Tags and Genre labels have been with us in force since the 70’s but people have always been looking for shortcuts to describe the music that’s out there and these days the amount of tags and genres are mind-boggling (and confusing I received a release described as ‘Industrial Folk Metal’ last week)
For those who long for simpler times what could be better than ‘NWOCR’ (though in my day Classic Rock was just plain old Rock) – NWOCR of course is the ‘ New Wave Of Classic Rock’ and her we have “The Official New Wave Of Classic Rock – Volume 1′ compilation CD – Featuring 42 red hot tracks, ‘The Official New Wave Of Classic Rock – Volume 1’ is a double CD compilation album that features a selection of the best and current NWOCR artists that have been carefully curated by the NWOCR team and RPM – Rock People Management.” whoever they might be.
So we all love Classic Rock we all presumably love some of the new bands that make use of that wonderful template and back in the days prior to streaming compilation CD’s and albums were a wonderful way to hear new stuff so why do we need this release? Well the answer is the quality and the scope on offer for those who either don’t stream (like me – I never will) or just want a nudge to check out some new stuff. The problem of course like with all genres comes with definitions. To me Classic Rock is rather specific, but we’ll get to that shortly.
Opening with Massive Wagon’s ‘Tokyo’ is just the trick and exactly what I would hope for and expect. But we’re only a song away from controversy as I would rather wonder at ‘Mason Hill’s classification as playing ‘Classic Rock’ (I am rather partial to them though) as to me having a very Shinedown-like sound with a touchof Black Stone Cherry isn’t exactly close to how I’d define ‘Classic Rock’ nor indeed is the American Radio rock and contemporary sound of ‘Hollowstar,’ though again like Mason Hill it’s a bloody good song they offer. Three tracks in and I’m in that strange position of loving what I’m hearing but wondering seriously about the label it’s been stamped with.
There’s some great stuff to discover though and that of course is the real joy – discovering it. I love the Hard Bluesy rock of These Wicked Rivers ‘Shine On’; I love the rather punky Anchor Lane track, and the rolling groove of Empyre’s offering but none to me are really Classic Rock they’re just great rock songs.
Deeper in ‘Dax & Roxane’ I love – now there’s a band with a real Classic Rock sound and ‘Without You’ is a great introduction. Deeper still Sons of Liberty’s ‘Fire & Gasoline’ is an interesting mix of AC/DC and Southern Rock; but are ‘The Hot Damn’ Classic Rock? ‘Dance Around’ may be a nice Pop song but unless you consider bands like The Go-Go’s classic rock then neither is this.
Aussie’s Massive add a cool new Hard Rocker, and Everyday Heroes do a nice line in Bluesy Rock but Elles Baily really is Blues and rather fine too ‘Woman like Me’ certainly had me checking out her latest – which I guess is the point here. The rest of the first disc is equally enthralling though whether it’s really a ‘New Wave of Classic Rock’ is pretty debatable, though Scarlett Rebels certainly are – ‘No One Else to Blame’ is one of my favourites here.
Everyone else you haven’t heard of are probably worth checking out too – I was cranking the fiery groove of Wolf Jaw’s ‘I Ain’t Ready’ and whilst Tomorrow is Lost are intriguing enough I’m not sure many would label them Classic Rock, even in its new wave. Cool song though.
To be honest there’s a lot of heavier stuff on here than I imagined and a lot of the ‘Classic Rock’ has a nice heavy edge eschewing often a little melody – ‘War Machine’ by Dead Man’s Whiskey is a cool stomp hung off a great riff that fits that bill; but ‘Tell Me Why’ by Dig Lazarus is a rather contemporary sort of grungy Pop rock number that’s not really my thing and one I fail to see any real hint of Classic Rock except in the instruments employed.
Of all the acts on the first disc Germany’s The New Roses ‘Whiskey Nightmare’ is the best offering here – a classic song even if it is nine years old! Something I guess that in turn has you wondering what the ‘New’ in New Wave of Classic Rock might mean? And if you want to hear some real classic rock then check out Shape of Water’s ‘The World IS Calling Me’ which whilst sounding contemporary certainly has all the elements of a classic rock track. And Revival Black and Gin Annie that close out the first disc are both great and worthy of your attention too!
Disc two again has some great songs but the mix is just as diverse. Again we open strongly with Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons ‘Son of a Gun’ and offerings from the likes of ‘The Dust Coda’ whilst not exactly making you shout “Classic Rock!” are still worth checking out, as is the Melodic Metal of SKAM.
Collateral and Bad Touch are of course both bands to whom that ‘Classic Rock’ epithet applies and both are well worth checking out. I love Gorilla Riot too but they push the definition in a good way. Thundermother of course everyone loves AC/DC-fueled rocking. King Creature though again are great but I’m not sure fit many people’s definition of ‘Classic Rock’ and Rews certainly aren’t. And in that respect the second disc plays out rather like the first – if you love great music like Doomsday Outlaw a band I’ve followed over the years you’re in for a a treat but if you’re expecting Classic Rock then you’ll be as confused as I am.
To sum things up both discs here contain a similar mix of bands that you might consider Classic Rock and many you might not and that’s the double-edged sword here – having a banner to rally under is a great marketing ploy but here it’s not really anything more than NWOBHM was in it’s day – just a label that told you nothing about the bands involved. The sad thing is that there are so many bands out there in the UK and further afield who would have sat more comfortably under a ‘New Wave of Classic Rock’ banner than some of those included. What is true of this compilation though is that pretty much everything here is quality, and when you’ve got this much great music on there you can almost forgive it, but you probably can’t forgive the ten seconds and ten pence spent on the cover art…
8/10 as a compilation 6/10 if you were expecting a ‘Classic Rock’ Compilation