Tora Tora
Bombs Away:The Unreleased Surprise Attack Recording Sessions

July 2010
Released: 2010, FNA Records
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: JP

For the next few months of the summer of 2010 I’m going to be bring you a series of six (or more) reviews of a great CD reissue campaign by a new, young label FNA Records. My rating reflects the score of the sites guidelines and the appeal to modern fans of heavier genres but if you are a fan of the band and the genre, I would rate this a full-point higher and give it a strong recommendation. Check out the other reviews in the series.



FNA has decided to plunder some long-lost recordings from Tora Tora. Following up on last months review (June 2010) Tora Tora was one of my preferred bands of this style and era. So it is a real treat to hear some of these songs.



Essentially this seems to be pre-production demos and songs that never made the cut for the debut album. It is well known that some bands record just a few songs and constantly re-work them until they are happy. Other bands like Tora Tora obviously, record lots of songs and picked which ones were deemed (at the time) to be the best. Accordingly, there are 11 cuts here that were recorded around that time. I’d be curious to learn who made the final decision about which songs made the original record, band, the label the manager, we’ll probably never know.



The songs themselves are as good as anything on the debut in my opinion. When these decisions get made there are probably many factors in the decision process but there are no obviously ‘bad’ songs. What I’m getting at are these aren’t just crap that was left on the cutting room floor. These are fully fledged songs with well thought ideas. The production is a bit weak but the sound quality on the disc is fine. Basically this is another full Tora Tora album and I for one am thankful for a fine batch of new songs of this great rockin’ southern act. Rockers, ballads they are all here, if you liked the first two albums, why not add this one to your collection?