ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 2, 1983 By Steve Newton The opening track, "Don't' Say Make Me", comes off nice 'n' raunchy, with a heavy British sound and a screaming Steve Shelski solo that just fits. But things go sour quick on Coney Hatch's second album. The repetition and limpness of the second … Continue reading Album review: Coney Hatch, Outa Hand (1983)
Category: Album Reviews
Album review: Sora, Desire and Truth (2010)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 27, 2010 By Steve Newton It’s been five long years since Vancouver rock vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist extraordinaire Erol Sora blew me away with his Demented Honour album, but from the sound of his new CD, Desire and Truth, he’s still Vancouver's answer to Gary Moore. In other words, Sora knows how to … Continue reading Album review: Sora, Desire and Truth (2010)
Album review: Rob Zombie, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (2010)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 18, 2010 By Steve Newton On Hellbilly Deluxe 2, hard-rocking horror auteur Rob Zombie combines his love of low-budget fright flicks and grinding metal the same way he did on his debut solo album, 1998’s Hellbilly Deluxe. Well, not quite the same way. While his first post-White Zombie release … Continue reading Album review: Rob Zombie, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (2010)
Album review: Rod Stewart, Soulbook (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 22, 2010 By Steve Newton I heard a rumour a while back that the Faces might be getting back together. I remember seeing them at Pacific Coliseum in the ’70s—with Foghat opening up!—and they were a raggedy-ass rock ’n’ roll machine. Ronnie Wood was blasting out that wonderful … Continue reading Album review: Rod Stewart, Soulbook (2009)
Album review: Joe Perry, Have Guitar, Will Travel (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 7, 2010 By Steve Newton A minute-and-a-half into “We’ve Got a Long Way to Go”, the opening track on Joe Perry’s new solo album, Have Guitar, Will Travel, the rock legend from Boston reminds you just what it was about his playing that hooked you in the first … Continue reading Album review: Joe Perry, Have Guitar, Will Travel (2009)
Album review: Damon Fowler, Sugar Shack (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 11, 2009 By Steve Newton Damn those blasted CDs scattered all over my desk! When I was searching the mess last week for potential entries to my Top 10 list of 2009 I somehow managed to overlook this stunning release by singer, songwriter, and guitarist extraordinaire Damon Fowler. Whether … Continue reading Album review: Damon Fowler, Sugar Shack (2009)
Album review: Colin James, Rooftops and Satellites (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 27, 2009 By Steve Newton Methinks Colin James has been listening to a little too much ZZ Top of late. Don’t get me wrong—I can play the Texas boogiemeisters’ first five albums all day long and still have a hankering for more Tres Hombres. But on “Man’s Gotta Be a Stone”, the … Continue reading Album review: Colin James, Rooftops and Satellites (2009)
Album review: Hugh Dillon, Works Well With Others (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 12, 2009 By Steve Newton Hugh Dillon has gone through a lot of changes since those days in the ’90s when he was portraying self-destructive punk rocker Joe Dick in the movie Hard Core Logo and fronting Toronto hard-rock act the Headstones. Nowadays you’re more likely to see the former … Continue reading Album review: Hugh Dillon, Works Well With Others (2009)
Album review: Lynyrd Skynyrd, God & Guns (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, By Steve Newton In the very first Payback column the Straight ever published I was called a “Skynyrd-loving moron” by a ticked-off Lou Reed fan, and—thanks to incessant reminders from caring colleagues Mike Usinger and John Lucas—have never been allowed to forget it. In a way I was proud of the label, though, … Continue reading Album review: Lynyrd Skynyrd, God & Guns (2009)
Album review: John Fogerty, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 10, 2009 By Steve Newton Fans of John Fogerty’s southern swamp-boogie might not be thrilled by his latest CD, which—apart from a rootsy remake of his 1986 stomper “Change in the Weather”—is a collection of country music covers. It’s a throwback to his 1973 solo debut, The Blue … Continue reading Album review: John Fogerty, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again (2009)
Album review: The Bottle Rockets, Lean Forward (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 10, 2009 By Steve Newton Back in ’94 Missouri’s Bottle Rockets released their second album, The Brooklyn Side, which scored North American airplay for the rollicking, cops’ll-get-you single “Radar Gun” but is best remembered for infectious rockers like “Gravity Fails”, “I’ll Be Comin’ Around”, and the evocative ballad … Continue reading Album review: The Bottle Rockets, Lean Forward (2009)
Album review: Various Artists, True Blood: Music From the HBO Original Series (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 27, 2009 By Steve Newton I’ve never actually seen the HBO vampire series True Blood, mainly because I’m too busy watching the cable channel’s other offerings like Entourage, Eastbound & Down, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. (Larry David fans take note: CYE’s seventh season premieres September 20.) But if True Blood is anywhere … Continue reading Album review: Various Artists, True Blood: Music From the HBO Original Series (2009)
Album review: George Thorogood and the Destroyers, The Dirty Dozen (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 20, 2009 By Steve Newton George Thorogood has made a good living covering crusty old gems by blues legends, but is that something we should hold against him? I think not. Every rock-loving kid that Thorogood turns on to someone like John Lee Hooker via his hellraising rendition … Continue reading Album review: George Thorogood and the Destroyers, The Dirty Dozen (2009)