GHz - review added 15th July 2009
Album Review: There's Trouble Coming (2009)
For fans of: Psychedelic Bluesy Rock... and The Doors vs. Cream... vs. Frank Zappa
GHz was formed in Washington DC in the summer of 2005 by guitarist Dan Hovey, drummer John Zidar and bassist Scott Giambusso. Dan and Scott share vocal duties, although Mary Ann Redmond pops up on 'Slow Poison' for a guest appearance.
The guys have been playing together on and off for a good 25 years and list their influences as Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull, The Doors, and Blind Faith. Those influences shine through like the midday sun through a skimpy negligee.
The very first song is actually a cover of Cream's 'White Room'. It isn't a bad version, not a patch on the original, but perfectly agreeable all the same. The album as a whole is a selection of covers intermingled with some of the band's original tunes.
'There's Trouble Coming' is an original and it ain't 'alf bad. It's a moody number with a slow groove and some jazzy bass. It never really goes anywhere, but sometimes it's nice staying right where you are. 'SWLABR' is another Cream track and it's pleasant enough, although the freshly penned 'When Mars And Moon Collide' is comfortably better. It's a funky psychedelic track, again with a fat bass line, and hints at 'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In' from the musical Hair.
'Up From the Skies' is a cover of the Jimi Hendrix number, whilst 'Deserted Cities of the Heart' and 'Sitting On Top of the World' again go in the direction of Cream. 'Flimsy Burnoose' is an original track that averages out somewhere between The Doors, 10CC and Barry Manilow. It's got more personalities than a car full of schizophrenics, but in a good way.
The Cream tracks 'Those Were The Days' and 'What A Bringdown' are separated by the Dan Hovey written 'Slow Poison'. It sounds more like a Cream track than most of the Cream tracks and works well. Perhaps Cream should do an album of GHz covers...?
The original 'Reign Maker' is another cool track with a Middle-Ages feel. Think of it as a blues minstrel track and you'll be there. I could imagine the guys dressed in yokel outfits playing this in a dusty tavern whilst buxom wenches serve flagons of monastic ale to the gathered peasants. Final track 'Crystal Ship' is very Doors like, and there's a good reason for that...
There's Trouble Coming is a reasonable album that suffers from unoriginality. The songs that the guys wrote are very good, and the album itself is well played and nice to listen to, but there are simply too many covers played too closely to the original style. If GHz focused their energies on producing an album of their own compositions, it could genuinely be excellent. So, er, here's to next time...
Check out... The relative pants-ness of the album's front cover.
Track List:
1. White Room
2. There's Trouble Coming
3. Swlabr
4. When Mars and Moon Collide
5. Up From the Skies
6. Deserted Cities of the Heart
7. Sitting On Top of the World
8. Flimsy Burnoose
9. Those Were the Days
10. Slow Poison
11. What a Bringdown
12. Reign Maker
13. Crystal Ship
Artist's website(s): GHz , MySpace
