Somewhere along the line, great rock music lost its way. Now comes the
21st century solution – Buckberry, 2007 Grammy nominees for Best Hard Rock
Performance.
Over 3 minutes and 29 seconds, this thunderous band release a incendiary
single from album 15 which is worthy of much attention. It contains
all the elements of ‘Classic Rock’, raucous vocals, great guitars and catchy
chorus.
In the mix are, ear-splitting solos and driving rhythm section, and
inevitably, cocksure soaring vocals from lead singer and co-founder Josh Todd.
Unlike some of their peer groups this is, classy intelligent rock, and
timeless. Its got enough appeal to make UK airplay, but keep the street
and rock cred.
Todd said of the album, "Who would have thought you could record an album
in 15 days, release it independently, have it go gold and get nominated for
a Grammy in less than a year? When we started this project, no one believed
in it except our management company and us."
Look out Bon Jovi et al, there’s serious competition here.
Catch Buckberry live at Mean Fiddler London on March 20,
Garage Glasgow on March 21 and Rock City Nottingham March 22.
Support comes from The Backyard Babies and Damone.
Ben Reel Band: Waiting For U / On Raglan Road (B. Reel Records)
Incredibly, Ben Reel seems to be almost overlooked in his native Ireland.
This is totally baffling, but things are about to change, very soon.
Waiting For U is lifted from forthcoming album New Horizon.
Written by Reel, it’s got enough class to make the playlists of BBC Radio 2
et al. This gorgeous song has also got enough appeal to make it in the States
too, and that’s where he most likely to make it first, as a household name.
This smooth and sophisticated slice of contemporary pop-jazz (shades of
Steely Dan at their peak) is simply divine for the entire 4 minutes and 6
seconds. With its relaxed and loungy mood, it glides along beautifully with
Reel’s cultured vocals proving the icing on the cake.
On Raglan Road, a modern interpretation of a traditional song is a
wonderful indigenous airing, complete with emotionally tinged harmonica and
heartfelt lyrics.
To contact Ben Reel, please phone:
+353 (0) 42 97467707, Mobile +353 (0) 86 8469935
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
