| Rock City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1977 | |||
| Recorded | November 1976 – June 1977 | |||
| Studio | Big Apple Recording Studio, New York City | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 33:15 | |||
| Label | Fire Sign Records | |||
| Producer | Steve Loeb, Billy Arnell, Richard Alexander | |||
| Riot chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Record Mirror | [2] |
Rock City is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Riot; it was released in 1977.
It was first released independently by Fire Sign Records, run by the band's producers, Billy Arnell and Steve Loeb, who also owned the Greene Street Recording Studio, before the album was picked up for wider distribution by Canada's Attic Records and by Victor Entertainment in Japan. Vinyl copies of Rock City can be differentiated by the color that frames the front cover artwork. The original Fire Sign pressing is framed in white; later editions are framed in black or lack this feature altogether.
American label Metal Blade Records re-issued the album on CD in early 1993 and again in 2015.
Rock City is the only Riot album to feature writing and recording contributions by original bassist Phil Feit who went on to join acts such as Billy Idol, playing on his hits Hot in the City and White Wedding, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and Adam Bomb, where he briefly crossed paths with another Riot member, drummer Sandy Slavin.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Desperation" | Phil Feit, Mark Reale, Guy Speranza | 2:43 |
| 2. | "Warrior" | Steve Costello, Reale, Speranza | 3:50 |
| 3. | "Rock City" | Feit, Reale, Speranza | 3:29 |
| 4. | "Overdrive" | Reale, Speranza, Lou A. Kouvaris | 4:12 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Angel" | Feit, Reale, Speranza | 3:37 |
| 6. | "Tokyo Rose" | Reale, Speranza, Kouvaris | 4:20 |
| 7. | "Heart of Fire" | Reale, Speranza, Kouvaris | 3:00 |
| 8. | "Gypsy Queen" | Reale, Speranza, Kouvaris | 3:56 |
| 9. | "This Is What I Get" | Reale, Speranza | 4:09 |
Personnel
- Guy Speranza – vocals
- Mark Reale – guitars
- Lou A. Kouvaris – guitars
- Jimmy Iommi – bass (2, 4, 6–9)
- Peter Bitelli – drums
- Phil Feit – bass (1, 3, 5)
References
- ↑ Anderson, Jason. "Riot Rock City review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
- ↑ Gett, Steve (17 June 1978). "Review: Riot — Rock City" (PDF). Record Mirror (magazine). London: Spotlight Publications Inc. p. 19. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 12 October 2021 – via American Radio History.