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Artist: Kik Tracee

Title: No Rules

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Category: Glam

Year: 1991

Label: BMG

Catalog Number: 2189-2-R

Personnel

Stephen Shareaux lead vocals
Rob Grad bass, backing vocals
Michael Marquis lead and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Gregory Hex rhythm and slide guitars, backing vocals
Johnny Douglas drums, percussion, backing vocals
Dana Strum producer

Tracks

1.	Don't Need Rules	3:18
2.	Mrs. Robinson	4:33		Cover: Simon and Garfunkel
3.	You're So Strange	4:36
4.	Trash City	4:46
5.	Hard Time	4:24
6.	Big Western Sky	4:53
7.	Generation Express	5:21
8.	Soul Shaker	4:31
9.	Tangerine Man	4:46
10.	Lost	4:58
11.	Velvet Crush	3:44
12.	Rattlesnake Eyes (Strawberry Jam)	4:06
13.	Romeo Blues	4:46
14.	Fade Dunaway instrumental	0:41
Total Running Time:		59:23

If you see any errors or omissions in the CD information shown above, either in the musician credits or song listings (cover song credits, live tracks, etc.), please post them in the corrections section of the Heavy Harmonies forum/message board.

The music discographies on this site are works in progress. If you notice that a particular Kik Tracee CD release or compilation is missing from the list above, please submit that CD using the CD submission page. The ultimate goal is to make the discographies here at Heavy Harmonies as complete as possible. Even if it is an obscure greatest-hits or live compilation CD, we want to add it to the site. Please only submit official CD releases; no bootlegs or cassette-only or LP-only releases.

EPs and CD-singles from Kik Tracee are also welcome to be added, as long as they are at least 4 songs in length.

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Existing comments about this CD

From: scofenix	Date: May 18, 2001 at 21:04
This is a good overall cd not just a one hit wonder, you'll be glad you bought it

From:	Date: July 21, 2001 at 0:24
Kik Tracee were great!! every song stands on there own. Stephens vocals are very distinctive.

From: T-BONE	Date: August 15, 2001 at 13:09
They got some strange shit goin' on on this cd. It's not really hard rock, not really punk, not really anything. I couldn't figure out a catagory for this cd, but It's still worth checking out. The Mrs. Robinson remake was pretty kool though.

From: Tanya ~	Date: August 24, 2001 at 21:35
This band rocks!! well worth listening to if you like 80's hardrock ... I agree with T-BONE it is hard to catagorize this cd/band but all i know is they are freakin great!!

From: Hanoi14	Date: December 6, 2001 at 11:39
I just got this cd. I had heard of them before but never heard them. I am glad I baught it. The only negative thoughts on it was the vocals sound like Saigon Kick with a hint of Axl. That aside it Kiks ass.

From: Paulo-Fernandes	Date: December 9, 2001 at 9:42
Just got this cd also, and yes i loved it , great vocals, great songs, awesome !!! 9/10

From: Mike A	Date: December 15, 2001 at 15:50
Another lost classic. These guys were definatly original. 'Lost' is a great acoustic song and a highlight off the album for me. You're So Strange is a great moody song and another highlight and worth the price of the cd by itself.

From: Billy Boy	Date: January 8, 2002 at 6:04
This CD is one of my favorites!!! No rules Kik ass!!!

From: koogles

Date: June 24, 2002 at 20:50

These guys didn't deserve their Hugh Syme cover, didn't deserve to have Dana Strum produce their album, didn't deserve to have the MTV video hit, and didn't deserve to release a second EP. There's a real lack of focus on this CD, symptomatic of the larger lack of focus in the HR scene around the time this CD was released. If you like an uncohesive album whose elements never quite come together, buy this. You'll be kiking more than Tracee by the end of it... you'll be kiking your own ass!!

From: Desslar	Date: June 25, 2002 at 22:34
I agree these guys were lucky to get as far as they did (although the cover's kind of weak and Strum's no prize), but there are a few nice moments on here. The Mrs. Robinson cover rocks, and 3,6, and 7 are pretty solid too.

From: TMan	Date: June 26, 2002 at 15:44
I bought this CD in high school. It was excellent then and still stands on its own today. Bands like Kik Tracee, Vain, Love/Hate, etc. I thought they never received their due. No Rules is a classic!!!!

From: Tony

Date: July 6, 2002 at 21:25

Upon my first listen to this album in 91' I just HATED it!! Thought their version of 'Mrs. Robinson' was just the worst cover ever. Time has made me appreciate this cd though. I can understand why though in 91' this cd probably confused the f#@k out of rock fans. Packaged as 'hair' metal but is just all over the place in terms of musical styles. All good but none 'great' if ya catch my drift. 'You're So Strange' best track on here for me. Definitely an aquired taste.

From: TIM	Date: July 22, 2002 at 14:40
Have to go with Desslar and koogles on this one. I wasn't too impressed with these guys.

From: Andre Tekken	Date: August 9, 2002 at 9:22
Firs of all I don't think this is a glam outfit!They unffortunell were off their time,when all that bloody Grundge crap was emerging.Decent musicians but veeery weak song writing!Kind of Guns'n Roses meets the Cure,meets Beattles,meets Faster Pussicat.But anyway the cover from 'Paul Simon's'Mrs. Robinson goes well.Overall,50 out of 10.

From: 66crush	Date: September 2, 2002 at 12:48
Bought this when it came out. I thought it waw good then and I think it is great now. Most people that I have played this for end up wanting a copy of their own.

From: Alcamenes	Date: February 7, 2003 at 5:21
I was playing this CD rather loud one summer and my friend Mark who was driving heard the sirens at the beginning of Trash City and started looking around for cops. The look on his face when he realized it was the CD was priceless. I highly recommend this disc, lots of good songs here.

From:

Date: February 7, 2003 at 15:28

I discovered these guys reading through The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal by Martin Poppoff. Usually Martin is pretty brutal on pop metal bands, but for some reason he gave glowing reviews to KT prompting me check them out. No Rules is a good melodic metal release with hook-laden songs. KT have a slightly dirty sound like Britny Fox/LA Guns. Despite releasing such a strong album & creating a MTV buzz, KT were soon a victim to the depressing grunge scene when heavy metal & talent became passé

From: Blue Tequila	Date: February 10, 2003 at 0:49
I'm glad I bought this. Liked nearly every song on here with my favs being 'Big Western Sky' and 'Soul Shaker' The cover of 'Mrs. Robinson' was unique. I never saw their 'hit video' on MTV so I don't know which track that was. Vocals sound like a mix of Axl Rose (which most everyone seems to agree with), Joe Leste, and Derek from Babylon A.D.

From: CC	Date: November 27, 2003 at 11:15
Sonically one of the hardest bands to pin down to one style but thats what made this album so cool & was probably the main reason Stephen was offered the Motley Crue gig before Corabi.Wasnt a huge fan of the follow up EP but this album is a true classic. Also it was cool to see a band put their own stamp on a cover version rather than do a by the numbers copy like most bands do!

From: jirky	Date: December 29, 2003 at 20:52
except Stephen.... Slaughter play on this album

From: Fat Freddy

Date: January 2, 2004 at 17:08

The first I heard of these guys was an offer in a magazine for a free cassette single featuring three songs off the NO RULES album, which was about to be released. I ordered a copy and thought it was pretty cool, so I picked up the tape when it came out. Years later it hasn't held up very well, but at the time the title track and that cool-ass Simon & Garfunkel cover tune got some major play in my house! By the time this album came out the ship had left and Hair Metal was already out. Too bad.

From: Master	Date: May 14, 2004 at 9:58
Yup, Jirky hit the nail on the head. Same drum machine as on the Slaughter stuff, although these guys write far better than the Slaughter boys and Stephen is amazing, but I got to say if you close your eyes, you can hear the same drum licks as Blas! Master P.S. They did a demo version of 'Cats in the Cradle', better than Ugly Kid Joe, where was that song?

From: jirky	Date: May 26, 2004 at 16:40
dear Master....seriously....Blas play drums in this record, and Dana is on the bass. really.

From: Big Papa K	Date: June 13, 2004 at 2:28
One of the more original hard rock bands from the 80's. Gets lumped in with a lot of the hair bands probably due to the Dana Strum association. 7/10

From: paul rock	Date: August 28, 2004 at 17:26
When your looking for a band that fills up the gap that G'N'R left, just listen to this one. It's a great record with the right spirit. ROCKnROLL

From: Geoff	Date: August 29, 2004 at 20:20
I actually don't mind this CD at all. It is not great by any means, but they do have a cool sound and although I hear it gets quite a bad rap, I can take enough away from songs like 'Rattlesnake eyes' (very cool song) and 'Romeo blues' and quite a few of the other tracks... overall I don't think it's a bad hard rock disc at all.

From: Dr. Drummachine	Date: October 19, 2004 at 19:15
Eh Sorry! Obvious digital drum bits, muted, compressd, srerile, just like Blas Elias same stiffness, neither Blas or this guy are playing acoustically, no feel, no heart, and way too much output! I've recorded 'live' real drums for 25 years and have recorded digital for over 15, this ain't a real guy playing! Cymbals, yes, percussion, yes, but drums NO! Dr. D

From: Nick Clarkson	Date: October 20, 2004 at 17:08
I used to headbang to the Don't Need Rules track all the time at my local heavy rock disco years ago. It's a great album that has it's own little quirks that sets it apart from what was coming out of the U.S./L.A. at the time. The follow up Field Trip E.P. is also just as good, if not even better! Pity the band split after it! Did they??

From: Rocker76	Date: January 7, 2005 at 6:44
I was not impressed w/ this album. "Don't Need Rules," "Trash City," and "Hard Time" were decent sleazy metal tunes -- but overall the album was weak & boring for me. If you want all things hair metal then pick it up. But it's not all that great.

From: capdevilla	Date: February 12, 2005 at 11:57
Great album !! Production, sound, vocals, guitars : all is top !!!

From: headbanger4life	Date: December 27, 2005 at 3:36
These guys were really different sounding (in a good way). I never realized that it was produced by Dana Strum (of Slaughter). I enjoyed this one. My favorites tracks are "Big Western Sky" and "Don't Need Rules". I later picked up the Japanese version with a bonus track. Definately recommended if your looking for something new to put in your player. You can usually find it cheap.

From: metalalways	Date: September 9, 2006 at 21:59
this band kiks ass lol, i like the cover of mrs. robinson, tangerine man is cool and velvet crush, trash city is good the singer sounds a lot like axl rose its cool that dana strum produced this cd.

From: diferaos	Date: December 25, 2006 at 13:30
Muy buen disco de hard rock. No inventan nada nuevo, pero se dejan escuchar muy bien. mundorock@gmail.com

From: Damienne	Date: July 27, 2008 at 8:04
Anyone know what is happening with Stephen Shareaux these days?

From: Dante	Date: September 5, 2008 at 7:58
People like to trash this record but I think this is one of the most original records of the time. They weren't afraid to experiment with other sounds and still maintain that party rock excitement. Still get crazy listening to it. Stephen Shareaux's voice is really one of a kind. This get's top marks in my opinion. Peace

From: Doghouse Reilly

Date: October 25, 2008 at 1:40

You can tell these guys are trying to experiment and branch out a little bit, from your typical Sunset-Strip sound. Although damn if i can tell exactly what they're trying to experiment WITH. The second half of this disc is definitely better than the first. "Don't Need Rules" is a cool opening track, but then comes a string of not-so-good songs, starting with a shitty cover of "Mrs. Robinson." Things start improving with "Big Western Sky," so by the time you get to "Soul Shaker," things are back on track. The singer kinda sounds like Oni Logan of Lynch Mob, but when they use them, the harmonies really set the band apart, into kind of a Saigon Kick-like realm. My favorite tunes are the straight-up rockers "Don't Need Rules" and "Velvet Crush," the groover "Soul Shaker," and the amazing ballad "Lost." One last note: this album is way overproduced, with tons of little sounds and tricks happening everywhere. Dana Strum for you.

From: Doghouse Reilly

Date: October 25, 2008 at 1:40

You can tell these guys are trying to experiment and branch out a little bit, from your typical Sunset-Strip sound. Although damn if i can tell exactly what they're trying to experiment WITH. The second half of this disc is definitely better than the first. "Don't Need Rules" is a cool opening track, but then comes a string of not-so-good songs, starting with a shitty cover of "Mrs. Robinson." Things start improving with "Big Western Sky," so by the time you get to "Soul Shaker," things are back on track. The singer kinda sounds like Oni Logan of Lynch Mob, but when they use them, the harmonies really set the band apart, into kind of a Saigon Kick-like realm. My favorite tunes are the straight-up rockers "Don't Need Rules" and "Velvet Crush," the groover "Soul Shaker," and the amazing ballad "Lost." One last note: this album is way overproduced, with tons of little sounds and tricks happening everywhere. Dana Strum for you.

From: rockhardrock	Date: February 2, 2011 at 15:25
some songs here are very good: don't need rules, mrs.robinson and trash city but others could have been better and ofcourse 14 songs is too much to put on an album. but even all this the production is very good far from being raw.

From: Wardy

Date: July 8, 2012 at 6:17

Avoided this in its day based simply on the fact both tracks 2 and 3 were covers! I mean business plans smart or otherwise but if a band need rely on covers that's already cause for 'meh' in my books but at tracks 2 & 3!? Lame... But the rest if the album rocks nicely. Sure like many above have already pointed out it ain't original nor were Kik Tracee ever going to be household names (for not long at least), but here we have quite a swag of rocking good times regardless. The rocking TrashCity & HardTime, the EP-like crazy GenerationExpress, the borderline headbasher SoulShaker and lovely acoustic Lost (most in common with followup EP) and weirdly interesting RattlesnakeEyes all manage to entertain well enough right? A debut featuring 2 cover tunes and a sound that isn't too unique didin't make for an essential purchase (Field Trip was), but No Rules does have some cracking tunes and is worth plonking yer hard earned down for if this sounds like yer thing! Overall good fun! Rating 7.5

From: Wardy

Date: October 26, 2013 at 22:38

Okay responding to my own previous review fer this one cause I stand corrected, track 3 ain't a cover but You're So Strange is their own wrongly assumed it was the cover of same name so there ya go... So listening through this one (and discovering the error And I'm hearing some Saigon Kick in many the softer fluid moments here also, yet this one still an acquired taste and still suffering from some identity crisis. Far from the more unique and brilliance that was the followup EP Field Trip (hinting at how great a sophomore album proper might have sounded). So 1 cover not 2 but stand by my original statement the need to release said cover as a single doesn't bode well for originality and my 7.5 doesn't change, if anything maybe a 7.

From: edwithmj

Date: August 5, 2016 at 16:59

Oh dear oh dear, where to start? A truly horrendous singer that sounds like a love-child of Taime Downe and Stephen Pearcy doing a Bret Michaels impersonation, horrid songwriting, a lack of any decent tune or melody and purely average guitars. Lowlights from this one include the nightmarish cover of Mrs Robinson, the droning ballad Big Western Sky and the lyrical mess that is Romeo Blues. Normally, in terrible albums (such as Roxx Gang's debut for instance), the guitars can come to the rescue but in this case they complement badly the unpleasant noise coming from this album.

From: hair metal again	Date: November 27, 2017 at 1:48
excellent hair metal release for KIK TRACEE back in 91 with great riffs (dont need rules,trash city,hard time), fine slows(romeo blues,lost) and overall a great vibe and lots of attitude!what you d expect is one or two more commercial songs under Dana s guidance in order to hit the mainstream !bought that vinyl back then and spinned it many times

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