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Ireland has
always been a hot bed of Classic Rock since its incarnation in the 70’s
with numerous bands breaking into the big time with a self styled rock
that has always been popular. More recently the likes of Glyder and
The Answer have been stepping out of the darkness of the underground scene
and making the step up to stardom. Hot on their heels are Jaded Sun.
'Gypsy Trip' is
the debut release from a band who have only been around since 2003, but
have already impressed the A & R guys at SiAn Records. So much in
fact that they sent the band to LA to record the album under the guidance
of Richie Mouser and Jimmy Coup, who between them have worked with Dream
Theater, Andrew WK and Weezer.
This album is
pure gold. Classic Blues filled Hard Rock that gets underway with
‘Breaking Through’, a great opener filled with punchy guitar riffs from
Sean Gosker and Eorann Stafford. The slide guitar bridge is just
superb. That hard rocking back beat is provided by Damien Kelly on
bass and Gavan Murray on drums, although the star of the show for me are
the classic vocals of John Maher, who really knows how to bring the bands
sound alive.
The good times
just keep on comin’ with the excellent ‘Crazyman’, which gets underway
with Stafford on Harmonica before Maher lets loose with those tremendous
vocals. Again the slide guitar and harmonica mix are just a sublime
touch to this bluesy rocker.
The next two
songs are definitely old school rockers. 'Fever’ has that definite
Led Zep feel to it, whereas ‘Hey You’ has that AC/DC feel to it, with
female backing vocals adding a nice touch and feel to the song. It's
plain to hear that the band are obviously influenced by the classic bands
of the 70’s and 80’s and in a world where retro is the new black, this
isn’t a bad thing.
There's a change
in direction with the moving ballad ‘Crave’. This one is pure bliss
as Maher just caresses the ears with his humble tones. This song
will cetainly melt the hardest of hearts. Then it's back to the hard
rocking with ‘Can't Stop’, which is good time rock n' roll at its finest.
The pace is once
again brought down for the slow burning melodies of ‘Sweetness’ and ‘He
Knows Home’, before picking up once more for the excellent ‘Positive’ and
the thumping rocker and my favourite track ‘Higher’. The album
started on a high and carried on throughout, so why not finish how you
started in my opinion and the band do just that closing the album with
‘She’s Got Class’.
This album is a
great Hard Rock album that will surely see the band on their way to
greater things, so let's hope a UK tour or a high profile support slot
come the bands way in 2008 because these guys deserve a big break. |
