Mama's Boys is an intriguing band. I always wanted to like them more than I did. I think that this set showed me just why that is. They had moments of absolute brilliance where they broke beyond expectations. Other times, though, they were pretty generic. They seemed to lack any kind of consistency. All that said, even their least successful stuff worked pretty well.

I remember back in the day being fascinated with a metal band using violin (or as they call it "fiddle). It's not such a stretch these days, but in the 80s, that was unheard of. Then I saw them live, opening for Ratt, and they were disappointing, for exactly the reasons I mentioned in the first paragraph.

Now, hearing such a wide sampling of their music makes me understand that they never seemed completely able to harness the things that made them unique. Instead, they appeared to be trying to find their place in the music scene, without fitting in exactly. This box set is well worth having. It showcases just why they were worth checking out, even if they sometimes fell short of greatness. I should say that I'm not sure they really fit under metal, but they come close and were lumped into that heading in the heyday.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2024  Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2024.

Raw and edgy, this is a solid metal stomper with some hints of punk rock.

This is more of a straight-ahead hard rocker. It's solid, too, but definitely has a demo vibe.

Here we have a ballad. The sound quality on this one is definitely an issue, but it's a cool song nonetheless. It does get more rocking near the end and has some killer guitar soloing.

Percussion gets us going here. This has some smoking hot hard rock at its heart as it drives out from there. They take it out to a rock take on traditional music near the end.

More of a metal vibe is on the menu here, but this still lands nearer to hard rock in some ways. It has some great riffing and the sound seems better on the tune.

Straight-ahead hard rock is on the menu here. This isn't all that special until it hits the first powerhouse instrumental section. That part is absolutely on fire. The second instrumental movement, though, really elevates and takes it into metal zones.

Now, this is so interesting. The bass brings it in with a funky sort of vibe. Talk box jamming joins after a time. We get a wailing saxophone, too. This is a cover of the classic tune. This rendition has a real soulful vibe to it, and it's essentially an instrumental take with all the vocals delivered via talk box. This is so much fun.

This mellower track has some jazzy elements at times. It's also got a blues ballad vibe. It turns to a metal treatment later. This has so much magic and style built into it. It's packed full of emotion and has some particularly tasteful guitar work. Electric violin takes over near the end, delivering some stuff that is right out of Jimmy Page's violin bow solo in the "Song Remains the Same" live performance. Then it works out to more pure metal from there as it continues. I absolutely love this piece of music.

The production on this feels a little flat, but the song is a driving metal stomper with plenty of class. It starts on drums and moves out from there with a lot of style.

Hard edged riff rock merges with metal on this screamer. It's driving tune that works really well.

I really like this melodic groove. It is definitely a big change, but it has a lot of charm and style.

Furious metal is on the menu here. This is another powerhouse stomper.

Here we get another version of a song we heard on the last CD. I don't hear a big difference between the two performances.e.

The riffing on this is stellar. This has a real metal vibe to it. It's a smoking hot tune that's among the best music on the set.

This is another that occupies the shared territory between metal and hard rock. It's also another effective piece of music.

Meaner metal is on the menu here. This is another standout cut. It has some great riffing and some powerhouse metal angles at play. The violin solo later in the track is on fire.

Here we get another powerhouse metal stomper. This has some scorching guitar soloing built into it.

I like this version of the track much better. It's a stylish ballad-like piece that has some real blues at its heart.

The riff that opens this is mean and meaty.

A longer version of the track that opened this second disc, this is a powerhouse.

With catchy chorus hooks, this rocker works well. It's a metal tune, but lies on the pop rock end of that spectrum.

This is another fine merging of metal and hard rock sounds into something that is very effective. I really love the guitar solo on this. It's so tasty.

More of a pop rock song, this has some style, but not a lot of fury. It has its charms, but is not really what I'd consider a standout tune by any means.

This has a great blend of metal and rock. It's another strong tune with some great hooks.

Another metal grind, this is a highlight. It has hooks, but it doesn't sacrifice meat to get them.

Mean riff-driven metal is on the menu here. It's another strong one.

This is a high energy metal stomper that works really well.

Here have a more melodic groove based rocker. There is some harmonica on the track, and the number has a definite blues angle. It's tasty, and so is the guitar solo.

I love the driving, meaty metal groove on this powerhouse.

This is a killer track. In fact, it's one of the best of the whole set. It has a lot of drama and style. The violin work on it really elevates it, too. This is melodic metal of the highest form.

Dramatic atmospheric stuff opens this. A cool mellower, melodic groove joins after a time. There is a moody, almost Pink Floyd like vibe to the first vocal part of this. The track rocks out with some metal ferocity after that. This is quite the blues rocker meets metal jam.

Here we get another blues rocking tune. This is very classy. It has some cool slide guitar built into it.

More classy riff driven rock is on the menu here. This has more pop rock built into it, along with more metal. Saxophone comes in later, and this really gets into more of a standard pop rock vein as it does.

This comes in with a very balladic vibe. There is a real soulful groove to it. Electric guitar fires in later, but more as icing on the cake. This is sort of a power ballad kind of thing.

More of a metal rocker, this has good energy and groove. It's a bit over-polished for my tastes, but the guitar work on it is really top-notch.

Mainstream hard rock and metal merge here. This is another that works really well, but it is a little over-produced. It makes me think of the more rocking side of Foreigner to a large degree.

That "harder rocking Foreigner" thing is definitely in place here, too. This works pretty well. The production doesn't feel as heavy handed. Somehow it also makes me think just a little over the power-metal of WASP's Last Command album. The instrumental section is on fire and includes both violin and harmonica.

Not a big change, this is another that lands in the arena rock meets metal zone. It's a solid tune, though. It works really well and has some meat on the bones without a lot of over-production.

I dig the intricacies of this mellow instrumental. It seems to have a lot of fusion and even progressive rock built into it. It's very cool stuff.

Violin features well in the arrangement on this ballad. It's a mellow and rather proggy number that works well. They take this into a full powerhouse metal stomp mode near the end.

A cool metal riff gets us going here. Hard rock and metal merge on this number. There is some killer guitar soloing in place on this thing.

I dig the hard rocking angles on this thing a lot. The chorus is a little over-done and mainstream for me, but the song has plenty of meat on its bones.

This instrumental features some great electric guitar soloing that is evocative and expressive. There are some keyboards, too. I wouldn't quite call this New Age music, but it's definitely on the mellower end of the spectrum.

This is a live Celtic music exploration that is fun.

Here we get a live rendition of the track we heard in studio format earlier. It's stronger here, I think, but there isn't a big change.

Another meaty live rocker, I dig this one quite a bit. The music definitely lives up to its potential better in live performance.

I really love the mix of mellower and more rocking on this live rendition. This definitely stands taller than its studio counterpart.

This is a drum solo. I'm not generally a fan of drum solos, but this one is bombastic and energized and works pretty well.

This rock and roller has a great garage band vibe to it. It's fun stuff. I like the guitar solo a lot.

There is a section of weird tape effects at the start of this. They launch out into a killer jam from there. The sound is indie and the cut rocks with some unique angles and sounds. It's so strong. It has a real NWOBHM sound to it in a lot of ways, but is overall more of a blues rocker with metal angles at play. The violin adds something special to it. As it solos there are some hints of Celtic music.

Edgy hard rock with metal angles is the idea here. This is a good energetic rocker.

This instrumental piece features a drum solo sandwiched amidst some edgy guitar rock. The section of guitar based stuff at the end is positively on fire.

I love this version of the blues rocker. It has so much class and style.

Bluesy rocking, this has some pop rock in the mix along with some hints of jazz. This is a fun tune. Appropriately, there is a phone call fitting the title in the middle of the track.

A lot more on the metal side, this is an energetic powerhouse. It's a standout.

There is a definite NWOBHM vibe to this powerhouse stomper. This works well here, but it's probably not my favorite version of the track.

There is more of a mainstream pop rock thing on the menu here. The track still has some hard rocking angles to it, though. It's much more of a ballad.

I like the metal edge to this rocker. This powerhouse works really well in this format.

I've always liked this song by pretty much anyone who has done it. This version is an acoustic take that has some hints of roots music. That puts it in stark contrast to Nazareth's take on it. I like this quite a bit, but I wish they had rocked it out a little more. While it does get a bit more rocking, there is almost a soulful groove to it when it does.

A keyboard based jam, this has an 80s vibe and a bit of a fusion angle to it. It starts on the mellower side, but manages to rock out more as it continues.