IZZY STRADLIN & THE JU JU HOUNDS
This is rock'n'roll, plain and simple. Straight ahead, guitar
boogie, rock'n'roll heavily influenced by the idols --Johnny
Thunders and the Rolling Stones. This is not the sleazy,
twisted hard rock GNR was famous for, no. This is good time
rock and roll with elements from the '50's and the '70's
--fender amps, slide guitar action, and even a Hammond organ
that fits in nicely.
Izzy's back up band, the Ju Ju Hounds (what a cool name),
are a group of fine musicians. Jimmy Ashhurst plays the
bass, Charlie "Chalo" Quintana on the sticks, and Rick Richards
plays the second guitar. There's a lot of awesome slide
guitar throughout this album, played by Rick-- the best
slide guitar I've heard this side of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
I've read a few "professional" reviews of this CD that said
Izzy can't sing. While not the best of rock singers, Izzy
can carry a tune and stay in key... he actually sounds like
a young Keith Richards, with a too-many-cigarettes raspiness
that adds a nice edge. He doesn't try to get fancy, he just
sings the words, and does an adequate job at it. His lyrics
are nothing special - kind of forgettable actually- but
this album isn't about deep, heavy lyrics, it's about the
music, man.
While not a spectacular CD, this does contain some good
songs. The highlights are "Somebody Knockin" (a good time
rocker), "Shuffle it All" (nice melody, catchy verse), the
straight ahead rocker "Train Tracks" (this is the one song
that sounds like GNR), and "Take a Look at the Guy" (written
by none other than Ronnie Wood, who also sang vocals on
this track). Izzy also revisits his punk rock roots with
his one punk tune "Pressure Drop", and pays homage to the
'50's with "Cuttin' the Rug". This is indeed a nice collection
of songs. The production on this album is nice and crisp
sounding, and as an album it reminds me of the Rolling Stones
"Exile on Main Street," which is one of the best compliments
I can give a band.
Izzy knows what he's doing here. This is the music he loves
--good time, straight ahead rock and roll-- no bloated egos
or heavy drug trips here! My hat's off to Izzy for doing
what he loves, and for not being in this biz just for the
money. Why else do you think he dropped out of one of the
biggest hard rock bands of the last decade?
If you're looking for a continuation of GNR, this ain't
it! But if you want quality good time rock'n'roll ala the
Stones, check it out.
117 DEGREES
The fragments of Guns n Roses continue to blossom while
Axl Rose labors for a window of opportunity that has surely
passed by already. Fellow outcast Duff McKagan grabbed the
right life raft by signing on to play bass with Izzy but
the real star here is ex-Georgia Satellite Rick Richards,
whose charismatic guitar playing and gruff vocals fills
all the gaps with just the right amount of irreverent bar
room punch. Where Stradlin's previous outing with the Ju
Ju Hounds sounded like the great lost Ron Wood record (like
his, Stradlin's thin vocals are an acquired taste), 117
Degrees shows a little more variety and polish and leaves
the door open for any number of new directions.
The songs themselves are okay, tales of past excesses, stock
cars and life's journeys. Musically they run the gamut from
mid-tempo acoustic rock ("Good Enough") to y'alternative
("Gotta Say" - a nice poke at Axl) to the bluesy "Bleedin".
Richards' greasy gutbucket playing shines on "Memphis" and
"Old Hat", and "Here Before You" echoes the Gin Blossoms
and the country side of Rockpile.
Balancing acoustic and electric rock, there are many nice
moments, but nothing that jumps out and demands airplay.
Unfortunately, that probably means that 117 Degrees will
satisfy fans but not bring any more converts into the fold,
and that's a shame. Izzy deserves better.
RIDE ON
After two awesome critically acclaimed but poor selling
albums, former Guns N' Roses guitarist/songwriter Izzy Stradlin
has been relegated to cutting records in Japan in order
to keep rockin'. Although, considering that the great Michael
Monroe (ex-Hanoi Rocks) just put out a stellar Japan-only
album, this may not be a bad thing. Imagine it? No stupid,
flashy American A&R guys tellin' you what to do. No three-piece
suit agents stickin' their noses in your affairs. And no
phony radio promo geeks tellin' you how bad they need a
hit to work your shit. Must be nice.
And so, what is the result of this seemingly relaxed atmosphere
and creative freedom? A great straight up bluesy rock n'
roll album in the tradition of Izzy's heroes: the Stones,
the Faces, and Chuck Berry. Backed by Gun buddy Duff McKagan
and former-Georgia Satellite Rick Richards, and Duff's Loaded
drummer Taz, this ten-song affair is a no-frills, whiskey
soaked, rock n' roll party. The songs swagger between Tom
Petty-style rockers like the title track, ''California''
and '' Highway Zero,'' to blues-based romps like ''Primitive
Girl'' and ''Hometown.'' Sure, there's a couple of acoustic
ballads, ''Needles'' and ''The Groper, thrown in to balance
the rock, but mostly, this is a guitar rock album through
and through. The highlight of this self-produced album is
the epic ''Spazed.'' This trippy rocker takes it's cue from
Get Your Wings -era Aerosmith (in fact, didn't they actually
have a song called ''Spaced?'') with a nod to Ace Frehley's
''Ozone.'' A truly tasty song, indeed.
Look, Izzy's singing may not be a lot better than Keith
Richards or Ronnie Wood, and the songs are, for the most
part, based on the same bar room rock riffs you've heard
a million times before, but that's not the point. There
is a severe shortage of straight ahead rock n' roll here
in the new millennium, so we (the pure rockers of the world)
have to support the few artists out there who do it right.
Izzy is one of these cigarette smoking, guitar slingin.
heroes.
Izzy has still got it.
RIVER
Make no mistake about it, former Guns N' Roses guitarist/songwriter
Izzy Stradlin is a rock n' roller. Sure, the Gunners may
have been a hard rock band, and may have shared the bills
with many-a metal band, and even wore their fair share of
hairspray back in the day, but Izzy is a straight up rocker
in the vein of Keef Riff-Hard, Ronnie Wood and ol' school
Joe "Fuckin'" Perry. His post-Guns band The Ju Ju Hounds
made one of the best albums on the '90s, though the effort
was genuinely ignored by radio and MTV, despite his worldwide
fame and an Axl Rose sidekick. You, see rock ain't really
been a top seller since the early '80s and while the Stones
may pack stadiums, even they have tough time selling albums
like they used to. These days it takes writing cheesy power
ballads like Aerosmith or reinventing your self like Bon
Jovi to stay in the modern rock game. But Izzy refuses to
play the game, sticks to his Guns and does what he does
best despite the trends and musical climate of the hour
and River is proof positive of his stick-to-itiveness.
From the opening guitar blast of "Jump In Now" it is clear
as to who the real songwriter in Guns N' Roses was. Axl
might have been the voice and the image, and Slash may have
had the fiery trademark licks, but Izzy was the true tune
craftsman. While the vibe here is a bit more laid back than
the "Out Ta Get Me" punk-metal of prime Guns, the spirit
or reckless rock n' roll is here in full force. "Head On
Out" sounds like it could be right off the Ju Ju Hounds
debut, with its bluesy cocksure swagger and Black Crowes
boogie. It's a style that fits Izzy well. Likewise, "What
I Told You" and the title are mid-tempo classic rock sounding
numbers that could be right off any peak Tom Petty effort
or Ron Wood solo album. "Get Away" picks up the tempo a
bit with some choice tinkling from former Stones/Faces piano
master Ian McLagan. "Underground" throws in some tasty riffing
from Izzy's longtime collaborator, former Georgia Satellite/Ju
Ju Hound axeslinger Rick Richards, while Izzy's former Guns
runner Duff McKagen lays down some solid bass work throughout
the entire affair. Izzy even tosses in some Clash-like white
reggae on "Shall We Walk" and "Run In" just to show ya he's
got some black soul under that black nail polish. On "Feelin'
Alright" he breaks out the ol' acoustic for some relaxed
strummin' as Richards tosses off some slippery slide work.
Sure, Izzy may not be the most dynamic lead singer out there,
but he gets the job done, keeps it simple and sounds damn
good on every track. Like I said f you dig cats like Woodie,
Keef and the main man himself, Dylan, then his rusty vocal
style won't throw ya for a loop. Quite frankly, it's a welcome
change of pace from Axl's shrill warbling, as is evident
on the lone new Guns track, 1999's "Oh My God." I guess,
no one really wants to play with Axl again but considering
Izzy and Duff are already jamming together, would it be
too much to ask if they'd team up with Slash. Now that be
a fuckin' killer band!!!! With Izzy's songwriting abilities
and Slash's rappin' leads, you'd have one helluva monster
rock outfit, for sure. One can only hope.
ON DOWN THE ROAD
One year after the release of his rock-solid record, "River",
Izzy Stradlin is back with the follow-up titled "On Down
The Road". This trip finds Izzy digging deeper into his
roots and dealing with some personal issues (i.e., marital
woes). This Stradlin record doesn't have anything that will
cause the listener to do a double-take, wondering whether
the record distributor accidentally slipped a non-Izzy tune
on to his record (see "Morning Tea", "Surf Roach", "Trance
Mission", "Shall Walk", etc.). This time around Stradlin
sticks closer to the types of songs that made him and his
former band one of the most important acts to ever hit the
rock n' roll scene. Of course the record can easily be described
as "Stonesy" but one will find much more Chuck Berry than
his previous two records ("River" and "Ride On"). Also,
for those of you who only buy Izzy's stuff because of his
association with his former band you'll be happy to find
some gems that will rekindle what it was like hearing some
of the better "UYI" and "Lies" material for the first time.
To sum it up, Izzy has put out yet another very good, easy-to-listen-to
record that will no doubt please his fans and anyone who
has a taste for the Stones, Chuck Berry, or southern rock.
Even fans of Izzy's former band will have something to enjoy.
I, myself, am very pleased with this set.
LIKE A DOG
Rock and roll. While often derided as a one-dimensional
and tired genre, there can be few things to match it at
its sleazy, life-affirming best. And rock ‘n’ roll is rarely
better, or sleazier, than on that legendary debut album
of Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction.
Depending on to whom one listens, the primary instrumental
architect for that classic was one Izzy Stradlin. Stradlin
who, due to the band’s infinite personal conflicts, was
replaced by Gilby Clarke in 1991, has since embarked on
a lengthy solo career.
The most recent chapter in this career is Like a Dog, recorded
in 2003, though it didn’t see the light of day until a 2005
online petition resulted in internet availability. And,
as one would expect from a rocker who was mainstream before
Grunge was, this is the kind of good time rock ‘n’ roll
that makes me wish I still drank whiskey. And not the proper,
single malt stuff, either: this music is pure Jack Daniels.
So this is a workout in post-Punk (though obviously not
Post Punk), pre-Grunge rock, wherein the songs have that
pace and bite of any self-respecting rocker who grew up
while The Ramones were doing the rounds. Granted, Stradlin
was more on the traditional Stones/Led Zep/Alice Cooper
side of things, but the Punk osmosis is clear from the attack
of Appetite for Destruction.
Often, I criticise music for not pushing things forward
enough, for being too retro-for-the-sake-of-it. Or, in the
words of Maynard James Keenan, ‘fuck retro anything’. I
dunno, though. I have a soft spot for Izzy.
Quite apart from being a primary cog in my favourite album
of the 1980s, his style of rock is really quite ageless.
Based in a time after the Punk explosion made most older
rock sound positively prehistoric (though clearly not all
of it – even bands the punks hated, like Led Zep and Sabbath,
had punk-as-fuck ‘Communication Breakdown’s and ‘Paranoid’s),
but before capturing the zeitgeist made you look silly a
few years later (Ratt? Coal Chamber? Orgy?!), this is essentially
distilled rock essence.
It’s not going to change my life anytime soon, nor am I
going to declare Izzy the best thing ever. However, this
album really entertains me for its duration and, in this
age in which poseurs are more prevalent in rock than any
time since at least the early 90s, there is something to
be said for authenticity. Why is this above the High On
Fire album? Doesn’t numb me like that one does by about
track seven.
MIAMI
... coming soon ...
|
