With a different cover than previously announced, the retrospective double CD of the much-loved EF Band is finally out, and it is a gem of pure pleasure for all those who appreciated the ONLY foreign band (swedish, in this case) to be adopted by the british audience as a legitimate part of the NWOBHM. Including the entire singles and album discography of the band, "Their Finest Hours" is a loving tribute to the two members of the band who passed away (Bengt Fischer and John Ridge), but is also an extremely strong example of versatile and ecletic heavy rock by a group who was never afraid to experiment and change.
The first, legendary album "The Last Laugh is on You" of 1981 was a straight-ahead affair containing real milestones such as the title-track, "Love is For Heroes" and "We're Back", complete with a Ian Anderson-esque flute solo. Here the E.F. Band was still a trio and many of the songs still were the result of the early collaboration of Angel Witch drummer Dave Dufort (here already replaced by Dag Eliason) with Bengt Fischer and Par Ericsson. A true, timeless NWOBHM classic to all extents. Next Year's "Deep Cut" saw the addition of lead singer John Ridge to the line up, now a four-piece, who refined the sound of the band, still retaining the heavy rock edge, while the final effort, 1985 "One Night Stand", released as a five-piece with the addition of former Deep Machine man Roger Marsden when the NWOBHM was already gone, went back to the solid metal roots of the band. All three albums are included in this sampler, along with the "Self Made Suicide" and "Devil's Eye" singles released in the early 80's. Also in the package are three unreleased live tracks recoded in 1982 (among which the killer "Fighting for Rock and Roll" of "Metal for Muthas" fame shines big time), and "Remember You", a touching tribute to Bengt Fischer composed by John Ridge. "Their Finest Hours", available for order through www.swedenrockshop.com, is a limited edition release pressed in 1500 copies, whose proceeds will go to the Cancer Fund in Sweden.
P.S.: On a sampler that claims to contain the "complete works" of the EF Band, some of you may be puzzled (as I was at first) about the omission of the early 1979 single "Night Angel" on Aerco Records. Here is the full story about it as told by EF Band manager Andy Goodwin, who put the whole album together: "The Night Angel single was an extra song recorded for a compilation set of singles at the very beginning of the band's career but was never used. The company who owned the rights to the song, after a while, sold the song to another label when the band started to get popular, They in turn changed the arrangement and released the record without permission from the band so a court order was obtained by me to stop the selling of the record. As a result of that I did not want to use the song because the original company would have caused lots of problems".
Check this as well:
<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRb3_qA78_s' target='_blank'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRb3_qA78_s</a>