Madball - True To The Game - The Roadrunner Years

Back in the mid-eighties, when future Madball frontman Freddy Crucien was just a kid, he would get onstage with his brother, legendary Agnostic Front vocalist Roger Miret, and perform some lead vocals.  Fast forward a few years to 1988 and Madball became a full-fledged band with Cricien on vocals and Miret on bass along with fellow Agnostic Front members Vinnie Stigma on guitar and Will Shepler on drums.  They released a couple of EP's in 1988 and 1992 (second guitarist, and another former AF member Matt Henderson joined between EP's), and then in 1994 they signed a deal with Roadrunner Records, who released their first three albums.  Now, with the release of True To The Game - The Roadrunner Years, those releases have been combined into an outstanding box set.

Set If Off kicks the box set off, and features Jorge ‘Hoya Roc’ Guerra on bass, replacing Miret who had left the band at this point.  With it being their full-length debut and featuring so many former Agnostic Front members, that band is more of an influence here than on future releases.  Tracks like “Lockdown,” “Never Had It,” “Face To Face” and “Across Your Face” are hard-hitting and angry, but almost always have a slower moment to take a breath.  There is also a sign of what was to come on future albums on tracks like “It’s Time” and “Down By Law,” (the video for this song got a lot of attention on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball), which have a bit of a groove.  Interestingly, the album ends with their aggressive cover of Agnostic Front’s “Friend Or Foe.”

Between their debut and album number two, Demonstrating My Style, Vinnie left the band.  This album found them embracing the groove element even more, which is evident from the get-go with the opening title track, along with cuts like “Pride (Times Are Changing)” and “5-O".  “Godfather” is another interesting shift with instrumental breaks that are almost hardcore hip hop.  They once again close this album with an Agnostic Front cover, “Your Fall”, which is actually a hidden bonus track.  

Look My Way was the band’s final album on Roadrunner.  They continued as a four-piece, but John Lafata had replaced Shepler on drums.  Quite a few of the songs here, like the title track, “Waste Of Time” and “Cut Off,” are slower, but still lose nothing in the intensity department.  Having said that there are plenty of powerful fast-paced cuts like “Moment Of Truth” and “All I Can Take.”  Songs like “Fools Die” and “Lesson Of Life” also delve a little more into the metal side of things. Another track of note is “Our Family”, a reworking of “Nuestra Familia” from the previous album, that is their first song sung in Spanish.  True To The Game does a great job of consolidating this chapter of the Madball story, which still continues to this day, although with Cricien as the only remaining member from this era.  Also included is a great booklet with in-depth interviews with Cricien, Henderson and Shepler, as well as video director Drew Stone and Howie Abrams, the A&R person that signed them to Roadrunner.     

(Dissonance Productions)

Gentlemen Rogues - Half Empty, Half Fool / Children Of The Revolution single  

With it's punchy, yet jangly, guitars, the energetic, hook-heavy power pop gem "Half Empty, Half Fool," from Austin’s Gentlemen Rogues is a hook-heavy, power pop gem that would fit right in with Bob Mould in his Sugar days.  The track is taken from last year's full-length release Surface Noise and is the a-side of their new single released on vinyl to coincide with their Midwest tour.  The opaque pink 7” is limited to 100 copies that will only be available at shows on that tour while supplies last (the digital version is available on Bandcamp).  The flipside is a fantastic cover of the T-Rex classic “Children Of The Revolution," that  maintains the glam core of the original, but with a heavier, more muscular sound, that keeps it fresh.  

(Gentlemen Rogues - Bandcamp)

Quireboys - Hey You! The Parlaphone Years 1989-1993

In the mid to late eighties, while bands like Guns N Roses, LA Guns, Faster Pussycat and more were emerging from the LA rock scene, The Quireboys were among the bands coming out of a similar scene in London.  Hey You! The Parlophone Years 1989-1993 documents the first phase of their career and contains their first two albums along with an expanded version of their 1990 live album Live Around the World and bonus tracks consisting of b-sides, live cuts and demos from that era.  

They released their debut A Bit Of What You Fancy… in 1990 and the influence of The Faces, and to a lesser degree The Rolling Stones, is evident throughout the majority of the album.  They also throw in a little glam at times, which helps set them apart.  While they have been quite successful in the UK, the promise of US success was there initially with the single “7 O’Clock” hitting fifteen on the US Mainstream Rock Charts, but unfortunately it never happened.  That single opens the album and has a bluesy bar room rock swagger with some great piano and does a great job of setting the tone for what’s to come.  “Man On The Loose” is up next and is similar with more of that bar room swagger.  It’s more reminiscent of The Rolling Stones with some strong guitar work and a slower section highlighted by some gospel backing vocals, which are also present on “Whippin’ Boy”, a slower, down and dirty blues track highlighted by a string section that gives it a haunting mood.  The anthemic “Sex Party” seems to always get the crowd going at the live shows, but to me it’s a little dated, sounding like bluesy hair metal.  Starting off acoustic before going electric, the country-tinged rock of “Sweet Mary Ann,” an album standout, takes a page straight out of the Rod Stewart handbook, as does “Roses & Rings,” a slower rootsy acoustic track with some fiddle (even the guitars on this one have a Rod Stewart vibe).  All the pieces really come together on “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” a slow, rootsy ballad (with some big dramatic ballad moments thanks to the string section) that sounds like it was made for the US charts, but for some reason only hit seventy-six.  While it’s a pretty straightforward anthemic rocker, “Hey You” has some great slide guitar that really sets it apart.  The Stones once again come to mind on “Misled,” a honky tonk rocker with more strong piano, while “Long Time Comin’” is a solid bluesy rocker, although a little nondescript.  “There She Goes Again” is quite different than anything else on the album with a bit of a Springsteen / Southside Johnny vibe, especially with the horns and the chorus.  The album closes fittingly with “Take Me Home”, a gritty rocker that walks the line between The Faces and The Stones.  Disc one also includes three bonus tracks with the bluesy rock of “Pretty Girls” and The Stones-like “How Do You Feel?” (both originally on the Japanese version of the album) and the original version of “Mayfair”, an earlier single that is a raw, down and dirty bluesy glam track.

 In late 1991 the band started working with producer Bob Rock on their sophomore effort.  Due to problems at their label and Rock's other commitments, the album had numerous delays which caused them to bring in Chris Kimsey to help with the production.  The end result, Bitter Sweet & Twisted was finally released in late 1993, and while it’s not as strong as its predecessor, there are plenty of great tracks to be found, with the opener “Tramps And Thieves” a perfect example.  The influence of The Faces definitely shows on the bluesy rock track, full of dirty slide guitar and rollicking bar room piano.  The high points continue with “White Trash Blues” with its shuffling blues swagger along with solid piano and horns, and “Can’t Park Here”, a hard driving rock cut with a strong old school blues undercurrent.  Up next are a couple of the weaker tracks in “King of New York,” an over-the-top ballad that is a little too generic and “hair metal”, and “Don’t Bite The Hand,” a rocker with a bit of a Stones vibe that just seems to be missing something.  “Last Time” is a rootsy, largely acoustic, ballad that finds Spike in full Rod Stewart mode and works much better than the earlier one.  A bit of a departure, “Debbie” is sleaze rock with a tongue in cheek swagger and plenty of horns.  Their cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Brother Louie” is a really fun take on the song, keeping the spirit of the original while giving it The Quireboys treatment.  Next up is the slow burning, bluesy rock of “Ode To You (Baby Just Walk),” followed by “Hates To Please,” which is virtually pure straight ahead country rock complete with pedal steel.  Although the next track “My Saint Jude” is a somewhat generic rock track, the final three songs are among the album’s strongest.  “Take No Revenge” is slow, smoldering blues rock highlighted with some great organ, while Wild, Wild, Wild” is a strong rocker, once again reminiscent of The Faces, and closer “Ain’t Love Blind” is a little more on the pop side, making for a fun track with a hint of glam.  Three more bonus tracks, all originally released as b-sides, are included on disc two.  It’s no surprise “Pleasure And Pain” was relegated to a b-side.  It’s a somewhat soulful tune with a lot of horns that comes across like a band trying too hard for a hit and strangely sounds like late eighties, early nineties era Rod Stewart.  On the other hand, “Best Jobs” is loose, acoustic tune full of saloon piano that just sounds like them sitting around playing and having a good time and “Can’t Get Through” is classic, high energy Quireboys that could’ve replaced any number of songs on the album and made it better.  

For fans that like to dig a little deeper, disc three is a treasure trove with twenty demos from the sessions recorded during these first two albums.  First up are demos of eight tracks that ended up on the debut along with two of the b-sides found on disc one.  While many of them aren’t too far removed from the album cuts, several are notably different.  “I Don’t Love You Anymore” and “Hey You” are both a little slower and bit rougher around the edges, while “Roses & Rings,” and “Misled” are both faster.  With the exception of one track that ended up on Bitter Sweet & Twisted, the rest of the demos here are for songs that were never released.  “The Last Time” is that one song and in all honesty the demo, which is stripped down, is full of character and in my opinion the better version.  Some of the other highlights include the mysterious sounding “Ton Ton M’Acoute,” a slower, kind of slinky track, the bluesy, country of “You Can’t Hide From Your Heart” and the powerful “Save Me,” which shows a darker, heavier side to the band.  

Rounding out the box set is a live disc that is actually an expanded version of Live Album (Recorded Around The World) that was released between the two albums in 1990.  Since these tracks were recorded at a variety of shows the sound quality varies, but there aren’t any that are unlistenable, and for the most part they sound good.  As for the performances themselves, they are high energy and show a band at the top of their game, and the crowd participation is great.  In addition to tracks from those two albums there are great covers of Sam and Dave’s “Hold On I’m Coming” and The Rolling Stones’ “Heartbreaker.”  Hey You! The Parlophone Years 1989-1993 is a fantastic look back at the early years of the band and has plenty for new fans and old fans alike.  

(Lemon Recordings)

Rooskin x Beach for Tiger - Dopatine

Dopatine, the new EP from Essex’s Rooskin and London’s Beach for Tiger, is the perfect soundtrack for those laid-back summer nights.  It’s a mesmerizing melding of Rooskin’s psychedelic surf pop and Beach for Tiger’s psychedelic soul.  “Searchin’ For A Reason” opens the EP and draws you in with its waves of synths, hypnotic beats, laid-back groove and dreamy harmonies (there’s also an instrumental version of this track that closes the EP).  The easygoing, soulful “State Of Mind” has a loping surf beat and sounds like the perfect soundtrack for driving around at night with the top down.   The somewhat lazy and meandering “Forever This Way” is full of keyboard washes and more incredible harmonies, while the title track is a gorgeous instrumental soundscape that takes elements of the prior songs, but puts more emphasis on really nice textured guitar work.  Dopatine is an absolutely stunning set of tunes and hopefully is a collaboration we will be hearing more from.

(Rooskin - Facebook / Beach for Tiger)

  

Kevin Ayers & The Whole World - Shooting At The Moon (remastered LP)

Following his stint in Soft Machine, a band he helped found, Kevin Ayers went the solo route, and in order to tour following the release of his debut album, he formed the band The Whole World.  The band was comprised of Mike Oldfield, Lol Coxhill, Mick Fincher and David Bedford, and once the tour was over the band went into the studio, and along with guest appearances from Bridget St. John and Robert Wyatt, recorded his sophomore effort Shooting At The Moon.  That album is now the latest of his releases to be remastered from the original master tapes, cut at Abbey Road Studios and reissued on vinyl.  The album is highly acclaimed and is very adventurous and experimental, dabbling in things like free jazz, folk, prog and avant-garde (some more successful than others) in addition to the psychedelic and baroque pop that was prevalent on his debut.  Album opener “May I?," one of his better-known songs, brings to mind his debut, and is a gorgeous, incredibly infectious ballad highlighted by his rich baritone and Coxhill’s sax. “Rheinhardt & Geraldine / Colores Para Dolores” is an interesting cut that starts with two minutes of prog with the keys, sax and rumbling bass mingling together very prominently before shifting into a minute and a half of pure cacophony, sounding like someone twisting the radio dial back and forth through the channels.  It then shifts back to the prog, but with the guitar moving more to the forefront.  The raw, ragged garage rocker “Lunatics Lament” is unlike anything else on the album and features some great organ along with Oldfield absolutely tearing it up on guitar.  At over eight minutes, “Pisser Dans Un Violon” shows their experimental side, and is a noisy soundscape that really doesn’t do anything for me and is a track I will definitely skip in the future.  Heading in a completely different direction, “The Oyster and the Flying Fish” is a bouncy acoustic folk duet with Bridget St. John that makes for a really fun listen.  “Underwater” is another avant-garde instrumental that is fittingly titled but again is prime for the skip button.  Originally written several years earlier for Soft Machine, “Clarence In Wonderland” is a fun, kind of quirky and whimsical pop tune that at times reminds me of the more offbeat songs of Harry Nilsson.  Driven by a gentle bossa nova beat, “Red Green and You Blue” is a more laid-back jazzy tune.  Closing cut “Shooting At The Moon” opens with a heavy Sixties rock sound and then turns into an extended section that is still rock, but with elements of free jazz that gets a little too long and repetitive before it shifts back to more straight-ahead rock for the last thirty seconds.  The original artwork has also been restored for this release that is well worth adding to your vinyl collection. 

(Esoteric Recordings)

The Adventures - Once More With Feeling

In 1984, after originally working together in the punk / new wave band Tango Brigade (previously The Starjets), lead vocalist Terry Sharpe and guitarist Pat Gribben formed The Adventures with Eileen Gribben (Pat’s wife), Gerard Murphy, Tony Ayre and Paul Crowder.   With a few membership changes along the way, the next nine years found the Belfast band releasing four albums before breaking up in 1993.  These releases contained numerous UK hits, including “Broken Land” which reached number twenty there and ninety-five in the States, where it was their only song to hit the charts.  In the ensuing years they reformed a few times for live performances and now, over thirty years after their last album, they’ve released album number five, Once More With Feeling.  The band had contemplated making another album for a while, but when covid and the lock-downs came along, Pat spent more time in his home studio, and with all the free time, he was able to focus on songwriting.  He ended up writing all the songs himself, with the exception of “L.U.C.Y.”, which he interestingly co-wrote with Cathy Dennis during a session where they were attempting to write a song for S Club 7.  With Mark Tolman now on drums, all of the remaining instruments here were handled by Pat, with Terry and Eileen contributing all of the vocals (Tony Ayre, who was the only other member in the band on their last album, passed away in 2009),  They’ve done a great job here of capturing a lot of what made the band so special all those years ago, but also taking their sound into the modern era.   A lot of the album is also more upbeat than the earlier ones, something that is evident right out the gate with the infectious and bouncy pop of opening track “My Imaginary Girlfriend”, which has some great sprightly keyboards that at times are a little reminiscent of A-Ha.  “With The Cats” is up next and has an Eighties era MTV sound crossed with Beach Boys summertime pop.  Driven by some gorgeous acoustic guitar, “When The Sun Goes Down” is an enchanting, bouncy jaunt followed by another upbeat pop gem “Love Talk”.  The aforementioned “L.U.C.Y.” marks the first time Eileen Gribben has handled lead vocals on an Adventures album (she was the lead vocalist on "Currogh Of Kildare", a bonus track on a single in 1988), and is a delicate and absolutely gorgeous ballad recorded in memory of Pat and Eileen’s niece, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2021.  While still full of hooks, “Down By The Water” is a little darker and edgier like a poppier Neil Young with a little bit of The Beatles.  With the help of Conor and Paul McGuinness (2 extremely talented local singer / musicians from Belfast per the liner notes) on backing vocals, “Song For You” is a great acoustic tune that has a strong Simon and Garfunkel feel.  The upbeat pop of “I Still Dream Of You” adds a bit of a rootsy element to the mix, while “The Hanging Tree” is a fun tune with a rockabilly beat that definitely stands out from the rest of the album.  “To Whom It Concerns” is a stunning, sweeping Lennon-esque song that closes the album perfectly.  Once More With Feeling is a most welcome addition to The Adventures discography and highly recommended to fans of their earlier work as well as anyone that has never heard of them before.  Let’s hope this is a career resurgence and not a one off.

(Cherry Red Records)

Dr. Strangely Strange - Anti-Inflammatory

Dr. Strangely Strange was initially formed in Dublin in 1967 by Tim Booth and Ivan Pawle.  In 1968, after playing some shows as a duo, they added three more members, including Tim Gouldin.  Over the ensuing years, various members came and went with Booth, Pawle and Goulding remaining the constant until they disbanded in 1971 having released two albums.  The three reunited a year later for an Irish tour and then Booth led the band with all new members in 1973.  Since the early 1980's they have gotten back together from time to time, along with fiddle / mandolin player Joe Thoma, and they also released another album in 1997.  Now, fifty-eight years after their formation and forty-six years since their last release, the four of them are back with album number four.  They kick things off with “Up With The Lark”, a quaint tune that starts simply with piano and vocal and then incorporates fiddle and whistle giving it a medieval folk feel.  With its driving Bo Diddley beat, the first single “Baby Bunting” is a strangely infectious psychedelic folk tune with massive pop hooks.  Enhanced with some nice electric piano, “Like Water Like Wind” is a really pretty ballad that brings us to “Sulán,” the first of three instrumentals.  Per the liner notes, “The Sulán is a rhythmical river that meanders through the Cork and Kerry mountains passing near the village of Cúil Aodha”, and meandering is the perfect description for this laid-back instrumental with its dreamy Celtic flair.  The loping, psychedelic country two-step of “Rosenalli’s Two-Step” has a super catchy beat and just the right amount of quirkiness, making it the perfect song for a “psychedelic hoedown”.  “Drive ‘em Down” is a bright, bouncy tune with a rootsy country element.  It has some great acoustic guitar work and is enhanced nicely with keyboards.  “Murmuration” is an acoustic folk cut with a bit of a darker side, followed by “Morning Song,” a pretty acoustic piano instrumental accompanied by viola and fiddle.  With bittersweet lyrics looking back at their younger days and time passing by, “Back In The Day” is a lively folk tune.  The final instrumental “Vienna” also closes the album, and was written by Goulding for the birth of his second grandchild.  It’s a solo piano performance with hints of jazz, and a very bouncy, celebratory feel, making it a really nice way to end the disc.  Anti-Inflammatory is a welcome return and an absolute joy to listen to.    

(Think Like A Key Music)

 

Dear Mr Fantasy – A Celebration for Jim Capaldi

On January, 21, 2007, two years after his death, an impressive collection of musicians got together at London’s Roundhouse to pay tribute to Jim Capaldi.  Originally released in 2007 as a double CD and a DVD, this newly remastered edition contains the full concert on two CD’s along with the video on Blu-ray, available in that format here for the first time.  A diverse array of vocalists, including Paul Weller, Joe Walsh, Bill Wyman, Yusuf Islam, Steve Winwood, Gary Moore and Pete Townsend (many also playing their respective instrument) are backed here by a house band consisting of Mark Rivera , Ray Cooper, Simon Kirke (also singing on one song), Andy Newmark, Pete Bonas, Paul “Wix” Wickens and Dave Bronze.   Capaldi was best known as a member of Traffic, as well as for his numerous solo albums, and the performances here are a nice mixture of both, along with a couple of songs he co-wrote that were recorded by other artists.  “Let Me Make Something in Your Life,” a co-write with Winwood that was on his first solo album is performed here by Stevie Lange with Deep Purple’s Jon Lord on Hammond Organ, while interestingly Winwood sings closing song “Love Will Keep Us Alive”, a song that Capaldi wrote with Paul Carrack and Peter Vale and was recorded by The Eagles.  Winwood also pays tribute to his former bandmate with Traffic’s “Light Up or Leave Me Alone” and “Dear Mr. Fantasy”.  For the most part the performances stick pretty close to the originals, although there are a few little twists here and there including Kirke delving into “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in the middle of “Whale Meat Again” and Islam adding a snippet of his “Wild World” in “Man With No Country.”  Dear Mr Fantasy is quite a fitting tribute to Capaldi and definitely worth checking out.  It should also be noted that the show raised money for the underprivileged children of Brazil, a cause that Jim and his wife had supported for many years.  Another nice addition is the inclusion of the original tour program in the booklet.  (Unfortunately, I do not have the Blu-ray, so I can’t comment on that part of this reissue)

(Esoteric Recordings)