Grapes of Wrath (album) explained

Grapes of Wrath
Type:	Studio
Artist:	Spear of Destiny
Cover:	Grapes of Wrath Spear of Destiny.jpeg
Released:	15 April 1983
Recorded:	The Shuttle
Genre:	Rock, post-punk
Length:	35:38
Label:	Epic, Burning Rome Records
Producer:	Nick Launay
Next Title:	One Eyed Jacks
Next Year:	1984

Grapes of Wrath is the first studio album by Spear of Destiny, released by Epic Records in 1983. The band's first single was "Flying Scotsman" followed by the second single "The Wheel".^[1]

Track listing

All songs written by Kirk Brandon

Side one

1. "The Wheel" - 3:10
2. "Flying Scotsman" - 3:20
3. "Roof of the World" - 3:02
4. "Aria" - 4:38
5. "Solution" - 3:56

Side two

1. "The Murder of Love" - 3:12
2. "The Preacher" - 2:34
3. "Omen of the Times" - 3:15
4. "The Man Who Tunes the Drums" - 2:47
5. "Grapes of Wrath" - 4:44

A 'Special Cassette Mix'^[2] version of the album was also released. It comprises (in track-listed order):

A1 "The Wheel"

A2 "Flying Scotsman" (12" Version)

A3 "Roof of the World"

A4 "Aria"

A5 "Solution" (preceded by a brief guitar version of The Third Man Theme bridging from A4)

B1 "The Preacher" (including a vocal-only intro of the entire song)

B2 "The Murder of Love" (sans finger-clicking intro)

B3 "Omen of the Times" (preceded by an air raid siren bridging from B2)

B4 "The Man Who Tunes the Drums"

B5 "Grapes of Wrath"

Personnel

Spear of Destiny

• Kirk Brandon - vocals, guitar
• Stan Stammers - bass guitar
• Lascelles James - saxophone, flute
• Chris Bell - drums

with:

• The Sisters - backing vocals on "Flying Scotsman" and "Roof of the World"

Technical

• Nick Launay - engineer, mixing
• Gavin MacKillop - assistant engineer
• Pierre Boucher - front cover photography

"Thanks to The Sisters. Special Thanks to Trevor Ravenscroft".

Notes and References

1. Colin Larkin The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music, 1997, p. 417; "The first single, 'Flying Scotsman', arrived in 1983, and was featured on The Grapes Of Wrath alongside the relentless single 'The Wheel'."
2. As stated by the inlay cover: 'One side of this programme is of longer duration than the other to preserve the album continuity'.