Anthem Records

It hasn’t been easy for fans or collectors to get their hands on the 1982 self-titled debut by Canadian rockers CONEY HATCH. You won’t find it streaming on Apple Music or Spotify. You might find pieces of it on YouTube, but the quality is not that great. Your favorite local record shop may have a copy of the original pressing, but you’re either going to “pay for it” or the artwork is going to be in rough shape.

Well CONEY HATCH fans and collectors, you’re getting another bite at the apple, albeit a small bite. CONEY HATCH recently re-released their self-titled debut on vinyl with bonus tracks and an added live show from The Agora in Cleveland in 1982. The first vinyl is blue with white splatter, while the second vinyl is orange with white splatter. Check out the vinyl unboxing video below for more. The 2 LP set was remastered by Harry Hess (HAREM SCAREM), and the small bite that you are getting is that this set is limited to 500 copies.

CONEY HATCH decided re-release their debut on vinyl in honor of the album’s checks notes 43rd anniversary. First off, and you can see this for yourself below, the album artwork is absolutely stunning. The intricacies of the lines and shapes are on full display and even present a 3D effect at times. I never noticed the subtle pastel colors throughout the artwork in the past, which says something for vinyl cover artwork. The band photos and live performance photos don’t appear dated. The sound quality is superb, as expected coming from Harry Hess. The live performance sounds like it could have been recorded last year.

The fuzzy riffs of Steve Shelski and Carl Dixon drive the album’s opener “Devil’s Deck”. When Dixon kicks in with his vocals, they are melodic and purposeful. Shelski tears up the fretboard during the break. The song is easy to catch on to and singalong by the second chorus. Any guy looking for a lover can relate to the lyrics. There are more great riffs and melodies on “You Ain’t Got Me”. It’s hard to ignore the tight and in the pocket drum and bass work of Dave Ketchum and Andy Curran. It almost appears this song is the sequel to the album’s opener.

Speaking of Andy Curran, he’s not just the bass player, but he also handles vocals on a handful of tracks. The bass heavy “Stand Up” is one of Andy’s. Curran differs from Dixon in that he has more of a New Wave or Punk style to his delivery, while Dixon is more soulful and higher in the register. This is not a distraction as you listen through the album. I hate to compare CONEY HATCH to another Canadian band, but “No Sleep Tonight” sounds very much like a lost LOVERBOY song.

Andy Curran is back on vocals with the anthemic track “Love Poison”. Anthemic in the sense of the guitar riffage and drum tempo, not so much lyrically. “We Got The Night” comes at you hard and fast with all the piss and vinegar you’d expect from a hungry young band trying to make it in the Rock and Roll business. Both guitarists shred away on their axes at various points in the song (no way it can just be Shelski). The chorus is instantly recallable.

I had no idea that ALDO NOVA’s “Hello Operator” was a cover of CONEY HATCH. While Nova’s version is more Pop Rock/AOR oriented, CONEY HATCH’s original is raw and pure Hard Rock angst. “I’ll Do The Talkin’” has a cool bassline that complements Shelski and Dixon’s guitar work. Curran handles vocals here with confidence and a bit of Punk attitude. “Victim of Rock” is a classic ‘80s Hard Rock jam full of everything you loved in your music back then, including somewhat cheesy lyrics. “Monkey Bars” closes out the original version of the album. It’s unique from the rest of the album and seems like it might have been put together on the fly or at the last minute.

I should note that the three bonus tracks have appeared prior to this vinyl re-issue. “Dreamland”, “Where I Draw The Line”, and “Sin After Sin” (Demo) appeared on a 2005 CD reissue. They probably should have ended the original with “Dreamland” instead of “Monkey Bars”. It’s much more in-line with the rest of the music, and it has the right amount of oomph to end the album. I’m willing to bet this came down to trying to even out Dixon/Curran vocal tracks through the album. Which I’m sure they argued about with every album that followed.. “Where I Draw The Line” would have made a great radio single, it has all the melodic elements.

Spacing has always been a problem with the vinyl format. Whereas CONEY HATCH is expanding this release with 3 bonus songs and a live show, they did end up having the bonus demo song kick off the second vinyl that contains all of the live show. Maybe they could have dropped the demo to just dedicate the second LP to the show? Even as a demo, “Sin After Sin” is a cool song, albeit a bit darker than the rest of the material.

Producer Kim Mitchell (MAX WEBSTER) provides an audio commentary prior to the beginning of the live show, in the middle, and at the end. It’s a promo that was likely sent out to preview the band before the album dropped or when they started touring. This indicates they always had the full show, but Mitchell introduces “4 hot tracks”, and that’s what was probably shopped at the time. They could have left this off the vinyl. Again, the live set from 1982 at The Agora sounds fantastic. Almost like you are there in the crowd, but not as loud (unless you crank it).

This show marks their first performance in the US before heading out on tour to open for JUDAS PRIEST. CONEY HATCH plays their debut in its entirety, but not in order. They keep the same energy and spark they created on the album. CONEY HATCH stays true to the originals for the most part live, with slight tempo changes here and there. That’s expected in a live environment.

After giving the Anniversary Edition of CONEY HATCH’s self-titled debut a good hard listen, it’s a bit of a head scratcher why they didn’t become a household name. Only three more studio albums followed this release, and their final album was 20 years after their third one released in 1992. Still, CONEY HATCH does play here and there from time to time. I’m sure the story has been told as to whys and hows, but If it hasn’t, CONEY HATCH knows how to reach my podcast.

1982 CONEY HATCH had all the elements of a great Hard Rock band, energetic air-guitar worthy riffs, catchy songs, smooth grooves, and powerful melodic vocals. Between the studio album and the live show, you’d swear this band were ten year veterans. ‘Coney Hatch’ is a jaw dropping debut. The accompanying live show proved they weren’t just studio darlings. They should have nixed the commentary for this release.

4.5 out of 5.0