Reviews roundup – Keith Emerson & Greg Lake vs. Shaft Of Steel vs. Geronimo Paulette vs. Bad Wougar
KEITH EMERSON & GREG LAKE
Live From Manticore Hall
Manticore Recordings
Who knows why, but 2010 saw E and L touring without a P. It wasn’t long before they got back together with Carl Palmer at the High Voltage reunion, but this runout saw Keith Emerson and Greg Lake doing something a wee bit different, albeit with the occasional drum loop / hidden drummer.
As well as some weel kent tunes, they also dusted off some music that no-one probably expected to hear, with Greg Lake introducing the King Crimson song, ‘I Talk To The Wind’ as a song he hasn’t performed since 1969. And it’s a real treat. They’re both playing extremely well on this set, which makes ‘The Barbarian’ from ELP’s 1970 self-titled debut a real treat.
Not everything works, as Lake struggles vocally on ‘Take A Pebble’, but by the time they reach ‘Aquatarkus’ you’re willing them on. It all works surprisingly well, so quite why it took 4 years to reach disc is anyone’s guess.
SHAFT OF STEEL
Self titled
independent
Oo-err missus! Shaft Of Steel! Fnaar, fnaar. To some of us, who can be carbon dated, that’s just funny, that is. It will certainly play well with the London leather boys.
You won’t be surprised to learn that the like their metal heavy, but they have a melodic sheen to them, that steers them away from the modern world of power metal. Despite (or maybe because) they originally formed at the University of Hull, they’ve managed to get Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69 / Place Vendrome etc) to master this EP, as well as doing backing vocals. Maybe he misread Hull for Hell. An easy mistake to make.
So, it sounds great, and the band certainly have promise, with vocalist Robert Fenning well able to hit the high notes required in the genre. The opening number, ‘Drive’ is probably the lightest of the songs on offer, but by the time they reach tracks 3 and 4, ‘Steel Avenger (Stand Your Ground)’ and EP highlight ‘Release The Lion Within’, their studded wristbands are being used to full effect. A few more like the last two, and they could have what it takes.
GERONIMO PAULETTE
Hard Road Out Of Hell
independent
God, I hope that’s his real name. I mean, how cool would you be at school if your name was Geronimo. Well, he does hail from the Canadian colonies, up there in the Northwest territories, where men are men, and anything is fair game.
And his game is shredding, instrumental metal. He headed off to the desert of Arizona to record this debut, playing everything bar the drums, which come courtesy of studio drummer, Tommy Gibbons. The engineer, Aaron Carey, has worked with the likes of Megadeth, so knows what it needs to get a dense, metal sound, and production wise it does just fine.
Of course, some people can’t abide metal instrumentals, and there is nothing here that is going to change their minds. But Geronimo is a good guitarist, who can riff and solo just fine, so if you are looking for a new shredder to add to your arsenal, this could be the one. He’s from the Satch school of guitar, and even if the compositional skills aren’t quite up to the instrumental ones, he could grow into a talent to reckon with.
BAD WOUGAR
Self titled
independent
One of the worst names for a band. Ever. I assume it’s a cross between a wolf and a cougar, but it sounds like a Scooby Doo villain.
It even sounds like a Scooby Doo villain with all the howling at the start of this CD, before things get underway proper with some punky hard / biker rock. For sure, they sometimes like to show off and get a bit widdlesome, but it’s basically Motorhead meets Corrosion Of Conformity at a Damned gig.
And that’s fine. When the Canadian rockers trip over a really good song as they do on ‘Dance Of The Flies’ and ‘Intensity Receiving Fine’ then it’s all for the good. But when they try to extend things beyond their natural lifespan, then less so. Say hello to ‘Return The Favour’. As a debut release, it does its job for the publicity shy yet bewhiskered colonials.
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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