Zebra ZEBRA

Zebra: Randy Jackson (vocals, guitar); Felix Hanneman (bass, keyboards, vocals); Guy Gelso (drums, vocals).
The Long Island via New Orleans, trio Zebra broke from the gate with their eponymous first release, a record that was, at the time, one of Atlantic Records' fastest-selling debuts ever. Tapping into the vacuum left by Led Zeppelin's breakup, lead singer Randy Jackson and company gave the masses a good, healthy dose of Zeppelin-like hard rock. True, they are a pale imitation of their icons, but they pack enough requisite crunch into the album's nine tracks to make Zebra an enjoyable listen. The use of synthesizer dates the album, but they did manage to score a pair of radio hits with the driving "Tell Me What You Want" and "Who's Behind the Door?" which builds to a respectably thunderous climax. Jackson manages to do a decent approximation of Robert Plant's primal howl, although some of the lyrics ("The la la Song," "Take Your Fingers From My Hair") are embarrassingly self-conscious in their attempt to strive for the proper mix of mysticism and depth. ~ Tom Demalon

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop