Oddly, this record is released alongside Hit The Ground – Revised, a revamp of the current line-up’s 2019 studio debut that revisited demos from 1983-84 made by the Phil Lynott-fronted version of Grand Slam.
Wheel Of Fortune features all-new songs and the HTG quartet of Mike Dyer (vocals), Benjy Reid (drums), Rocky Newton (bass) and the one man there at the beginning, guitarist Laurence Archer. Full marks for persistence, Laurence, and for unashamedly Thin Lizzy-esque opener There Goes My Heart.
Dyer is no Lynott, of course, but he can carry a tune. There are shades of Lizzy too in Come Together (In Harlem) and I Wanna Know, but elsewhere such lack of originality gets tiresome.
Star Crossed Lovers and Trails Of Tears are by-numbers melodic rock, while two slower numbers border on ponderous. Archer’s skill as a guitarist shines through, and Pirate’s Song tries to be different, but this is a hard album to love.
