What do you think about post "Miracle Mile" Guardian CDs ?

I remeber in the 90's my dad got a magazine destined to train ppl in English language . It always came altogether with some music CD's or tape and I think it was 1997 or 1998 when it came with a Guardian song on the spoken tape . The song was "Psychadelic Runaway" , kinda c00l , but WAY different from the more well known classy Hard Rock they played back in 1991 or so . 

What do you think about theses albums in general as similarities with other bands ? I like to try something different from the usual "true metal" sometimes ,but I know bands like Bride , Whitecross and Guardian altered their music on the 90's because after 1992 Grunge basically "killed" 80's Hard Rock , specially Glam . Anyone here which is a fan on these records like Buzz ?

Buzz was killer!  Sure, it was alternative rock, but it retained the Guardian flair.

I like all of the Jamie Rowe albums.

Buzz was okay but I prefer the hair metal stuff.

I am even in the minority of people who like "Bottle Rocket".  I did not like their last one, however.

I'm in the minority of people who don't like First Watch.

Guardian were great, but I never really listen to their stuff much (not sure why).  Their hair metal albums were better than the rest, but you could tell that each album had quality, even if the styles changed over the years.

I dig everything they did up to (and including) Buzz.  I even dig the first album with Paul on vocals.
I tried Bottle Rocket and could not get it out of my cd player fast enough (not my thing at all).

Staybrite wrote:

I dig everything they did up to (and including) Buzz.  I even dig the first album with Paul on vocals.
I tried Bottle Rocket and could not get it out of my cd player fast enough (not my thing at all).

Try checking out their "Live Cornerstone 2001" CD . I had a pair of this series back then (in physical CD , I bought both just when they where released) which where Deliverance and Sacred Warrior . On the Guardian CD , Jamie rowe confessed he wore a wig in 1991's band pics because He had to cut his hair by the time they released the CD Fire and Love to have the band photo 

I like every Guardian album, with the sole exception of Bottle Rocket. I even like their most recent, Almost Home. I probably like Fire and Love and Miracle Mile most, but I love Buzz and First Watch too. I listened to Almost Home a couple of weeks ago. Fantastic album.

First Watch sounds great , but probably they won´t play any song from this one anytime in the future ...

Follower of Jesus wrote:

I like every Guardian album, with the sole exception of Bottle Rocket. I even like their most recent, Almost Home. I probably like Fire and Love and Miracle Mile most, but I love Buzz and First Watch too. I listened to Almost Home a couple of weeks ago. Fantastic album.

I can't stand Almost Home.  There are like three or four rockers with little to no solos and the rest sounds like a Third Day record.  That wasn't the Guardian the fans wanted at all.

I'm checking out "Buzz" right now . Sorry , I can´t say I like it by any means . Sounds like a half baked Pearl Jam record or somehting like that (I DON´T like Pearl Jam) but let's say , it was commercially a good move for them . By 1994 their "Fire and Love" style was DEAD , they had to change , so I understand the shift on musical direction , but it's not of my liking ...

Checking out Bottle Rocket , just as bad . Guardian was basically irrecognizable on these records , but it was "the flavour of the day" . But by 1997 even Grunge itself started waning ...

Well , at least Bottle Rocket is slightly heavier . Buzz a total waste ...

See, Buzz has still has melody, hooks, guitar solos…the guitar tone was definitely not pop metal anymore but the song structures were not terribly dissimilar to F&L and MM. The lyrics on Buzz are fantastic.

Produced by Roland Stephen Taylor, Esq.!

Well , I think I could spin Bottle Rocket once in a while . Buzz was an extremely unpleasent experience , I was eager to have it finished 

FoJ, you're the only one who I've seen they like Almost Home.

anyone like Swing Swang Swung

I like Swing, Swang, Swung.  While I was hoping for a good rocker when it was released, it was a nice change up.  We got to see a different side to Guardian which you don't see with a lot of bands.

Swing Swang Swung was excellent for what it was meant to be.  Luckily, the band announced prior to its release that they wanted to do something acoustic like Bon Jovi's "Young Guns II" album.  So, they did.  It was a fun change up that we were expecting.  The only complaint that they received that I remember is that they didn't include "Take Up Your Cross" on it.  It only appeared on a Pakaderm sampler, but it should have been on this record.  In my MP3 player, it is!

With "Almost Home", there was the two year wait for people who pledged before we got the record.  At first, it was touted as a return to form but more mature.  Then, they said that they were going for a more mature rock sound that would have been somewhere in the "Buzz" range.  I could have gotten on board with that.  What we got was like four rockers more akin to Skillet and the rest came off as Third Day radio friendly songs.  It was almost like they dumped some Skillet and their "Swing Swang Swung" album into a blender and we got their newest.

Had they even done an album like the "Three The Hard Way" EP, it would have been cool.  With what we got, I don't care if they ever do anything else.  I was that disappointed.

If veteran bands like Kiss, AC/DC, Saint, etc. can still bring the goods despite their age when they record, then Guardian could have, too.  With the addition of another guitarist, I bet they could have wowed us.

On a brighter note, this has me in the mood to listen to some Guardian, so I will give the whole catalog a spin and give "Almost Home" another spin to see if it has grown on me.