Like Groovin to an Old Flame
On the day Walter Becker from Steely Dan has passed and I
have been reminded yet again of the need to get out there and see legends if
still touring [and I do have tickets for Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers in
London this October, but we shall see what happens as Becker hadn’t been
touring with the band recently], the Flamin Groovies have been played here,
their first studio release for twenty four years.
Not that the Groovies mean the same to me as Steely Dan, and
this isn’t a comparative judgement, just that I know the latter better. Indeed,
I had missed the Flamin Groovies in their ‘prime’ though they were not the
most recognised of the British Invasion era. I know when I have listened to
albums from then I have enjoyed, but I couldn’t recall.
Listening to this album with its mix of original members
[from what I read] it is a fine return and better than many who are following
that nostalgic road. Opener What the Hell’s
Going On is a solid Rolling Stones-esque number; after this, certainly next
two End of the World and Don’t Talk to Strangers, are Byrds’ echoes,
the latter having a little of Slade [well, Noddy Holder] in the performance.
The rest continues within and across these rocky and rock-ballad
poles, and some 50s even in Let Me Rock.
She Loves You really does have some
beautiful harmonies. Good guitar work too.
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