The Answer are one of those bands that came along at the right time for me.  I’d kinda given up on a lot of music on the radio and had become an avid reader of Classic Rock magazine, who did (and still does) an excellent job highlighting newer artists along with those classics from yesteryear.  The mag would always include a CD sampler of tunes, some of which would grab my ear and others I’d just skip altogether.  It was one of these samplers that I caught the band and was blown away by what I was hearing.  These new guys were brand new yet heavily steeped in the blues based rock of the 70s a la Free, Thin Lizzy, Rory Gallagher, and Led Zeppelin with plenty of balls and swagger to spare.  At the time, the band’s debut Rise was import only in the States but that certainly didn’t stop me from tossing out some extra $$$ just to grab a copy.  What I’d heard was that good.

The Answer consists of four lads from Northern Ireland- Paul Mahon, guitar; Cormac Neeson, vocals; Micky Waters, bassist; and James Heatley, drums.  Besides debut Rise the band has released an additional five CDs over their relatively short (well, 12 year!) career along with multiple singles, EPs, and special editions of their first two CDs.  Also during this period the band has done extensive touring, opening for the likes of Deep Purple, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC, who the boys did an extensive US run with during the Australian legends’ Black Ice tour.  Currently the band is taking a short break while singer Neeson tours behind a solo release, which is a bit more laid back and personal compared to the bootstomp featured in his day job.

As mentioned the band has six discs of strong hard rock to choose from but if I have to pick one it would be the debut, solely due to the fact that it was the first disc I’d heard from the band and a good chunk of the songs had such a strong swagger n groove that absolutely knocked me out.  Not that the other discs aren’t up to snuff-  far from it; each disc is made up of strong rocking cuts with some chances taken here and there that stretch out their skillset.  Good examples of this can be the bluesy push and pull of “Why’d You Change Your Mind” and the melodic AC/DC swing of “Tonight” found on second disc Everyday Demons, the Lenny Kravitz funk of “Leave With Nothin'” found on New Horizons, the Black Sabbath/southern rock of “Raise A Little Hell” from the album of the same name, or the dark brood of the Cultesque “Solas” and haunting “Being Begotten” from the their most recent album Solas, an incredibly diverse and rootsier album that’s far removed from the heavy rock found on other albums but deserves a “good on you mate” for challenging themselves and stepping out of their comfort zone.

As a whole, if you dig bands with strong vocals (Neeson can belt with the best of them), great riffs, excellent songs, and a solid rhythm section then take a chance on The Answer.  First few albums lean to the heavier side of things on the rock scale but each album shows a bit of growth from the previous.  I must admit that other than the title cut I’ve not given Solas much of a chance, although I feel a rejiggering of the track order might have been better as the second half of the album feels much stronger than the first half (although it’s tough to live up to that absolutely mesmerizing title cut).  Overall though, this is an outstanding young band and you can’t go wrong with any album you may choose.  Looking forward to what’s in the future from these lads!

Hittin’ up the first ten songs on shuffle mode to review on the iPod.  Let ‘er rip!

“Stop Crying Your Heart Out” Oasis, Heathen Chemistry

Another total winner from the Gallagher brothers, a little bit lighter on the symphonic moments with more tinkly piano at the intro but tossing in the strings midway through.  Production is nice and Beatley as always, not quite as dense as past albums but builds exceptionally well with Liam’s Lennonisms at full force ahead of a beautiful melody with brother Noel adding some decent, distorted backing vocals.  One of those lighter waving, singalong cuts that these guys did exceptionally well-  time to patch things up boys and regale us with more classics like these!

“Por Todos (Percussion Intro)” I Mother Earth, Earth Sky & Everything In Between

One of my favorite unknown bands from the 90s that still releases the occasional new tune and tours occasionally, I Mother Earth is one of those bands that I could yell from the mountaintops and say…  LISTEN TO THIS!  However “Por Todos” just gives a small taste of the band, that being a percussive groove similar to what you may hear on a Santana or world music album.  How these guys mix such tribal whomp with their brand of hard rock certainly bends the ear but on this cut you have to settle for that whomp (that is, no guitars!)  Sorry, no video 😦

“The Song Remains The Same” The Jason Bonham Band, In The Name Of My Father-The Zepset

Like father like son…  Jason Bonham grew up at the Led foot of his father, often hopping up on the kit to play pre-show so his old man could check out the mix at the front of the house.  Here the younger Bonham rips it up with his band of stellar players, not quite an exact copy but certainly in the ballpark of the mighty Zep.  Bassist John Smithson gives a capable performance as John Paul Jones, Chas West does a rough ‘n tumble Plant, but the stars here are Jason’s skin bashing and the nimble fingerwork from guitarist Tony Catania.

“Shards Of Ice” Ozric Tentacles, Tantric Obstalces

Working at a record store and getting to run through promo discs was always a treat and gave me my first exposure to the oddly mesmerizing and spaced out sounds from this eccentric English pychedelic/progressive/electronica outfit.  “Shards Of Ice” comes from one of their earliest cassette only releases in the mid-80s (eventually released on CD years later) and is a truly out there mix of spacy jazz funk; think Tony Williams’ playing on Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way mixed with Bernard Edwards’ from Chic on bass playing with someone like Gary Numan or Tony Carey on keys.  Far out, man…

“Only The Lonely” The Motels, Living In Oblivion: The 80s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

Those that missed growing up in the early 80s and catching the heyday of MTV sure did miss out on a lot.  “Only The Lonely” was one of those videos I can remember seeing pretty frequently, vocalist Martha Davis certainly a strong visual element but its really the hook that pulls you in as it wraps you in its warm embrace and allows for the memorable chorus to shine.  Davis gives a coolly measured and heartfelt vocal, not relying on over the top vocalization or flights of fancy but fully content to use a huskier tone to let the lyric speak for itself. Nice sax solo too.

“Doctor, Doctor” Michael Schenker Group, Rock Will Never Die

Good Lord do I love Michael Schenker’s playing…  really it’s just that buttery smooth tone he’s got; one minute just some sweet melodic phrasing, next minute a flurry of steamy notes that’ll knock you for a loop.  This version of his former band UFO’s “Doctor Doctor” starts off nice and smooth, that well known keyboard line rolling out and Schenker mesmerizes for a brief moment until the full band kicks in for a cheery yet somewhat speedy romp. Cool co-vocal featuring MSG’s Gary Barden with Scorpions’ Klaus Meine (another band Schenker has history with).

“I Ain’t Gonna Take It This Time” Hall and Oates, Best Of Hall and Oates: Starting All Over Again 

Interesting listening to Hall & Oates in the context of the times; “I Ain’t Gonna Take It This Time” is given the full production treatment- heavy on the drums, layers of keyboards, and overall BIG everything.  Still, the pull of anything from Daryl and John is the white boy soul and the hooks; this song strong as always vocally and the hook is there but not quite as memorable as some of the more fun singalong tunes from the early to mid 80s (this cut came out in 1990 and it sounds like it).  Doesn’t quite groove as much as it should but I’ll blame the “everything but the kitchen sink” production.

“Wounds Will Last Within” Symphorce, Godspeed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMyQ5aEuyJE

German progressive metal band Symphorce ups the ferocity compared to fellow countrymen like Halloween or Primal Fear, definitely leaning a bit more to the groove metal of Pantera mixed with bits of Black Label Society crunch with a cleaner yet still aggressive approach.  “Wounds Will Last Within” is a cool pounder, certainly lots of squeals ‘n pinch harmonics that would make Zakk Wylde proud and some Dimebag stomps tossed in for good measure but pushes more to Testament heights come solo time.

“Don’t Let It End” Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Marching Out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuqTpXWnLOU

If you’d never heard the name Yngwie Malmsteen and you heard this song for the first time you might think this was the Jeff Scott Soto show.  His vocal is pretty dominant in the mix, capably reaching various nooks and crannies during the first minute as he subtly croons through various registers for the first minute before the song takes off into Rock Land.  Oddly enough YJM is fairly reserved on this one, seemingly content to let the vocalist have most of the spotlight for the first couple of minutes before knocking out a few liquid, fleet fingered runs to show everyone who’s boss.

“Jade’s Song/Dreams In The Dark” Badlands, Live In Toronto

So there’s a boot floating around of this show, possibly taken from this YouTube video that someone uploaded from a band that shone brightly for the briefest of times before fizzling out due to some unfortunate band drama in the early 90s.  Just some killer musicianship, this live version featuring Eric Singer on drums which puts it right around 1989 or 1990 if memory serves (Singer eventually leaving for Alice Cooper/KISS money).  At any rate, one of my all time favorite concert memories is seeing these guys around this time-  Jake E Lee on guitar and Ray Gillen on vocal were a formidable tag team.  RIP Ray…

Pick of the post goes to “Only The Lonely” but I gotta go with “Jade’s Song/Dreams In The Dark” at number two and “Doctor Doctor” a nose behind for third spot.

Cincinnati radio station WEBN’s Labor Day fireworks are always considered THE “end of summer” party in the Tri-State area and the bash may very well have been the first place I’d ever heard this absolutely turbocharged cover from the great Pat Travers.  This scorching live version of the Little Walter original comes from the classic Live! Go For What You Know and is arguably the song for which Travers is most known.  The album, released in the late 70s, featured singer/guitarist Travers, fellow guitarist Pat Thrall, drum maestro Tommy Aldridge, and bassist Mars Cowling funk rockin’ through a blazing set of seven strong originals but it’s the party rock vibe and riotously fun, audience call and response singalong chorus that was the hit on album rock stations of the day.

Nah, hold on a sec…  it’s not just the party rock vibe and audience participation that makes this song a winner-  just listen to the DRIVE and ENERGY!  That roar from the crowd followed by the rattling Tommy Aldridge intro is like a jolt to the heart, a raucous bit o’ fire that flames on with raging intensity as Travers and Thrall riff it out and Cowling gets all funktastic with some popping grooves.  While Travers primes the crowd for participation, the band glides along with the groove until escalating the tension during the slammin’ stop/start section of the verse, crashing power chords after each line of verse then goosing the tempo again before the classic “Boom Boom! Out go the lights!” of the chorus.  Just some killer push and pull tension during the verse, hitting it hard in spots and greasy in others.

Not only are we looking at some fab band interplay here but Travers and Thrall are absolute monsters.  The riffs are alive and the groove is hot, the guitar tones are a mix of dirty one moment and slinky at others, and the solos are overdriven goodness that were unlike anything at the time short of some dude named Eddie Van Halen.  Travers/Thrall were more molten hot overdrive in their funk rock than, say the quicksilver greasiness of Aerosmith; maybe more akin to the mean town blues of Johnny Winter and Rick Derringer (definitely similar to Winter’s rock holler vocal) or the rawness of Ted Nugent.  So for your next party that needs a swift kick in the pants, toss this one on to intensify the fun!