KEEL - review added 14th January 2010
Album Review: Streets of Rock & Roll (2010)
For fans of: Heavy Rock... and Saxon with a twist
Keel is a band of yore if ever there was one. With a couple of million album sales they were reasonably big two and a half decades ago. Their last album, Keel VI: Back in Action, was released in 1998, and before that you're looking at the late 1980's.
Streets of Rock & Roll - featuring original members Marc Ferrari and Bryan Jay on guitars, Dwain Miller on drums, main-man Ron Keel on vocals, plus new boy Geno Arce on bass - sees the band releasing twelve brand new songs.
The sound is a good solid heavy rock that mixes Saxon, Winger, a bit of Motley Crue and more. Keel's biggest song back in their heyday was 'The Right To Rock'. The majority of the material on this album blows that song out of sight. That's not to say this album is perfect, but there are certainly more than enough good moments.
Ron's voice is as rough as a hedgehog's toilet brush, but he heads firmly in the direction of character rather than poor quality. There's a sublime muscle-bound vibe to the noise he emits, and I really like his tone. He gives the music a lively, uncomplicated feel that's a real panacea to a lot of the overproduced music that comes out nowadays. Make no mistake, Streets of Rock & Roll has a beautifully bright and clear sound, and it's totally devoid of that stuff that falls from the rear end of male cattle.
Good songs? They actually all have something to offer. I wouldn't go as far as to say any of them are exceptional, but they are all fist-pumpingly enjoyable. The title track is a few steps ahead, as is 'Come Hell Or High Water', 'No More Lonely Nights', the Boston-esque 'Looking For A Good Time' and 'Gimme That'. It's rustic stuff, but there's nowt wrong with that.
Overall this is an enjoyable album. It's a decent addition to the Keel discography and instantly makes them modern and relevent...to those with a penchant for the past.
Check out... The macho feel of it all. This is MAN ROCK!
Track List:
01. Streets Of Rock & Roll
02. Hit The Ground Running
03. Come Hell Or High Water
04. Push & Pull
05. Does Anybody Believe
06. No More Lonely Nights
07. The Devil May Care (But I Don’t)
08. Lookin’ For A Good Time
09. Gimme That
10. Hold Steady
11. Live
12. Brothers In Blood
Label: Frontiers Records
Artist's website(s): Keel , MySpace
