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‘Well
Oiled’ sees a welcome return for Spike and the boys. After the
initial success of their debut album ‘A Bit Of What You Fancy’ the
band set off to self destruct. The second album was delayed due to
producer Bob Rocks involvement on Metallica’s ‘Black’ album, and
the bands A & R man leaving EMI, and then just when you thought
things couldn’t get worse, the band fell victim of the birth of the
grunge scene.
Eventually the second album ‘Bitter Sweet & Twisted’ was
released and although it didn’t sell as well as the first album, the
band still managed to have some success with it. Canada in
particular opened its arms (and ears) to the band and the album went
platinum there. Sadly this wasn’t sufficient for their record
company and they soon parted company.
After a guest slot on the Guns and Roses ‘Use Your Illusion’ tour
the band split up. In 2000 Spike and Griff got back together and
were joined by Nigel Mogg. The band released their third studio
album ‘This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll’ and had success on the road with
Status Quo, and later on the Monsters of Rock tour with Alice Cooper and
Thunder.
‘Well Oiled’ is a return to form with Spikes Jack Daniels soaked
vocals still the predominant feature to the bands bluesy sound.
None more so than in the opening track ‘Good To See You’, which
revels in a gutsy guitars from both Griffin and Guerin and the ever
present Nigel Mogg on bass.
The vibe continues with the AC/DC sounding guitar on ‘The Finer
Stuff’ and the harmonica and keyboard fuelled ‘Lorraine Lorraine’.
‘Too familiar’ is very much a Quireboys track with that slow moody
quality that has become the trademark sound of the band.
If there is a low point of the album it would be ‘What’s Your
Name’ which doesn’t quite live up the rest of the album. But
things get back on track with the excellent ‘Sweet as the Rain’ and
the up tempo ‘The Last Fence’. The album closer is the heavy
keyboarded ‘Black Mariah’ an excellent way to finish what is a great
return for the band.
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