I don’t know about you but I get a little worried when you read a bio that name-checks some of the biggest bands in rock, refers to the ‘legenday‘ (their spelling not mine) Paul Stanley as ‘Paul Stanely’ and Roger Daltrey as ‘Roger Daltry’ and uses capital letters in the the rest of the press release in the oddest of ways… Then the album opens up with a cover song. Add to that a claim to have “a long standing reputation as one of the premiere Live bands on the Sunset Strip” yet were ‘born’ in 2016 and have no upcoming live dates on their Facebook page. We all love a bit of hype though, so good on ’em!
Putting all that aside as we always do, here we go… there’s a ‘live’ intro to the opening cover of Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ and a lack of that crunching trademark bass that made the song, a pub band vocal and the flimsiest of production jobs. It’s not the most auspicious of openings but hey we do have seven originals to follow…
The mix on the first original ‘Live it Up or Give it Up!’ sounds like it was recorded on a tape deck at a rehearsal and the vocals are pretty workmanlike, if I’m honest it’s not a bad song at all, it just sounds like a song at demo stage with added Poison-like effects. There’s actually a version out on YouTube from 2017 that I think sounds better.
‘Do or Die’ that follows if anything sounds even less finished and the drums here are particularly tinny, and whilst I quite like the guitar punctuation the more I listen to the vocals the less I feel “David lee Roth, VinceNeil, Roger Daltry, & Paul Stanely” (their spellings and spacings not mine) and the more I feel latter day Vince but with a bit of range.
As if on cue ‘Crazy Nights’ sounds just like Motley Crue. That is followed by ‘Dirty Movie’ which sounds like Motley Crue (with a Sea Hags vibe in the verses). ‘Everytime’ (which is not an acceptable compound word) on the other hand is a ballad of real craft and promise.
The album closes out strongly though with arguably the best track next up in ‘Bang Bang Baby’ which crawls and swaggers and takes a harder approach. It’s a great song and definitely my favourite here. ‘Lie To Me’ that closes too is probably the best of the rest, nice and punky and built on a great rocking riff.
Don’t get me wrong there are some good songs here but if I’m completely honest these guys have better stuff on YouTube. Maybe they are destined to remain a great ‘live’ band until they can get a more sounded studio sound because these guys as musicians are pretty tight and when you listen to the likes of ‘Do Or Die’, ‘Dirty Movie’, and ‘Bang! Bang! Baby’ live you wonder why a live EP wasn’t an option?
Line-up: Tommy Delaney – Vocal | Frank Yanno – Lead Guitar | Jose Ferro – Bass | Bobby Richards– Drums
Track Listing: 1. Ace of Spades (Motorhead Cover) | 2. Live it Up or Give it Up! | 3. Do or Die | 4. Crazy Nights | 5. Dirty Movie | 6. Everytime | 7. Bang Bang Baby | 8. Lie To Me
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