Archive Review: Jean Beauvoirs’ Drums Along the Mohawk (1986)

Jean Beauvoir is the proverbial multi-talented “jack-of-all-trades,” an item all too rare in these days of somnolent superstars, jaded lipstick-stung video vixen, and millionaire session men. Beauvoir swapped licks fast and furious with the nastiest of metalheads, punks, and rockers as guitarist/bassist for Plasmatics and Little Steven’s Disciples of Soul. His production credits include board work done for the Ramones and Lords of the New Church and, with the release of Drums Along the Mohawk, he showcases his considerable skills as a performer.

With all of the material written, produced, and performed by Beauvoir, Drums Along the Mohawk is a beguiling debut disc; at first listen, seemingly no more than your typical AOR cannon fodder, a couple of rockin’ numbers followed by the obligatory ballad. Drums is much more than this, though…it is instead a deceptively complex cycle of songs with many layers of instrumentation underscoring Beauvoir’s unique and distinct vocal style (which, not surprisingly, resembles a strong hybrid of mentor Steve Van Zandt’s nasal twang and Prince’s earthy funkiness).

The songs are interesting, self-contained vignettes, ranging in style from the rocking “Feal the Heat” (used as a theme for Sylvester Stallone’s summer film Cobra) to the reggaeish, rollicking “Rockin’ In the Street” to the beautiful, emotion-evoking “Sorry I Missed Your Wedding Day.” The result is that while certainly not a trend-setting album, Drums Along the Mohawk delivers a solid, enjoyable 40 minutes of music…what more could one ask for? (Columbia Records, released June 1986)

Review originally published by Nashville’s The Metro magazine...