The music press are one of the most laughably revisionist professional bodies around, especially within the UK. When a genre comes to the end of its commercial lifespan it is seemingly not enough to acknowledge that the bands concerned no longer have the fire of their youth, or that a newer, shinier genre has superseded it; rather the UK music press have to declare that the genre has been ‘killed’ and that, anyway, it was never any good in the first place. Thus ‘nu-metal’, which was so widely championed by UK music magazines everywhere, is now written as a dark period in metal’s history by the very people who were responsible for its commercial prevalence in the first place whilst the glam-infused, sex-obsessed hard rock of Guns ‘n’ roses et al. was apparently killed by grunge for being bloated, artificial and uninteresting.
Music fans, however, have a longer memory than the magazines they dip into from time to time. They remember when Guns ‘n’ Roses could do no wrong; when Poison, Ratt and Extreme regularly topped the charts and when Aerosmith were the role models of the day, and the question inevitably arises – just because a genre is no longer commercially as popular as it was at its peak does that mean its passé and should be consigned to the dustbin of history?. The answer, for those not paying attention at the back there, is a resounding ‘no’ and leading the latest charge of the hard rock brigade you have the mighty Voodoo Vegas, a band for whom the fripperies of fashion and the artifice of the music industry are far less interesting than the irreplaceable rush that comes from plugging an electric guitar into an almighty amp and letting rip. Everything about ‘the rise of Jimmy Silver’, from the comic-book cover art and the black and white band shots to the song titles and the production reeks of the enthusiasm that fires the band and, with huge hooks embedded into every song, the album comes across as a fresh take on a familiar genre and you’re left wondering why writing radio-friendly, melodic hard rock seems to be a skill that’s virtually disappeared from the music world.
Dipping into the album you’ll find a brief, instrumental intro rapidly giving way to the solid rock blast of ‘king without a crown’, a track which mixes up solid riffing, acoustic guitars to thicken the sound and the excellently varied vocals of Lawrence Case which are two parts Axl to one part each of Scott Weiland and Chris Cornell. The sound is excellent throughout, with solid leads given plenty of space to shine, as you’d expect from a good hard rock act. Clearly each of the musicians is talented – witness the bass run at the end of the middle eight for example, and the band are super-tight making the album closer to the disciplined might of ‘use your illusion’ rather than the barely restrained chaos of ‘Appetite for destruction’. ‘Bullet’ is the sort of driving guitar rock (or should that be ‘rawk’) that Velvet Revolver delivered on their debut album coupled with a powerful sense of melody that, whilst not exactly reinventing the wheel, is refreshingly memorable. ‘No more’ kicks off in tried and tested style with the bass and drums rumbling away under a scratchy solo before hitting the main riff for a track that gives Lawrence plenty of room to exercise his talents, hitting the high notes with aplomb whilst the band adopt an insouciant stance, cigarette dangling from their lips as they unleash a solid wall of guitars. The first real surprise of the album comes on the restrained acoustic guitar work of ‘what I pay’, which introduces a countrified blues feel to the album that showcases a lighter side to the band’s high-octane approach found elsewhere and the slide guitar work is particularly sweet.
A brief, Hendrix-inspired interlude marks the half-way point of this brief album and then the band launch into ‘Mary Jane’, a sleazy gem that, by rights, should be crawling up the charts as we write. It is the highlight of the album, a fast-paced rocker that is taut, lean and possessed of a worryingly memorable chorus that you’ll find yourself singing even if you hadn’t intended to. ‘Ferry song’ is even more fun – a harmonica-laden track in the vein of ‘Bad obsession’, it seems an age since any band were kicking out these kind of jams, whilst the soulful backing vocals let you know the band is having a blast while they’re at it. ‘Lost in confusion’ is the obligatory ballad and it’s well done although, confusingly enough Lawrence sounds perilously close to Brian Molko of Placebo fame on the track. Nonetheless it’s an interesting change of pace and vibe and it feels genuinely vulnerable, a rare quality in ballads, particularly in this cynical age. A furious slide riff propels the loose groove of ‘so unkind’ into the stratosphere, the band obviously keen to bow out on a heavy note, and the grand finale of ‘Jimmy Silver’ does a fine job of closing the album with that punky hard rock vibe that made early G’n’R so cool to listen to.
Voodoo Vegas are a band that clearly don’t give a flying fuck about convention or fashion. The overriding feeling is that this is a band that are having a great deal of fun playing the music they love and, hopefully, picking up an audience along the way. The songs are short, snappy and well written, not to mention varied, and the introduction of various guest musicians to fill out the sound on certain tracks only adds to the sense that this is a band with ambition to bring the rock ‘n’ roll party to as many people as possible. ‘The rise of Jimmy Silver’ is a memorable, often exciting and spirited release – watch this space Voodoo Vegas could well be huge.
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