Reviews roundup – Philip Claypool vs. D. Edward vs. Howard Glazer vs. Care Of Night vs. Ammunition

Reviews roundup – Philip Claypool vs. D. Edward vs. Howard Glazer vs. Care Of Night vs. Ammunition

 

PHILIP CLAYPOOL
Come On Back Home
Heyday Records

Let’s kick off today with some proper country music.  And by that I mean recognisably country, without dipping into the world of pop.  And Mr Claypool certainly knows how to do that.  This offering is actually reminiscent of the nineties country sound, but with a few nods back to the honky tonk, ending up with a very enjoyable release.

Apparently, it’s been 15 years since he released a record, which seems a real shame as he knows a good melody when he hears it, and certainly has a way with words.  For sure, they’re stories we’ve heard before, but he tells them with such style you can’t help but enjoy it.

He can do uptempo and down beat with equal panache, as listening to the likes of ‘Three More Beers’  and ‘God’s Very Best’ will attest.  Add in an excellent cover of Eddie Arnold’s ‘You Don’t Know Me’ and you end up with an album that gives country a good name.

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D. EDWARD
Love Is
10th and Clay

Ooh, I’m feeling all smooth and eighties now, with an overwhelming urge to roll the sleeves of my jacket up.  Because D. Edwards, who also tours with legendary R&B/Funk group Con Funk Shun, has put on a natty hat and delivered an excellent set of old school soul / pop.  And we like.

He’s particularly good at a soulful ballad, which would have soundtracked many a cinema blockbuster back in the day, with the likes of ‘Waiting’ and ‘Show Me’ begging out for Top 40 radio play.  It all sounds fabulous, which isn’t surprising considering the shit hot band he’s put together for this, with the likes of Steffen Kuehn (trumpet), Tony Peebles (sax), Eric EQ Young (bass), Marlon “Wild Bill” Curry (percussion), Leah Tysse, and Grammy winning pianist, Laura Sullivan all turning up to lend a hand.

The vocals are a delight, and when all the pieces come together, as they do on ‘Hold On’ and ‘I Love The Way’, you just have to sit back and admire the handiwork.  It might be too smooth for some, but they’re fools.  Because this is a winner from top to bottom.

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HOWARD GLAZER
Looking In The Mirror
Lazy Brothers

Time for some blues rock now, and who better than Howard Glazer with the follow-up to his 2013 set, “Stepchild Of The Blues”.  And it’s a good one, as he sets out his stall over a dozen original tunes.

It’s fairly straightforward blues rock, but he’s a fine musician, with an ear for a memorable lyric, no more so than on the opening smut of ‘Midnight Postman’.  Elsewhere, he regales you with a tale of the ‘Jack Daniels Pillbox Broken Down Hotel Blues’ and there is a delightful duet on ‘Walking In Detroit’ with Maggie McCabe.  The arrangements are excellent with some B3 and horns, as and when needed, alongside the expected guitar solos.

He can slow things down to good effect, as he does on ‘Eviction Blues’, but the old rocker in me favours the hot blast of ‘Pushing The Limits’.

His basic trio is Chris Brown (bass) and Charles David Stuart (drums), and they’re as good a rhythm section as you would hope.  So, if it’s fiery blues rock you’re looking for, then this should satisfy your every need.

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CARE OF NIGHT
Connected
AOR Heaven

Once upon a time there was a Swedish heavy metal band called Seven Tears.  They had to split up in 2009, when they realised they were named after a hit by the Goombay Dance Band,and couldn’t face the ridicule.  However, three of them decided to stick it out, so Kristofer von Wachenfeldt (keyboards), Jonathan Carlemar (guitars) and Fredrik Lager (bass) got togeher with some new folk to form Care Of Night.  After the obligatory line up changes, which saw Jonas Rosengren in on bass and Calle Schönberg on vocals, they punted out an EP in 2013, to mild acclaim.

So here they are with their debut album, and they’re really rather good.  They’ve moved from metal to melodic rock, with heaps of AOR licks and West Coast sounds.  The four songs from the EP are here, along with half a dozen new ones, and they really do have the potential to make a name for themselves.

Not every song is a peach, but the likes of ”Cassandra’, ‘Heart Belongs’ and ‘Give Me Strength’ are batting well above average and are deserving of a place in any AOR collection.  It’s very eighties influenced, but they’re not afraid to take a few chances, no more so than on the pomptastic closer that is ‘Say You Will’ (no relation).

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AMMUNITION
Shanghaied
AOR Heaven

Wig Wam Bam, Thank You, Ma’am!  Yes. it’s the return of Wig Wam vocalist Åge Sten Nilsen, after the somewhat surprise breakup of everyones favourite Norwegian glam rockers.

To be fair, Wig Wam never bettered “Wig Wamania”, and Nilsen doesn’t seem to want to stray too far from his glory years, as this is still firmly entrenched in the world of melodic rock.  And he’s certainly given the Rolodex a good whirl, as this record sees the likes of Hal Patino on bass (King Diamond, Pretty Maids), Robban Bäck on drums (Sabaton, Eclipse), Lasse Finbråthen on keyboards (Circus Maximus), Jon Pettersen on guitars (Bad Habits) and Erik Mårtensson (W.E.T., Eclipse) on guitars. So it sounds huuuuuge.

And some of the songs match it.  There are at least four tracks here, which are as good as anything Nilsen has done before, with the likes of ‘Silverback’, ‘Take Out the Enemy (Hallelujah)’, ‘Wild Card’ and the best of the ballads, ‘Heart’s Not In It’ gems to a man.  For sure, there are a couple of by the number numbers here, but by and large, this is the best thing Nilsen has put out in quite a while.

It may not be as out there, as some of the Wig Wam songs, but fans of old will find enough here to get over the loss of their glam rock heroes.

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