Street Lethal

Street Lethal is the first studio album by the American heavy metal band Racer X, released on January 1, 1986 through Shrapnel Records.^[1] The instrumental track "Y.R.O." stands for "Yngwie Rip-Off", as it bears similarities to "Black Star" by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen (from his 1984 album Rising Force), with an almost identical bassline. It later appeared in the 2009 video game Brütal Legend.^[2]

Street Lethal
Cover art by Guy Aitchison
Studio album by Racer X
Released	January 1, 1986 (1986-01-01)
Studio	Prairie Sun Recording, Cotati, California
Genre	Heavy metal speed metal
Length	35:35
Label	Shrapnel
Producer	Steve Fontano Mike Varney
Racer X chronology
Street Lethal (1986) Second Heat (1987)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	6/10[4]
Kerrang!	[5]
Rock Hard	9.0/10[6]

In a contemporary review, Paul Henderson of Kerrang! found Street Lethal "a pretty good album despite the occasional over-emphasis on 'melt-down' guitar pyrotechnics"; he praised the song structures, which he thought would more likely turn up on a Van Halen album, and the band's musicianship which "would put to shame many of the so-called 'big names' of heavy rock."^[5] Because of Jeff Martin's vocals and Paul Gilbert's rhythm guitar work, Rock Hard reviewer found similarities with the early works of Japanese bands Anthem and Loudness and concluded that "if you are on speed metal with level and melody, you can also blindly access this product from Mike Varney's inexhaustible talent supply".^[6]

Andy Hinds at AllMusic called Street Lethal "essentially a showcase for then teenaged guitar prodigy Paul Gilbert" and "skillfully executed, Judas Priest-style metal". Martin's singing was also likened to that of Judas Priest's Rob Halford and the rhythm section praised for "their part in maintaining the excitement." Hinds recommended the album for fans of shred, saying that it "has plenty to drool over."^[3] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff appreciated Paul Gilbert's rocking guitar "not in the classical fugue state so prevalent on other shred records" and the mix of speed metal with "sturdy party rock songs."^[4]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Frenzy" (instrumental)	Paul Gilbert	1:45
2.	"Street Lethal"	Gilbert, Jeff Martin	3:41
3.	"Into the Night"	Gilbert, Martin	3:34
4.	"Blowin' Up the Radio"	Gilbert, Martin	3:10
5.	"Hotter Than Fire"	Steve Fontano, Martin, Mark Lehman	3:02
6.	"On the Loose"	Gilbert, Martin	3:07

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Loud and Clear"	Gilbert, Martin	3:42
8.	"Y.R.O." (instrumental)	Gilbert	3:13
9.	"Dangerous Love"	Gilbert, Martin	3:13
10.	"Getaway"	Gilbert, Martin	3:10
11.	"Rock It"	Gilbert, Martin	3:58
Total length:			35:35

Personnel

Racer X

• Jeff Martin – vocals
• Paul Gilbert – guitar
• Harry Gschoesser – drums
• John Alderete – bass

Technical

• Steve Fontano – producer, engineer, mixing
• George Horn – mastering at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California
• Mike Varney – executive producer
• Guy Aitchison – cover art

References

1. "Music: Street Lethal". Racer X Band.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
2. Williams, Ryan (9 August 2009). "The most metal game soundtrack ever unveiled". Brutal Legend.net. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
3. Hinds, Andy. "Racer X - Street Lethal review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
4. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 277. ISBN 978-1894959315.
5. Henderson, Paul (26 June 1986). "Racer X - 'Street Lethal'". Kerrang!. No. 123. p. 12.
6. Kühnemund, Götz (1987). "Review Album: Racer X - Street Lethal". Rock Hard (in German). No. 23. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2017-08-14.

External links

• In Review: Racer X "Street Lethal" at Guitar Nine Records