BIG MAMA SCANDAL - review added 26th October 2009
Album Review: By You (2009)
For fans of: Rock... and Bulgaria
Bulgarian rockers Big Mama Scandal started in 1991. In their time they have appeared on national TV, stormed the charts, won awards - including Bulgarian album of the year - and even got close to representing their nation in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The band, Ivo Gochev - vocals, acoustic guitar, Ivan Liubomirov - guitar, Nikolay Daradidov - bass, and Kostadin Shumarov - drums, play a lively rock 'n' roll with hints of heavy metal, disco, pop and prog. Ivo - who also writes all the songs - has a decent voice with a nice twang. He took a bit of getting used to for the first couple of run-throughs, but has grown on me since. The let down on the vocal side is the harmonizing which, unusually, is considerably weaker than the lead vocalist singing solo.
The musicianship is fine if unexceptional. Most of the album is well played, if understated.
Good moments include the fast paced opening track 'She', the surprisingly smooth title track and the dance-madness of the intro for 'All This Time'. The song itself is pants, but that opening is superb. The slow Oasis-esque balladry of 'Love' borders on anthemic, 'Two Eyes Of A Hunter' manages to be brilliantly memorable by being a tiny bit rubbish in a good way. 'Come With Me' has a surfer-dude punk charm, 'On My Own' impressively combines cool vibes, Ibiza keyboards and progressive rock into one song, last of the normal tracks 'Same Old Song' does another good take on Oasis, this time mixed with 70's rock.
Likeable album this. It isn't massively, classically brilliant, but it has a lot more charm than many 'better' albums. I'll look forward to hearing further material. With a bit more care these guys could pump out something pretty special.
Check out... The Intro for 'All This Time'. I'd like to hear an entire album sounding exactly like that!
Track List:
1. She
2. I'll Take You
3. You're My Angel
4. By You
5. My Love Is For You
6. Saturday Night
7. All This Time
8. Love
9. Another
10. Two Eyes Of A Hunter
11. Come With Me
12. Lay Down
13. On My Own
14. Same Old Song
15. Bonus:
> Two Eyes Of A Hunter
> Say You Love Me (Live '2005)
Artist's website(s): Big Mama Scandal , MySpace
