Thunder – Giving The Game Away (Expanded Version) (1999/2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Thunder – Giving The Game Away (Expanded Version) (1999/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:11:29 minutes | 1007 MB | Genre: Rock, Hard Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited

“Giving The Game Away” is the fifth studio album by British hard rock band Thunder. This expanded reissue contains previously unreleased bonus live versions of hits from the album.

With their signature hard rock sound, powerful riffs and catchy melodies, the album was well received by fans and critics alike. Many praised the band’s ability to stay true to their roots while evolving their sound.

Featuring key tracks “Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know),” “All I Ever Wanted,” and “Play That Funky Music,” it is a must-have for fans of legendary hard rock and heavy metal.

Thunder’s fifth album, Giving the Game Away, was an unexpectedly mellow affair, trading in most of the hard rock bombast that characterized the British band’s prior releases for slower tempos, unusual restraint, and lots of acoustic guitars. At their most “aggressive” (though “urgent” is a more ideal descriptive), the band delivers what amounts to radio-friendly, middle of the road rock, which isn’t to say there’s not much to like about examples such as “Time to Get Enough,” the mildly muscular “Rolling the Dice,” and opener “Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know)” (even if it basically updates Bryan Adam’s “Run to You”). But the bulk of Giving the Game Away is committed to laid-back guitar strummin’ punctured by Luke Morley’s incisive lead-stabs (see “All I Ever Wanted,” “Til it Shines,” etc.), and interspersed with sparsely arranged, heart-aching ballads (“You’ll Still Need a Friend,” “Numb,” etc.). The only novelties include a stroll through “Strawberry Fields” on the psych-tinged title track, and an eyebrow-raising, shockingly faithful cover of Wild Cherry’s disco-funk classic, “Play that Funky Music White Boy,” which can only be viewed as a good laugh (or a good cry, depending on the listener). Even amid this wholesale change of musical tact, however, one can still hear Thunder’s natural songwriting instincts and versatile musicianship shining through. But sadly, not too many listeners bothered to do so, and after witnessing by far the worst sales results of their career, Thunder quietly split the following year for what would end up being a two-year hiatus. – Eduardo Rivadavia

Tracklist:
1-01. Thunder – Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know) (04:10)
1-02. Thunder – All I Ever Wanted (04:20)
1-03. Thunder – Giving The Game Away (05:05)
1-04. Thunder – You Still Need A Friend (04:30)
1-05. Thunder – Rolling The Dice (04:59)
1-06. Thunder – Numb (05:20)
1-07. Thunder – Play That Funky Music (03:48)
1-08. Thunder – ‘Til It Shines (04:51)
1-09. Thunder – Time To Get Tough (03:53)
1-10. Thunder – It’s Another Day (04:42)
1-11. Thunder – It Could Be Tonight (05:22)
1-12. Thunder – Numb (Live At Manchester Academy, 2012) (05:04)
1-13. Thunder – Rolling The Dice (Live At Rock City Nottingham, 2007) (05:04)
1-14. Thunder – It’s Another Day (Live At Manchester Academy, 2012) (04:54)
1-15. Thunder – ‘Til It Shines (Live At Rock City Nottingham, 2008) (05:20)

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