Quiet Riot — QRIII

intothewellsabyss
Jul 6, 2023
3 min read

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

37 years ago today, Quiet Riot gave us the anthemic “The Wild and the Young”!

On this day (July 6) in 1986, Quiet Riot released their fifth full-length studio album “QR III (or Quiet Riot III)” via Pasha/CBS. It is the last album to feature lead singer Kevin DuBrow (R.I.P.) until the 1993 album “Terrified”.

Background:

Frustrated over the “Condition Critical’s” failure to duplicate the success of “Metal Health”, DuBrow began expressing his opinion in the Heavy Metal press that many bands in the Los Angeles Metal scene owed their success to what he saw as the doors opened for them by Quiet Riot. At one point he even compared his band to The Beatles.

DuBrow's verbal assaults angered many of Quiet Riot's musical contemporaries and alienated fans.

DuBrow's tirades led to fan backlash and clashes in the media with several other Los Angeles-based Metal bands, which resulted in Rudy Sarzo quitting the group in March 1985. After auditions, Kjel Benner was brought in to complete previously booked South American tour dates in April 1985. Despite any lingering hard feelings between DuBrow and Sarzo, the bassist briefly rejoined his former bandmates in May 1985 for the Hear n' Aid sessions, a charity project headed by Ronnie James Dio to raise money for African famine relief. Sarzo resurfaced with former Ozzy Osbourne bandmate Tommy Aldridge two years later in Whitesnake/David Coverdale, touring in support of the band's hugely successful self-titled 1987 album. Sarzo was permanently replaced in Quiet Riot by a reinstated Chuck Wright, after five years’ absence from the band, and the group temporarily added keyboardist John Purdell for their 1986 tour and a guest appearance on their next release, “QR III”.

Quiet Riot then released “QR III” (short for "Quiet Riot III"), the band's fifth studio album following the limited Japan only albums “Quiet Riot” and “Quiet Riot II”, and major label albums “Metal Health” and “Condition Critical”. Following the massive success of “Metal Health” and the more modest reception of “Condition Critical”, sales of “QR III” were even lower, reaching only No. 31 on the US Billboard 200 charts and not achieving any certification. It marked Quiet Riot's final plunge from stardom as the band's following releases would not enter the charts at all.

“Quiet Riot III” is the first actual album to feature Chuck Wright (formerly of Giuffria) on bass as an official member. He had performed some uncredited bass work on the band's earlier albums, and would rejoin the band on an on/off basis over the years, and was in the current version of the group until Rudy Sarzo’s return in 2022.

The lead single, "The Wild and the Young", is a stadium hymn to the energy of youth. Its accompanying video (featuring game show host Wink Martindale in a cameo appearance) painted an Orwellian picture of the future, where totalitarian militarists fought to wipe out rock and roll — a reference to the Senate hearings concerning explicit language in metal songs.

This is the first Quiet Riot album not to feature any cover songs or hits. Promo's were released for "Main Attraction" and "Twilight Hotel".

Critical Reception:

AllMusic’s review of “QR III” states;

“Quiet Riot's third release showed the band sticking fairly close to its strengths (melodic Hard Rock custom made to be blasted at parties). Bassist Rudy Sarzo was replaced by Chuck Wright (both Sarzo and Wright had been members at different times prior), as the group set out to regain the fans they lost due to singer Kevin DuBrow's press-happy motor mouth.

A heavier emphasis on keyboards suggests the band was trying to keep in step with such other chart topping bands as Night Ranger and Bon Jovi, as evidenced by the popular Rocker/MTV video, "The Wild and the Young" and the more restrained "Twilight Hotel." Although QR III was greeted favorably by their remaining fans, the album failed to match the mega-sales of their debut, “METAL HEALTH”. With constant bickering behind the scenes, DuBrow was handed his walking papers shortly after the ensuing tour ended.”

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “QR III” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/qr-iii/185992193

Click this link to listen to “QR III” via Spotify: Qr III https://open.spotify.com/album/4yh96NfC2rlprgpf44fQv9

Click this link to watch the official music video for “The Wild and the Young”: https://youtu.be/TP2KhfQ8Pm8

Click this link to follow Quiet Riot on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quietriot

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Quiet Riot — QRIII

Background:

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Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

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