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- Released: August 2008
- Rating: 8/10
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Moody blues Doors style.
Golden Animals have regurgitated the sound and mood of doom rockers The Doors, with some class and style – it doesnt end there.
Donning gear like Devendra Banhart, hairy Baltimore-born guitarist Tommy Eisnerand Swedish born songbird/drummer Linda Beercroft re-located from Brooklyn andholed up on a ranch in the Californian desert to get the ambiance for this retrosounding album. A bold, but worthwhile move.
Having travelled extensively in America and Europe, theyve masterfully pooledtheir wanderlust images, nailing them in the desolate environment and 115 degreeheat. Its more than obvious greats like Jim Morrison, (Eisners a vocalreincarnation of Morrison), and the Rolling Stones, Cream (even The LovinSpoonful come to mind), have been a massive influence.
Ride Easy. Theres also the scattered and immaturedrum bashing of Meg White, highlighted on hippified My My My. Light electricstrumming and military drumming precursors a blues swing for the shifting andoften menacing Steady Roller, Doors-like.
Theres a cool swagger on offer for the laidback Queen Mary, influencedby 1930s blues, until it lunges into a whopping romp with cymbals and skins beingpounded. Open with a slinky and mellow tone the delightful Ride Easy nods tolate 60s psychedelia. With a thumping beat, subliminal riffs and rolling guitar licks, Try On Me is hook happy with catchy chorus and their mostcommercial effort, with Follow me Down right out of the Doors songbook,with Eisners deep tone lilting towards Morrison once again.
My Friend Bill has much the same quality, though the solo picks are morerefined. The closer, Darkness and Light retains The Doors hangdog feel,and it perfectly captures (more than any other) the baron wilderness the holed-upin. Just like the start, they leave us with a sumptuous bluesy ballad Darkness AndLight, with some deft and disciplined slide guitar honey.
A main feature of this wonderfully titled album is Eisners deep and soulfulbaritone.
File under: Not original, but a top album.
Weblink:myspace.com/goldenanimals
The full list of tracks included are :
1. The Steady Roller
2. Queen Mary (The Flop)
3. Ride Easy
4. Try On Me
5. My My My
6. Follow Me Down
7. Turn You Round (Dont Let Nobody)
8. My Friend Bill
9. I Want You To Come
10. Alice
11. Darkness And Light
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.