Album Review: (8.96/10): If you're expecting another Britny Fox album, you may be a bit surprised. I get the impression that many of these songs could have been written and performed for Brinty Fox, they have a much more textured feel to them. Every song has not only the three basic instruments (guitar, bass, drums) but also keyboard, harmonica, horns, and more! Nearly every song is catchy; Dean Davidson is still a great songwriter. It is missing the great Michael Kelly Smith solos, though; but folks, the magic is still there in these songs!
Personally, I know when an album is good when I have it in my car and I keep it there for over a month. This one's been in there a month and I'm still not sick of it. There's some great tunes on this album; I'd highly recommend finding it and snapping it up!
Electric Rattlebone (10/10): Really cool album opener. Harmonicas, drum, vox; that's pretty much it. He sings the verses really quickly and it's totally awesome sounding. Album openers don't get much cooler than this!
Satisfaction (9/10): Starts out with a totally cool guitar intro, then jumps into full force with keyboards, bass, horns, drums, etc. I really like the verses, they're very catchy. Much more so than the chorus, in my opinion; although the whole song is really cool. The guitar and vocals are definitely the highlights of this tune. Cool guitar solo which ends up with the music stopping except for the rhythm guitar (sounds really cool!). Part of the guitar riff really reminds me of BF's Rock Revolution; take a listen and see if you agree! Song fades to an end.
None of it Matters (8.5/10): This song is neat. It starts out with a real India feel to it, like the Beatles song The Inner Light (kind of, but not really!) Then it jumps into the music...the background vocals sound a lot like AC/DC's The Razor's Edge--totally cool sounding! This song has some real power to it; the whole feel of the song is pretty cool. I really like the verses and the bridge, but I'm not a big fan of the chorus.
Sympathy (8.5/10): Starts out with guitar, then jumps into the music with keyboards, drums, bass, and harmonica. The verses are total hard rock with a cool guitar chord riff-really raw sounding. The highlight of this song, however, is the chorus--it's really catchy. I like the straightforward message to the song; it has a total "screw off" attitude. Fades to an end.
Ride With Me (9/10): Slow acoustic song--starts out with guitar picking. It's a really nice sounding love song. Once it hits the first chorus, the drums kick in and the tempo picks up a little bit, but it still retains the "love song" sound. This would have been a good single. I really like the background vocals during the chorus; really full sounding. Ends with an acoustic guitar strum.
Old Lady Snow (9/10): Starts out with a raw rhythm guitar and jumps into the full sounding music. The verses are raw and cool sounding; much like you'd expect from the hard core rockers of the 80's; but when it jumps into the chorus, it's a different story. It's really full sounding, and he's got gospel singers in the background--it sounds totally cool and fresh. The solo is pretty cool; nothing earth-shattering, but it ends with the song stopping and the rhythm guitar taking center stage. The rest of the song is the chorus with the gospel singers going crazy in the background (reminds me a little of Motley Crue's Dancing on Glass). Ends suddenly.
Don't Bring Me Down (8.5/10): This song starts sooooo cool! It's somebody switching stations on an old radio (obviously without presets). It hits talk radio, news, various songs, then Dean Davidson basically chanting with a drumbeat, then singing with a harmonica (sounds like it's playing on an AM radio); then the song jumps into full force lead by the guitar and harmonica. The verses are pretty good, but I'd give the highest marks to the chorus; it's pretty catchy. It sounds like they have about 10 guys singing background vocals; really full and cool sounding. The harmonica makes its appearance from time to time during the song, so does the gospel singer. The solo is pretty good; the song ends suddenly.
Indica (X/10): This song is more of an opener to She's So Fine than anything else; there's no lyrics and it only lasts about 2 minutes. It's all acoustic guitar, percussion, and other stuff I'm not familiar with. By itself it would be kind of a boring listen, but it's the perfect precursor to the next song!
She's So Fine (10/10): There's not many songs that start out this cool! The way the main guitar riff busts through the left over noise from Indica just makes the album. I'd buy the album just to hear this over and over! Every time it gets to this part, I have to crank it; it's an involuntary reaction! I love this song; it's the best on the album (although I wish it didn't have the horns, but they're barely noticeable) This is the perfect song to bang your head to, party to, or just sing along to, but it needs to be cranked. I love it. The solo ends and the rhythm guitar takes over; another great moment on the album.
How Long (9.5/10): Very bluesy rocker with harmonica and bluesy guitar. The guitar and keyboards add a lot to the song in terms of that great blues sound. Just a great song! The gospel singers are there again during the chorus. The solo is pretty good--it trades off with the harmonica; sounds pretty cool.
Best of Friends (9/10): This slow song starts out with acoustic picking and continues as Dean sings to it throughout the first verse. The rest of the music starts in as the chorus picks up; very catchy chorus. Ends with a guitar strum.
Holiday (8.5/10): Starts out with a countdown, then rhythm guitar before the rest of the music kicks in. The harmonica and electric guitar both jam before the vocals start. It's quick and cool; pretty catchy verses and chorus. Personally, I think the lyrics are rather clever and catchy in themselves. The song ends suddenly; but one electric guitar fades out.
Heart of the City (8/10): This is an up-tempo song; the verses are rather fast; I'm not crazy about the bridge and chorus for some reason. Not bad, but for this album, a little under par. Otherwise, pretty good song. It fades to an ending.
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