Inspirations (Saxon album)

2021 studio album by Saxon

Inspirations

Studio album by

Saxon

Released| 19 March 2021 (2021-03-19)
Recorded| 2020
Studio| Brockfield Hall, The Big Silver Barn
Genre| Heavy metal
Length| 40:12
Label| Silver Lining Music
Producer| Biff Byford
Saxon chronology
| Thunderbolt
(2018)  | Inspirations
(2021)  | Carpe Diem
(2022)

|
|

Singles from  Inspirations

1. "Paint It Black"
Released: 2020
2. "Speed King"
Released: 2021
3. "Paperback Writer"
Released: 2021

Inspirations is the first cover album by the English heavy metal band Saxon, released on 19 March 2021 by Silver Lining Music. Consisting entirely of covers, it was recorded at Brockfield Hall and The Big Silver Barn in York and produced by Biff Byford.

## Background

[edit]

Inspirations consists of covers of songs of various artists from the 1960s and 1970s that influenced Saxon over the years. Byford said ″We wanted to do an album based on our influences, the songs and bands that inspired us to write what we did and still do, and it was also interesting to see what my voice could do as I haven't sung many of these songs before.″[1] The songs are mostly from the hard rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, and heavy metal genres. The band played close to the musical styles of the bands they covered, but also added some of their own heavier sound.[citation needed]

To record the album the band travelled to historic Brockfield Hall in York, where they played and recorded the songs live.[2] Byford recorded his vocals at The Big Silver Barn, also in York.[citation needed]

Three music videos were released from this album. The first video was released on 11 December 2020 for the song ″Paint It Black″. The video features a behind-the-scenes look Saxon performing the song at Brockfield Hall, where the album was recorded.[3] The second video was released on 15 January 2021 for the song ″Speed King″. The video features clips of rally cars speeding down various tracks.[1] The third video is a lyric video for the song ″Paperback Writer″. The video consists of a digital animation of a quill writing out the lyrics of the songs on paper as they are sung, cut with shots of the album art during instrumental portions.[4]

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Blabbermouth| 7.5/10[5]
The Rockpit| 8/10[6]
Metal Injection| 7/10[2]

The album is generally well received. It managed to chart in several countries, reaching a peak of 10 on the German music charts. It was described as ″vibrant and brashly entertaining″ by Dom Lawson in his review for Blabbermouth. He also described being able to hear Biff Byford sing several of the tracks as "an absolute joy".[5]

## Track listing

[edit]

Inspirations track listing[7]No.| Title| Music| Original artist (date)| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Paint It Black"| Mick Jagger, Keith Richards| The Rolling Stones, 1966| 3:18
2.| "Immigrant Song"| Jimmy Page, Robert Plant| Led Zeppelin, 1970| 2:05
3.| "Paperback Writer"| Lennon–McCartney| The Beatles, 1966| 2:19
4.| "Evil Woman"| Dave Wagner, Dick Wiegand, Larry Wiegand| Crow, 1969| 3:29
5.| "Stone Free"| Jimi Hendrix| Jimi Hendrix, 1966| 3:44
6.| "Bomber"| Eddie Clarke, Ian Kilmister, Phil Taylor| Motörhead, 1979| 3:22
7.| "Speed King"| Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice| Deep Purple, 1970| 3:31
8.| "The Rocker"| Phil Lynott, Brian Downey, Eric Bell| Thin Lizzy, 1973| 3:46
9.| "Hold the Line"| David Paich| Toto, 1978| 3:47
10.| "Problem Child"| Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott| AC/DC, 1976| 4:09
11.| "See My Friends"| Ray Davies| The Kinks, 1965| 2:55
12.| "Shoot Shoot"| Michael Schenker, Phil Mogg, Pete Way, Andy Parker| UFO, 1975| 3:47

## Personnel

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Saxon

* Biff Byford – Lead Vocals
* Paul Quinn – Guitars
* Doug Scarratt – Guitars
* Nibbs Carter – Bass
* Nigel Glockler – Drums

## Charts

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Chart (2021)  | Peak
position

|

Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] | 27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] | 102
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] | 34
French Albums (SNEP)[11] | 154
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] | 10
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] | 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] | 12
UK Albums (OCC)[15] | 56
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[16] | 2
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[17] | 1

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Louder Sound - Watch Saxon's high-octane cover of Deep Purple's Speed King". 15 January 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
2. ^ a b Bowar, Chad (18 March 2021). "Metal Injection - Saxon - Inspirations Review". Retrieved 2 August 2021.
3. ^ "Louder Sound - Saxon share cover of The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black". 11 December 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
4. ^ "Sleaze Roxx - Saxon unveil lyric video for cover of The Beatles' "Paperback Writer"". 6 March 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
5. ^ a b Lawson, Dom (16 March 2021). "Blabbermouth - Saxon - Inspirations Review". Retrieved 2 August 2021.
6. ^ Bilali, Visar (20 March 2021). "The Rockpit - Saxon - Inspirations Review". Retrieved 2 August 2021.
7. ^ "All Music - Saxon - Inspirations Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
8. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Saxon – Inspirations" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Saxon – Inspirations" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Saxon – Inspirations" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
11. ^ "Lescharts.com – Saxon – Inspirations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Saxon – Inspirations" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
13. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
14. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Saxon – Inspirations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
15. ^ "Saxon | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
16. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
17. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

## External links

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* Video for "Paint it Black" single on YouTube
* Video for "Speed King" single on YouTube
* Video for "Paperback Writer" single on YouTube

* v
* t
* e

Saxon

* Biff Byford
* Nibbs Carter
* Doug Scarratt
* Nigel Glockler
* Brian Tatler

* Graham Oliver
* Steve Dawson
* Pete Gill

Studio albums|

* Saxon
* Wheels of Steel
* Strong Arm of the Law
* Denim and Leather
* Power & the Glory
* Crusader
* Innocence Is No Excuse
* Rock the Nations
* Destiny
* Solid Ball of Rock
* Forever Free
* Dogs of War
* Unleash the Beast
* Metalhead
* Killing Ground
* Lionheart
* The Inner Sanctum
* Into the Labyrinth
* Call to Arms
* Sacrifice
* Battering Ram
* Thunderbolt
* Inspirations
* Carpe Diem
* More Inspirations
* Hell, Fire and Damnation

Live albums|

* The Eagle Has Landed
* Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies
* Greatest Hits Live!
* The Eagle Has Landed – Part II
* Donnington: The Live Tracks
* BBC Sessions / Live at Reading Festival '86
* Live at Donnington 1980
* The Eagle Has Landed – Part III
* Let Me Feel Your Power

Compilation albums|

* Anthology
* A Collection of Metal
* Burrn! Presents: The Best of Saxon
* Diamonds and Nuggets
* Heavy Metal Thunder

Video albums|

* Live
* Live Innocence!
* Greatest Hits Live!
* The Saxon Chronicles
* Live Innocence – The Power & the Glory
* A Night Out with the Boys
* Let Me Feel Your Power

Related articles|

* Discography
* Metal for Muthas Tour
* Oliver/Dawson Saxon
* New wave of British heavy metal

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