'desperate measures' from 1991 is the second full length of leeway from queens, new york. it feels a little bit like the unloved sibling of 'born to expire' when reading through reviews and fan opinions on the net. i can only partly understand that. yes, the vocals of eddie sutton sound a bit overmixed and yes, the band got a bit experimental here and there, but that's not even a bad thing.
the bad vocal mix aside, 'desperate measures' is a great record from start to finish. i love the ragers like 'make me an offer', 'kingpin' or 'the future (ain't what it used to be)'. i love the songs where they experimented with the melody section like 'stand for' or 'who's to blame', i even like the rap song that is 'two minute warning'.
ok, i also think that 'born to expire' is the better record of the two, but no way 'desperate measures' is a stinker. it's the righteous successor to the throne which 'born to expire' built in the first place. again, i love the overall tone of the album. chris williamson built a massive wall of sound at his normandy sound studios, it's hard to believe that this is not a modern recording.
the band released 'desperate measures' on profile records again. a label that was more known for their hip-hop outputs of run dmc. the label kind of experimented with hardcore bands like murphy's law or leeway. unfortunately they failed to promote those releases properly and so leeway's second full length faced a massive delay of release. the label couldn't use the momentum leeway had after 'born to expire'.
maybe another reason why 'desperate measures' wasn't as successful. anyway, reality records did another great job with this re-press. original artwork, extended liner notes, a digital download with a bonus of a live-set from the band's first european tour from 1991 and this lovely vinyl colour. green marble which looks best hold up to the light. 300 copies made. reality records. 2015.
