| CD REVIEW (This review has also been published at www.701.com) |
| LOVE AND KISSES FROM THE UNDERGROUND - HANDSOME DEVIL |
| Handsome Devil: Love and Kisses From The Underground RCA/BMG Reviewed by Diane Wells Apart from the last four, maybe five, tracks on this 11-track CD, where Handsome Devil actually proves it has some potential to be an authentic "rock" band, I really wasn't impressed with it very much. They definitely start out sounding like yet another clone of the "new rock" breed of entertainers, i.e. pissed off, bored or sexually and romantically frustrated, yet they seem incapable of expressing those feelings in a credible fashion, especially when they feel obliged to toss in the occasional "f" word to give the tracks a "jock rock" toughness that doesn't really match the lyrics. It was fairly easy for the Beatles to chant "yeah, yeah, yeah" as a background chorus in the na�ve and not yet jaded '60s, but here, especially in 'I Fall Down', it just sounds tedious. On 'Tonight', the wonderful lyrics spell out "romantic love song" all the way, and yet it's delivered by lead vocalist Danny Walker in a flat, non-melodic, monotonous drone, as are many of the other tracks. 'Samurai' contains lyrics that are actually quite clever and rhyme neatly ("...in Nagasaki, I'm drinking Saki and watching Hockey in my jockeys and I'm a Servant to Technology"), but perhaps a faster tempo (without the non-rhythmic "bam-bam" drumming would have spiced it up a bit. Drummer Keith Morgan gets into a more interesting rock'n'roll beat on the last few tracks, 'Hard Living Clean', 'Barbecue' (with a much better sounding Billie Stevens on lead vocals bemoaning his lack of popularity), and 'Bring It On', a Ramones-type punk rock anthem, which probably sums it all up with the rejoinder "Just another punk talking s**t". I must admit, though, there were some great lead guitar riffs on these three tracks. There really weren't many tracks where bass player Darren Roberts had a chance to distinguish himself. If you don't like the vocals, which didn't appeal to me personally, but you like artists such as Offspring, Sex Pistols, the aforementioned Ramones and even Elvis Costello, you�ll probably dig this CD. |
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