Technical Difficulties is the third studio album by Racer X. A year after the release of Second Heat in 1987, the group disbanded for over a decade. However, an angry email from a fan to Paul Gilbert inspired a brief reunion of the band in 1999. The album features several first-time studio recordings of songs that Racer X had written in 1987 and 1988 for a third studio album. Some of these songs were heard on the Extreme Volume II Live album while others only appear in bootleg concert videos.
The album marked the beginning of the "modern" Racer X lineup of Paul Gilbert, Juan Alderete, Scott Travis, and Jeff Martin. Bruce Bouillet could not perform on the album due to a severe onset of carpal tunnel syndrome which forced him to quit playing guitar in 1997. The modern lineup has been the one that performed on every album and live show since 1999.
Technical Difficulties marks the first use of the modern Racer X logo which has been used on every release ever since.
Composition[]
The majority of the album is tuned down to D Standard to accommodate Jeff Martin's vocals. Several of the songs on the album are re-recordings of previously unreleased Racer X songs that were performed live in concert. "Poison Eyes" and "Give It to Me" originally debuted on Extreme Volume II, while "Fire of Rock" and "Miss Mistreater" were old concert favorites. "Fire of Rock" is introduced by the instrumental "Phallic Tractor" which features synchronized guitar and bass drum similar to "Scarified".
The title track was originally written as "Metal Dog" for Paul Gilbert's instructional video Terrifying Guitar Trip. It later appeared in the 2007 video game Brutal Legend and is arguably the most well-known Racer X song along with "Scarified".
"Snakebite" was named after snakebyte, the Australian Racer X fan who sent Paul the email that inspired the reunion. The song itself, however, is about anxiety attacks.
The song "God of the Sun" was written by Jeff Martin and Russ Parrish during their tenure in the band Bad Dog.
Tracklist[]
- Phallic Tractor
- Fire of Rock
- Snakebite
- Technical Difficulties
- Miss Mistreater
- Bolt in My Heart
- 17th Moon
- Waiting
- Poison Eyes
- B.R.O.
- God of the Sun
- Give It to Me
- The Executioner's Song
- Children of the Grave (Black Sabbath cover) - bonus track
Personnel[]
- Jeff Martin: vocals
- Paul Gilbert: guitar
- Juan Alderete: bass
- Scott Travis: drums