IT - "ROCK N ROLL" (INDEPENDENT)
It is an original rock and roll band consisting of composer/songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Joe Wilson, together with Dave Metzger on bass and Tim Thompson on drums. They hail from the US and take us back to the times when Rock and Roll was really Rock and Roll. No frills, that is, though there's some very competent guitar work throughout the album.
"Rock n Roll" is marked by a distinctly 70s, vintage kind of sound. Most of the tracks are pretty up tempo, with Joe's signature vocal style (somewhere between old Ozzy Osbourne and Bobby "Pentagram" Liebling). The best tracks are on the first half of the album, like "Do It" and "One is One". After that things get less focused. "Got the Blues" is a-melodic and sounds off-key, with a very weird type of vocals that make the track virtually impossible to appreciate. "Fly to High" (sic) is the simplest tune ("shake it, shake it") that does no credit to the rest. The final two tracks no longer belong within the realms of rock and roll, rather visit the paths of psychedelia with some 70's style flute and general loss of focus.
Maybe the album would have left a better impression had the tracks been reversed in playing order. Near the end it's just not as good as it started, which leaves you with an impression that is not as good as perhaps it should have been.
RK
Written March 2003