Goat, I hate to say this but I think you're listening to the wrong album! Possibly I'm culpable as I mentioned Lightbringer to Gornik. We're on the much earlier Before The Fire.
Sorry if it's me that caused the confusion.
Ha ha! Well, I like that album anyway!
I've just checked my Spotify and double checked but when I search that album and go to it it's bringing up Lightbringer! I've tried about 3 or 4 times now and I've no idea what's going on but I will restart the laptop and try again tomorrow.
Either way it's a great album (Lightbringer) so will look forward to Before the Fire!
Possibly due to a track on Lightbringer having the same title as the album in question?
As you've listened to Lightbringer, the companion album is Darkfighter which as Gornik said is somewhat, erm, dark. Then Lightbringer is intended to be the more hopeful response.
Interesting you mention Greta. We reviewed one of their albums a while back, which I really like. Saw them at the MEN and was really underwhelmed by their live show. A few weeks later I saw RS again at the Academy in Brum and it was chalk and cheese. I still don’t understand why they’re not playing bigger venues, but I’ll enjoy it more until they do - cheers for the reviewRival Sons: Before the Fire.
IIRC, this came free with Classic Rock magazine. Whatever, I didn't pay for it.
It's right up my alley- rootsy and bluesy hard rock. It swings. You can dance to it. And when they slow it down, Jay Buchannan's folk roots shine. The guy can sing.
Yeah, yeah... we know, the Zep influences are clear but I couldn't give a flying proverbial.
Saw them at a half full Academy 3, soon after, and was blown away. Tighter than a gnat's chuff. Proper players. Seen them a couple of time since but that night was special (and I've been going to gigs since 78.)
Great songs, well produced and the engineering is excellent. Their best IMO.
Greta van who? Lol.
Great choice, great thread.
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Interesting you mention Greta. We reviewed one of their albums a while back, which I really like. Saw them at the MEN and was really underwhelmed by their live show. A few weeks later I saw RS again at the Academy in Brum and it was chalk and cheese. I still don’t understand why they’re not playing bigger venues, but I’ll enjoy it more until they do - cheers for the review
First listen and I’m leaning this way too.Rival Sons: Before the Fire.
IIRC, this came free with Classic Rock magazine. Whatever, I didn't pay for it.
It's right up my alley- rootsy and bluesy hard rock. It swings. You can dance to it. And when they slow it down, Jay Buchannan's folk roots shine. The guy can sing.
Yeah, yeah... we know, the Zep influences are clear but I couldn't give a flying proverbial.
Saw them at a half full Academy 3, soon after, and was blown away. Tighter than a gnat's chuff. Proper players. Seen them a couple of time since but that night was special (and I've been going to gigs since 78.)
Great songs, well produced and the engineering is excellent. Their best IMO.
Greta van who? Lol.
Great choice, great thread.
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Many quality musicians can make reasonable facsimiles of other people’s music, especially other people’s good music. Should they get scores between 7 and 8 for doing so?Before the Fire by Rival Sons is an album of hits! Mostly the hits of their influences. Hey kids do you remember Paperback Writer by the Beatles? How about The Wind Cries Mary by Hendrix? Don't worry we have you covered say Rivals Son from their lava lamp emporium in California.
That Rival Sons don't sound like a covers band is that they are just pretty good at writing toe tappers. Nothing here is groundbreaking or innovative but they probably never intended it to be. It's music that you can turn up loud and enjoy for a little bit and get on with your life. Not everything needs to be life changing or transformative. Sometimes a single album can be a quick substitute for a 200 hour playlist called "Songs your dad liked but your grandma didn't".
If I was being super picky I'd maybe say that such obvious homages come at the expense of authenticity. None of the lyrics seem particularly revealing about the artist - they are pretty generic but that's ok in context. It did feel a little incongruent for the chorus of Memphis Sun to sound so British and pastoral but this may be a limitation of my knowledge of the genre and I felt similar when hearing Neil Young sing about Dixie. There is a possibility I'll be accused of hypocrisy when I unveil my next nomination but I'm hopeful no one will remember but I'm finding I want my tunes right now to feel personal and honest to the musicians. This makes singing about these tropey places seem a little hollow to me and whilst the songs Alanis Morrissette sang may all be fictions they felt like they came from lived experiences.
I levelled the accusation last week that the album felt a little samey and if I was in a more curmedgeonly mood I'd possible attempt that argument again but this album has much more definition and everything is a a little more expansive. although tonally it's pretty similar all the way through there is enough boldness in it to keep the individual tracks distinctive.
When you're ripping off the classics then it means that there isn't a bad track. Everything is played very well and the vocals are also pretty good and for me on the right side of raw. Straight forward and easy 7.5 without anything really that made me catch my breath.
Assuming it resonates with people, don't see why not. Not a lot of music is truly original, and that does go for many other professions too, particularly in 'the arts'.Many quality musicians can make reasonable facsimiles of other people’s music, especially other people’s good music. Should they get scores between 7 and 8 for doing so?
“Reminds me of” and “influenced by” and “sounds like” are very different than “copies” and “blatantly rips off”. :)Assuming it resonates with people, don't see why not. Not a lot of music is truly original, and that does go for many other professions too, particularly in 'the arts'.
I haven't yet said my bit with this album and that is there amongst it, but lore generlaly though, things sound like other things. Whether we like it or not is not often relative to that. Heck, 99% of the reviews here explicitly mention other bands that albums of the week sound like.
Queen did the same with Sheer Heart Attack.Saw them just before Covid, excellent live, probably played 6 songs straight before a word was spoken. It is a bit weird they had an album, then 14 years later, a track of the same name. I love this album though so was compelled to pop in and give it an 8, mostly because they’ve done better since. Jolly romp, with a touch of hippy 70’s, what’s not to like?
You are the 99th poster to score one or more of the albums on this thread.Saw them just before Covid, excellent live, probably played 6 songs straight before a word was spoken. It is a bit weird they had an album, then 14 years later, a track of the same name. I love this album though so was compelled to pop in and give it an 8, mostly because they’ve done better since. Jolly romp, with a touch of hippy 70’s, what’s not to like?