The London Quireboys - This Is Rock & Roll (2001)

Proving the old adage that “you can’t keep a good band down,” the London Quireboys have come roaring into the twenty-first century with a new line-up, a new album and a trademark sound that is pure, timeless rock & roll. Formed in 1984, the Quireboys were less "glam" than Hanoi Rocks, less obnoxious than Motley Crue, and more roots-oriented than Guns ‘N’ Roses. Their sound was firmly influenced by classic rockers like the Stones and the Faces yet, due to the time and place, they were always thrown in amongst the L.A. glamboys and MTV hair bands. The band enjoyed a modicum of success in the U.K. with a handful of albums and hit singles before finally breaking up in 1993.

The flame refused to die, though, and the Quireboys kept plugging away at it throughout the '90s. Various roster changes did little to change the band’s raw hard rock sound, the one common thread in the various band line-ups being vocalist Spike Gray. The Quireboys recorded their fourth album proper, Lost In Space, in 2000 and with their latest effort, This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll, they have delivered a rocking coup d’grace. For Spike and the Quireboys it’s always 1973 and This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll echoes the arena rock of Aerosmith, the Stones and the Faces. Spike’s raucous vocals evoke memories of a young Rod Stewart, his inflection part whiskey and part cigarettes, while the twin guitars of long-time member Guy Griffin and newcomer Luke Bossendorfer wail and roar like ghostly doppelgangers of Keith Richards and Mick Taylor.

The album’s title track is an affirmation of rock & roll and band brotherhood that hides a dirty little secret – that for some people, rock & roll is the only way to go, their only means of escape and, as Rod once sung, a “reason to believe.” It’s more than a livelihood, it’s a reason for being and for veterans like the Quireboys, it’s been a collective identity for so long that they can’t stop now. Shuffle just a few songs down, though, and you’ll find “C’mon,” a rowdy admittance that rock & roll may well have passed the band by. Spike sings “don’t go changing my favorite songs, keep them rolling along” with the sad realization that rock music has changed and that, just as for the mods and rockers of the '60s and the punks of the '80s, rock & roll has turned its back on the Quireboys as well. These two songs are the cornerstones of This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll, providing a revealing glimpse behind the rock & roll party-time façade the band has projected for two decades now.

The rest of This Is Rock & Roll rattles and shakes like a ’73 Plymouth Satellite, tracks like “Seven Days,” “Turn Away” and “Show Me What You Got” redlining the speedo, moving from 0 to 100 mph in a single drumbeat. At the proper volume, these songs will peel the veneer siding from your speakers, but for an all-too-brief hour, you’ll experience sheer rock & roll bliss. Rock & roll may have changed through the years, but the music’s heartbeat remains the same and the London Quireboys prove with This Is Rock & Roll that they have their finger on the pulse. (Sanctuary Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy a copy of This Is Rock & Roll from Amazon.com)

The Wildhearts - The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed (2004)

Long before the Darkness were credited with reviving the spirit, if not exactly the substance of "glam rock," British bands like the London Quireboys, Dogs D'Amour and the Wildhearts kept that glittering flame alive. Drawing on influences such as the Rolling Stones, the Faces and Marc Bolan's T-Rex, the riff-happy Wildhearts and their brethren created some of the most energetic and lively rock music of the '90s. Unfortunately, outside of the U.K. only a few hardcore American Anglophiles knew squat about these bands, none of which made a dent on the Seattle-dominated mid-90s rock scene. After enjoying almost a decade as the monarchy's favorite bad boys of debauchery, the Wildhearts called it a day....

After a handful of years pursuing the brass ring with other bands, Wildhearts' mastermind and frontman "Ginger" decided to reconvene the original band line-up in 2001. Ginger reunited with guitarist Chris Jagdhar and drummer Andrew "Stidi" Stidolph, recording the tentative Riff After Motherfucking Riff EP for release in Japan. The experiment must have paid off as the band released its official "comeback" CD – The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed – in England in 2003. After years of being ignored by American audiences, the disc was released stateside earlier this year. A successful U.S. tour opening for the Darkness increased the band's profile among American rockers, and the subsequent release of the newly-minted, full-length Riff After Riff on Gearhead has the Wildhearts primed for a potential breakthrough.

The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed is a transitional album. The band works hard to find a balance between its Glam-rock roots – a mix of Slade-styled bombast and Sweet-flavored riff-rock – and the harder-edged influences of the Stones, pub-rockers like Dr. Feelgood and various "new wave of British metal" bands. The pop/rock side of the band wins out here, broadcast-friendly tunes like "Vanilla Radio" and "So Into You" seemingly written specifically to appeal to radio audiences. "There's Only One Hell" offers some stellar guitar interplay and a killer hook, Ginger's vocals sounding like Nick Lowe while the band sounds like Cheap Trick, or maybe Rockpile. The engaging "Top Of The World" opens with Jagdhar's razor-sharp six-string work before tumbling into a joyous blend of vocal harmonies and driving rhythms.

There are few bands that can mix hard rock and pop melodies as successfully as the Wildhearts. Even so, many of the songs on The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed, enjoyable as they may be, are missing a certain "joi de vivre" that made previous Wildhearts' albums a crucial part of every rocker's music library. As such, The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed serves as a bookend with the recently released Riff After Riff – which itself showcases the harder-rocking, metal-edged side of the band's personality. The Wildhearts are clearly working towards a future album that will include both sides of the musical dichotomy that made the band so attractive a decade ago. In the meantime, check out The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed and get a taste of the rock & roll cheap thrills that you've been missing. (Sanctuary Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy a copy of The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed from Amazon.com)