Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Quireboys, The
Label: Off Yer Rocka
Release: 2013
Runtime: 49:57
Rating: 4.5/5
I don’t know who to thank for this rare exception, one that speaks up loud even in times when it’s getting harder and harder to hold on to a sense of the authentic, the genuine and the sincere in whatever your heart beats for. But if you ask what rock ‘n’ roll is, London’s The Quireboys can school you on the spot, bathed in the glow of full-blooded credibility. You couldn’t find a better address today for advice on what (real!!!) rock ‘n’ roll is. The curse and the lust aren’t dying down for The Quireboys, not even with their latest effort »Beautiful Curse«, their seventh studio album in all.
Infectious, cheeky, bowing to no trend. True to tradition. True to themselves. »Beautiful Curse« has a fitting title! The CD is hypnotically infectious, it carries a spell you can’t resist, so it’s not going to leave your CD player any time soon. Provided you’re a fan of the original trademarks of rock ‘n’ roll, of course. And not just if you’re into The Quireboys’ past work, headed by their ultimate record »A Bit Of What You Fancy« (1990), but also the unique rock ‘n ‘roll magic grounded in the character and work of irreplaceable essences like The Rolling Stones, Mott the Hopple, AC/DC, good old Rod and The Faces, even Nazareth (Homewreckers And Heartbreakes) and, on the other side of the Atlantic, everyone from Chuck Berry to the more mature Great White (say, Diamonds And Dirty Stones – that track comes with a whiff of the Stones, too). »Beautiful Curse« is a one-of-a-kind melting pot of primal musical levers, serving up a top-notch rock ‘n’ roll product on a platter, with an excellent middle course between swaggering, cocky rascality and a more mature moment of nostalgic gazing back at the good old days, when rock was still young and spotless. The fire in these guys isn’t dying. The lifestyle stays the same. Full-blooded surrender to the rock ‘n’ roll creed. No retreat. Blues, boogie and rock ‘n’ roll. Raunchy, hammered into the core of an adrenaline rush (opener Too Much Of A Good Thing), while that bristling rock potency is wisely and contrastingly balanced by moments on the album that fill you with a sense of utter relaxation, ease and absolute laid-back calm (closer I Died Laughing)! Despite an authentic repackaging of bluesy pain served up by the tried-and-tested recipe of past works, this album also reflects, as genuinely as can be, the simple sentiment of a big wish: to take the listener to the point where you can happily switch your head off and carefree give yourself over to the partying of Friday nights.
As of this June, The Quireboys are officially a fixed four-piece. That’s when bassist Dave Boyce and drummer Matt Goom left the band, and the remaining four, that is the guitar tandem of Paul Guerin and Guy Griffin, keyboardist Ketih Weir and the first and most important Qireboys figure, the one-of-a-kind vocalist Spike, decided to carry on as a quartet.
Spike remains brilliant, and in delivering the weight of the lyrics he’s actually getting even more mature. His feel for subtle nuance, shown above all in the ballad-drama moments of the album, the tracks Don’t Fight and Mary Ann, or the dedication to all the dead rock heroes from Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix to Kurt Cobain in the track 27 Years, is sharper than ever for Spike in these new times! Thanks to the passion of his vocal emotion, that is, the remarkable, finely tuned flexibility in bending the colors of his voice, craftily dosed with a bit more or less smoky, raspy, throaty grit, this album sounds so real and at the same time so ravenous.
On the album it’s not hard to hear the exceptional chemistry holding together the building blocks that form the core of the melody, keeping Spike’s vocal performance aloft. That is, the backing. The exceptional core of naturally stripped-down guitar phrases, weighed down with a primal rock sound and juicily interlocking in the Guerin / Griffin partnership, backed by the occasional blanket of Hammond-sounding keys and the use of Keith Weir’s cheeky »honky tonk« piano, forms the essential chemical reaction that, alongside Spike’s unique vocal stamp, puts The Quireboys’ expressive output in a special place in the rock ‘n’ roll universe. And with it, this album too. The sound was taken care of by the renowned Chris Tsangarides, the bass was recorded by both of the band’s guitarists, and session veteran Simon Hanson jumped in on drums for the album. A product that thus oozes the glittering aesthetics of primal rock ‘n’ roll culture, seasoned and served up by experienced masters. »Beautiful Curse« is an album that’s a perfect calling card for the expressive power of The Quireboys in 2013. As honest as it gets.
Line-up
Spike – vocals
Guy Griffin – guitar, bass guitar
Paul Guerin – guitar, bass guitar
Keith Weir – keyboards
SESSION MUSICIAN:
Simon Hanson – drums
Production
Chris Tsangarides
Track list
1. Too Much Of a Good Thing
2. Chain Smokin’
3. Talk Of The Town
4. Mother Mary
5. King Of Fools
6. Homewreckers & Heartbreakers
7. Diamonds and Dirty Stones
8. Beautiful Curse
9. Don’t Fight It
10. For Crying Out Loud
11. Twenty Seven Years
12. I Died Laughing
