Riding High

Album Review

Ridin' High was the third album released by Canadian rock band Moxy. With the release of this album, it was becoming obvious that hard touring and a rigorous schedule were beginning to take their toll on the band, especially vocalist Buzz Shearman. Recorded in Toronto in 1977, Ridin' High once more contained all original hard rock material written by the bandmembers. Toward the late 70's, the music scene was changing, hard rock was beginning to falter, disco and light rock songs were dominating the radio airwaves, while new wave and punk were beginning to capture a large audience. While Moxy still had a strong fan base due mainly to the strength of the first and second albums, the band was beginning to loose some of its momentum. Beside the change in music trends, Buzz Shearman had developed vocal chord problems and found it hard to perform live. After the Ridin' High album was released, Shearman was forced to leave the band to nurse his illness, so the album wasn't backed by a live support. Shearman's replacement was Mike Rynoski (who would later go on to front Loverboy as Mike Reno), but the spark had gone; it seemed that Moxy had run its course and the fan base was slipping fast. The band was dropped from their American distribution company so the album was only released in Canada. It was the beginning of the end for Moxy. This release by Unidisc Records is a straight reissue of the original Mercury/ Polydor Records album at a budget price complete with original artwork but, unfortunately, it contains no bonus tracks.