Day 468 - Sweet Comfort Band - Armed And Ready

468. Sweet Comfort Band - Armed and Ready

From the album Cutting Edge
(Light Records, 1982)

"Cutting Edge is a really odd album in that, for some reason, even fans of hard rock and metal seem to like the album with several 'heavy music' publications giving the album a great review. Perhaps it was the artwork and themes, but no matter, the album is one for the ages.

The theme of spiritual perseverance and courage kicks off with the Toto inspired Runnin’ To Win. Great guitar work meets nice saxophone solo in a break that also features great keyboard work. But it’s still primarily about Duncan’s vocals. Though a noted R&B and soul singer, his rock chops are not to be ignored.

It should be noted that the Toto comparisons should also be tempered with the fact that there is more musically going on here than just corporate rock. There are touches of Ambrosia, Hall & Oates and others as well. There is still a strong soul vibe and no rock band could put together a ballad like SCB. No one!
...
The album closes with a rocker, which was actually kind of a rare experience for the day. There always seemed to be a tendency for rock artists to close their albums with the big ballad, but here the band hit it hard with Armed and Ready. This would be the closest thing to a title track with its Spiritual Warfare theme and great rock anthem feel. It is also the lyric that provides the album’s name. Think the band Europe and you know what you’re in for.

As one of the great, possibly unheralded bands of the early 80′s, SCB brought a level of quality and accomplishment to CCM that few others even came close to. While Petra would repeat musical and lyrical themes over and over, SCB brought a fresh perspective and sound to almost everything they did.

Many argue this was SCB’s finest work and I really cannot argue, though I find another album more satisfying as whole. I will not argue or begrudge someone for ranking this album higher as it is one of the truly great rock albums of the era." (source: CCM's 500 Best Albums)
Here is the original studio released video for the song: