. 5/5

9 ? DON'T CLOSE THE DOOR. Rocker. Its kinda bluesy, great guitar. I wish it had better developed lyrics. Not a real fan of this one. 2/5

10 ? DON'T STOP THE SHOW. Rocker. This song seemed like the boys wanted to write a song that they could sing at concerts to get the crowd up and on their feet. Its concert hall ready to play at the end of the set just before the final encore. It's decent enough. Not a highlight though. 3/5

11 ? BY ROUTES. Instrumental. This is a little ditty by the band. It appears to me that it should have been a middle and bridge section of an unfinished song. It's nice but leaves you asking "where's the rest of the song." 4/5