What’s Saxon’s best album ?

[JinglesTheChristmasMouse]

Please and thank you.

[HueyRamone]

Live: the Eagle Has Landed.

However, as far as studio albums go, I listened to Innocence is No Excuse more than any other one.

[daveg]

Power & the glory then Denim and Leather. I'd guess you would have a good split of votes between those 2.

not sure how much Love Crusader gets, but I've always had a soft spot for it.

[fret123]

For me Crusader by a mile. Their peak.

[Love_Industry]

For me Crusader by a mile. Their peak.

Crusader is a weird album. The title track is an all time classic, the single Sailing to America is also great and the rest is generic filler even for Saxon. I mean Just Let Me Rock? Rock City? Bad Boys? Run for Your Lives?

I'm with Huey, Innocence is their best album. Dogs of War and Destiny bombed and are kind of forgotten but those are great albums too.

[VinnieVincentsVag]

I first listened to Denim and Leather so I’ve got a soft spot for that.

[fret123]

For me Crusader by a mile. Their peak.

Crusader is a weird album. The title track is an all time classic, the single Sailing to America is also great and the rest is generic filler even for Saxon. I mean Just Let Me Rock? Rock City? Bad Boys? Run for Your Lives?

I'm with Huey, Innocence is their best album. Dogs of War and Destiny bombed and are kind of forgotten but those are great albums too.

I like all those songs. Great cover of Set Me Free too

[RaceFan3]

Most have mentioned the classics: Crusdader, D&L, P&G, Wheels, Innocence.

Live - Eagle Has Landed is also a classic.

A lot of their more recent albums (last 10 years) are really good too, if under-appreciated. Those old dudes still go full speed ahead.

[HoldenSSV]

The Very Best Of

[dmbrocker]

Innocence... for "Back on the Streets", "Rock N' Roll Gypsy" and "Broken Heroes" alone. That said, Denim and Leather is pretty damn classic, too, especially the title track. which I consider to be Saxon's "signature" tune.

[HueyRamone]

Mark me down as hating Crusader. Great title track aside, that is one of the worst albums I ever bought.

[VinnieVincentsVag]

Mark me down as hating Crusader. Great title track aside, that is one of the worst albums I ever bought.

Agree.
Everything Saxon isn’t

[BiggusDickus]

Dogs Of War.

[Hellsinkey]

For me Crusader by a mile. Their peak.

Crusader is a weird album. The title track is an all time classic, the single Sailing to America is also great and the rest is generic filler even for Saxon. I mean Just Let Me Rock? Rock City? Bad Boys? Run for Your Lives?

I'm with Huey, Innocence is their best album.

For me too.

[St_Augustines_Pears]

Innocence... for "Back on the Streets", "Rock N' Roll Gypsy" and "Broken Heroes" alone.

Innocence Is No Excuse is my favorite Saxon album too. Don't forget about "Devil Rides Out"...what a banger!

[keyofgee]

i think crusader's main problem is the recording itself. It sounds like it was recorded one instrument at a time and then stitched together. Biff's vocals are buried behind the music and in a tunnel drenched in reverb. The drums sounds like they were recorded last and are sitting outside the music if any of that makes sense. Guitars are too thin and polished. The album didn't have that gritty tone that most of the early Saxon's album had. It's almost like this is when the interest was the highest in Saxon and a lot of money and new ideas about recording where presented. Out with the old and in with the new.

edited. Just looked up who engineered it. Kevin Beamish. He engineered Reo Speedwagon's "Hi Infidelity" album. There is the answer. It sounds similar to that album. Drenched in reverb and thin.

[fret123]

i think crusader's main problem is the recording itself. It sounds like it was recorded one instrument at a time and then stitched together. Biff's vocals are buried behind the music and in a tunnel drenched in reverb. The drums sounds like they were recorded last and are sitting outside the music if any of that makes sense. Guitars are too thin and polished. The album didn't have that gritty tone that most of the early Saxon's album had. It's almost like this is when the interest was the highest in Saxon and a lot of money and new ideas about recording where presented. Out with the old and in with the new.

edited. Just looked up who engineered it. Kevin Beamish. He engineered Reo Speedwagon's "Hi Infidelity" album. There is the answer. It sounds similar to that album. Drenched in reverb and thin.

That’s true of most 80s albums. Big reverb and Miami Vice drums. The Blue Murder album too, The Cult Sonic Temple, even the 70s ZZ Top albums got remastered with that production. That’s why the Rick Rubin production on Reign In Blood was so unusual and new sounding. He did the opposite of all that. Crisp and dense and in your face. I liked Crusader because it was Saxon moving away from the tired old boogie rock biker metal they’d been doing for years. The songwriting got a lot more sophisticated with stuff like Sailing To America and I Do It All For You. That’s why I grew tired of stuff like Motörhead and AC/DC who just kept putting out the same shit over and over. The production on Crusader is dated for sure but I thought it worked for their new direction.

[Love_Industry]

The album didn't have that gritty tone that most of the early Saxon's album had. It's almost like this is when the interest was the highest in Saxon and a lot of money and new ideas about recording where presented. Out with the old and in with the new.

That would be Power and the Glory. That's when I think they moved away from the generic NWOBHM production and tried to write about other topics than Motorcycle Men, Midnite Riders and Stallions of the Highway. Crusader and Innocence were just further steps in that direction until Destiny bombed and they backtracked.

[Love_Industry]

Innocence... for "Back on the Streets", "Rock N' Roll Gypsy" and "Broken Heroes" alone.

Innocence Is No Excuse is my favorite Saxon album too. Don't forget about "Devil Rides Out"...what a banger!

Was going to say all of Innocence is killer... then I played it. Gonna Shout and Everybody Up is filler on the level of those Crusader songs I listed and Raise Some Hell isn't great either.
Still their best album though. On the follow-up Rock the Nations it's the opposite - 3 good tunes the rest generic filler.

[inextrem]

"Wheels of steel", hands down.

Dunno why there's so much "Crusader" praise around here (maybe it is an american thing) as far as I'm concerned, it is the weakest 80's album by far.

Apart from the 3 classic period gems ("WOS", "SAOTL" and "D&L"), "Innocence is no excuse" was their best shot at radio friendly hard rock.

From "Unleash the beast" onward they have released good/great/brilliant stuff non-stop. Just check "Lionheart", "The Inner Sanctum" or "Battering ram", quite impressive run of 20 years awesomeness in a latter days period.

[pieceofme]

Unleash the beast.

Early Saxon is like a tough steak. Its steak so you think you're going to like it a lot. And there are moments when you enjoy the taste whilst chewing it. But its such an effort chewing it that you just give up.

This doesn't just happen to their albums but also quite a few of their songs! You hear the start of wheels of steel and it sounds pretty good! But then Biff's monotone voice kicks in, and you get bored with the song after about a minute and a half.

I've never heard anyone rave about age of innocence outside this board. I'm skeptical but perhaps I'll give a shot. Maybe it will be a like a medium done steak