The Quireboys – This is Rock ‘n’ Roll II (Re-Release)

The Quireboys are currently celebrating their 30th Anniversary year which in wedding terms would be their Pearl Anniversary. Life on the road may well be like a marriage, they broke up for a time tried different ventures then got back together and made the marriage work, despite some line-up changes, the core duo Spike on vocals and Guy Griffin on guitar, have maintained a harmonious partnership since reforming in 2001 with Keith Weir on keyboards, and Paul Guerin joining the fold in 2003. They arranged an anniversary show at The Half Moon in Putney, the venue where they first played all those years ago, which sold out within hours so an additional date was added and they have done an extensive 30th Anniversary tour taking in North America and Europe. They have appeared at several festivals and the UK leg of the 30th Anniversary tour commences next Saturday in Buckley, North Wales. Their third album ‘This is Rock ‘n’ Roll’ was originally released in 2001 and was re-released via Off Yer Rocka last month.

Even though I’ve seen The Quireboys many times since 1990, the only album I had, until I recently added ‘Beautiful Curse’ to my collection of one, (well two but only because I have it on vinyl and CD – £1 from a charity shop) was ‘A Bit of What You Fancy’ and although I’ve heard some of the songs live, I’d never heard this album until I got the re-release to review, so technically I’m reviewing as a new release with fresh ears. If I say a song reminds me of something, it may well be something which was released later, I’m just giving you an idea of what the songs sound like. I picked up a lot of The Rolling Stones, a bit of The Beatles, Joe Cocker, The Black Crowes, not necessarily in the entire song maybe just in a riff, a beat or a chorus and with seventeen songs I’m not going to cover every one from This is Rock and Roll to There She Goes Again but here she (as in me) goes!

The title track and first track on the album This is Rock ‘n’ Roll which opens with ‘Spike. You’d better call me as soon as you get home’ is a real feel good song with a similar vibe to Rocks by Primal Scream. It’s one of those songs which makes a girl want to sprint – or totter in her 4 inch heels onto the dance floor and rock out to. (Whilst reviewing my tanned bamboo flooring has taken a pounding from my furry slippers anyway!) For the next track Show Me What You’ve Got, think something along the lines of Remedy by The Black Crowes meets The Rolling Stones’  Sympathy for the Devil. Searching has a flavour of The Black Crowes, this time Twice as Hard. Six Degrees reminds me of Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks with an added country vibe. C’mon an upbeat one with a Jerry Lee Lewis’ Great Balls of Fire meets Slade’s Cum on Feel the Noize vibe.  Taken for a Ride was the strangest mix of all in The Osmonds meet Joe Cocker I’m thinking Love Me for a Reason meets Joe’s, cover of The Beatles, With A Little Help From My Friends. Turn Away has some elements of Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones and then more Stones in Its Alright this time think of a Get Back by The Beatles start merging into Brown Sugar meets Jumping Jack Flash. The last track Never Let Me Go is very similar to The Quireboy’s own Twenty Seven Years which is on their 2013 album Beautiful Curse. ‘This is Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is classic Quireboys with a mixture of ballads, faster songs, great riffs and keyboards and Spike’s Rod Stewart style gravelly vocals. If you didn’t get this first time around then get it now. It gets a well deserved five stars and the highlight track, for me, has got to be the title track This is Rock ‘n’ Roll with Show Me What You Got and It’s Alright being worthy runners up!

The re-release has four bonus tracks which are tracks from The Quireboy’s debut album ‘A Bit of What You Fancy’ re-recorded by the current line-up. They don’t vary wildly from the originals but why ruin a classic formula? There is a fault on the first of these in that Hey You starts abruptly with the first few seconds having been cut off somewhere in production. My biggest complaint is the missing ‘Dirty Device’ from 7 O’Clock, it’s the same song but the words ‘(She got hold of my) dirty device’ are masked by a dirty laugh! That is my favourite Quireboys lyric and I go to sing along every time, a dirty laugh isn’t the same! That in itself doesn’t affect the rating. The missing five seconds would bring the overall rating down to four and a half stars, but we don’t do things by halves at PlanetMosh so five it is! If it gets re-pressed or for fans buying downloads then they need to sort this out and maybe send anyone who has already purchased it an MP3 to include the missing intro to Hey You because other than that it’s a Pearl! UK based fans can see The Quireboys at a venue near them from next week!

Track List:

1. This is Rock ‘n’ Roll
2. Show Me What You Got
3. Searching
4. Six Degrees
5. C’mon
6. Seven Days
7. Taken for a Ride
8. Coldharbour Lane
9. Turn Away
10. To Be
11. Enough for One Lifetime
12. Its Alright
13. Never Let Me Go

Band Members on the 2001 Release:

Spike (Vocals)
Guy Griffin (Guitar)
Luke Bossendorfer (Guitar)
Martin Henderson (Drums/Percussion)
Nigel Mogg (Bass)

Also:
Kevin Savigar (Keyboards)

2014 Bonus Tracks

14. Hey You 2014
15. Misled 2014
16. 7 O’Clock 2014
17. There She Goes Again 2014

Current Band Members on the bonus tracks:

Spike (Vocals)
Guy Griffin (Guitar)
Keith Weir (Keyboards)
Paul Guerin (Guitar)

Album Artwork Concept – Jonni Davis

Design and Artwork – Dan Seago

Links: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quireboys

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheQuireboys

Webiste: http://www.quireboys.com/