''Project: Driver'' is a studio album by the heavy metal supergroup M.A.R.S., released in 1986 through

Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label group founded by record producer Mike Varney. The group principally uses the ''Shrapnel Records'' record label, a guitar-oriented label which features shred guitar, hard rock, metal and progressive ...

(United States) and

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...

(Europe). The band's name is made up of the initial of each musician's last name: guitarist Tony MacAlpine, drummer Tommy Aldridge, singer Rob Rock, and bassist Rudy Sarzo.

Craig Goldy Thomas "Craig" Goldy (born November 6, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Dio (band), Dio and Giuffria. Early musical life Goldy was born in San Diego, California. Before Dio, he played in the bands Ve ...

was their original guitarist, but he left after joining Dio.

Critical reception

In a very positive contemporary review, '' Rock Hard'' called the album "exemplary" and associated the music to

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...

's 1984 album '' Rising Force'', "not only because of the breathtaking solos of Tony MacAlpine, but also because of some songwriting parallels", offering "a colorful bouquet of musical diversity" with "something for everyone." Modern reviews are less positive. Andy Hinds at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that "while it masquerades as a

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

-styled group effort, ''Project: Driver'' seems like another MacAlpine album with vocals added." Rob Rock was criticized as embodying "all the big-hair clichés of '80s heavy metal", while songs such as "Slave to My Touch", "Stand Up and Fight" and "Fantasy" were labeled "cheesy" and "cringe-inducing." Praise was given to MacAlpine's guitar playing, which Hinds described as "dizzying" and interesting. Canadian journalist

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of '' Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has written over twenty books ...

defined the project as "one of those doomed and hasty assemblages of rock journeymen utterly without synergy" and called the music "unbranded ear-splitting speed metal".

Track listing

Personnel

;M.A.R.S. *

Rob Rock Robert Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and now from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also release ...

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* Tony MacAlpine –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, keyboards, background vocals *

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban-American musician. He remains best known as the bassist for Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played with several well k ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, background vocals *

Tommy Aldridge Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesn ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, background vocals ;Additional musicians *Mike Mani – keyboard programming *Bret Douglas, Tommy Cosgrove, Mark Tate, Dino Alden, Mike Varney – background vocals ;Production *Mike Varney – producer *Steve Fontano –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

*Dino Alden, Randy Vance – assistant engineers *George Horn – mastering at

Fantasy Studios Fantasy Studios was a music recording studio in Berkeley, California, United States, at the Zaentz Media Center, known for its recording of award-winning albums including Journey (band), Journey's ''Escape (Journey album), Escape'' and Green Day's ...

, Berkeley, California

References

External links

In Review: MacAlpine/Aldridge/Rock/Sarzo "Project: Driver"
at Guitar Nine Records {{Authority control Tony MacAlpine albums Rob Rock albums 1986 albums Shrapnel Records albums Albums produced by Mike Varney