I have been listening to this CD pretty much daily for the last 2 weeks trying to figure out what I really think about it. This is what I really think: The London Quireboys are a better than static, occasionally touching, reasonably entertaining effort on the part of a record company to cash in on the popularity of Guns’N’Roses and L. A. Guns.

Better Than Static?
How’s that for a compliment? Well, I tend to choose my music based on whether or not it’s going to distract me when I’m working. If I find myself sitting at my desk singing along or listening to clever lyrics and not getting anything done out the CD goes until I’m doing something less taxing like cleaning out my files or talking to my husband (sh, I didn’t really say that.) Stuff like the first track and the only real hit on this CD "7 O’Clock" does not distract me in the least. "Hey it’s 7 o’clock / Time for a party / You all come up and see" is not likely to distract. Oh the guitar is enough to keep me moving around a little and the singing is raucous enough that I’m not going to slip into a coma any time soon, but I can also let the music slide in one ear and out the other. "Sex Party" is another pip that I can just let slide, but it does fulfill the requirement that every hair band have at least one song about sex. Still, we’re not talking Earth shattering, clever why haven’t-you-heard-of-them-before-now stuff here.

Occasionally Touching…
Ok, if you've read any of my music reviews you’ve probably picked up on my fondness for hair bands doing ballads. It’s Jonathan Cain’s fault. "I Don’t Love You" is up there among my very favorite hair metal ballads. Why? The details, God is in the details. The singer goes to visit an ex-girlfriend and, as she "sits there smokin’ all my cigarettes / at a table set for 3" she tells him "’I don’t love you any more’ / I was slain and shown the door." The song, which features minimal guitar and a really nice piano bit, seems to portray real pain. The singer really pulls this one out of the hat. "Roses & Rings" is a pretty nice little tune. Not as nice as "I Don’t Love You Anymore" but it features a violin (…it bears repeating.) It features a violin. And it turns into the all hailed power ballad before it quits.

Reasonably Entertaining Effort On the Part Of a Record Company To Cash In.
If you, for what ever reason, liked or own CDs by such luminaries as Great White, Guns’N’Roses, Extreme, Company Of Wolves, et al, you will probably have a home for The London Quireboys. They are purveyors of the same bluesy, grinding guitar. And they add a bit of piano (actual, dancehall-esque piano) for flavor.

Trivia
It’s worth noting for the 12 people who know who Company of Wolves is, that The Quireboys were recording their debut album at Cherokee Studios at the same time as the Company and both bands thank the other in their credits.

Julia Waters sings back up

The Quireboys also thank Howard Jones and (obliquely) Rod Steward. Rod Stewart makes sense, listening to the music, Howard Jones I’m not figuring out.

Complete song list:
1. 7 O’Clock
2. Man On the Loose
3. Whippin’ Boy
4. Sex Party
5. Sweet Mary Ann
6. I Don’t Love You Anymore
7. Hey You
8. Misled
9. Long Time Comin’
10. Roses & Rings
11. There She Goes Again
12. Take Me Home

Look ma, no track by track!


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: At Work