SUNDAY DROP - SPIN #81
We have made it through to another Sunday and I'm sure that you are excited for this week's Spin. The 81st Sunday drop from the R'nR with Rylo collection is 'Hollow Bones' from Californian band, Rival Sons. I get this question sometimes by fellow music lovers - "If I want bands that sound like someone back in the '60s or '70s, then I'm going to listen to them instead of these modern day artists and bands. Why should I listen to these new bands and artists?". Ok, you have a valid point, but how do you expand your musical catalogue if you play it safe all the time. I understand that you enjoy the older bands but you need to also give credit to bands that sound nostalgic but also bring their own flavour. The fact that Rival Sons can sound like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and even Prince and Soundgarden should get you all very excited for this one.
If you end up buying this one and adding it to your collection, make sure that you look up the artist's artwork from the front cover. It's titled 'Rainsong' and by Martin Wittfooth. Rival Sons would use another artwork for their next album, 'Feral Roots' and if you want to check some of them out, please click this link. One image that I like was 'Triumph and Tragedy' and maybe the band will use that artwork for another album.
I've decided to spin this one on the front room set-up - which consists of our Audio Technica turntable (AT-LP60XBT) and Marshall Woburn II speaker. The bass and clarity that the speaker outputs will make it sound as if Rival Sons are playing live in our front room. Plus I think that my dad will enjoy listening to this one for his birthday today. I'm sure that you had a nice time at lunch today.
Image: Michael Miley (Drums),Dave Beste (Bass Guitar),Scott Holiday (Guitar), Jay Buchanan (Lead Vocals)
It's time to (nicely) #dropthestylus on 'Hollow Bones' by Rival Sons and feel the blues/rock notes take over the room.
My ears pay attention to the guitar heavy riffing and hard hitting drums of opening track, 'HOLLOW BONES PT. 1'. I remember hearing them play live to the metal fans at the 2016's Black Sabbath show in Sydney. Initially, I was upset when the previous support band pulled out of the gig, but once Rival Sons started playing to the masses....I was happy because I was now introduced to another great band. I remember turning towards my sister and nodding as I mouthed to her, "These guys are great". They didn't play songs from this album but I liked it so much in fact that I went home and purchased the album that I now hold in my hands. That is the risk & reward of performing live to a crowd that might not have been expecting this soulful rock. A lot of newer Sabbath fans might forget that they started with more blues infused rock sounding albums, so choosing Rival Sons was a perfect fit. I mean, Ozzy Osbourne was on a harmonica on their first album!! It would be interesting to hear Buchanan's solid voice take on some of Sabbath's songs as I think it would sound really good. This one did make our son dance around like Mick Jagger again too.
Holiday has a catchy descending riff on 'TIED UP', that sucks you in before you get left alone walking through the darkness under a full moon, being guided along by Buchanan's vocals. The bluesy raw sounds from Beste's bass guitar and Keith Moon style drumming of Miley help paint this picture. It is probably my favourite track on the album and that is hard to say because it is a record jam packed with hits. I was lucky enough to visit South Australia for work this week and got to spend some time in Adelaide and Port Lincoln. If you have never been to visit before, then maybe add them to your travel plans, as there were some lovely spots. Whilst I was driving around for work, I managed to listen to this album quite a bit and it made the travel much more relaxing. I also put their other albums on the playlist and forgot just how much I like this band.
Up next is a song called 'THUNDERING VOICES' and from the opening riff it will surely get your hips shaking. I can only imagine the stage presence on this one when they perform live however, the clarity coming through the speaker makes me feel like I'm back at the show. Let me know what you are liking about this album as you listen to it and if you can hear their influences coming through. The softer style singing of Buchanan coming through is just as powerful as his range. I think our children are playing with their blocks in the loungin' now but they can still hear the record from where they are.
I forgot to mention that they are also helped out by keyboardist, Todd E. Ogren-Brooks and he was very enthusiastic on stage when the performed live. 'BABY BOY' has some killer lyrics, "The wolves are hungry, coming to your neighbour's door. You draw your curtains and lay silent on the floor and you learn, to forget
so you won't have regret". I feel that this is the album a lot of bands try to make or see themselves making when the decide to put on rock 'n' roll but fall short. Not Rival Sons though, they've nailed it.
'PRETTY FACE' is the final song on Side A and reminds me with the introduction of Soundgarden style music. I think there will be a lot of you that haven't heard this band before and will ask yourselves the question, "Where have I been?". It would be nice to hear an instrumental version of this album to see if it is as powerful without the lyrics. The stylus has hit the dead wax and returned back to the cradle, signaling that this is the end of Side A. Our daughter got to stay up with us on Friday night to watch a small amount of her NRL team in the preliminary final. Night Kat Kiz and I made sure to make her feel special when the Panthers scored and she was smiling so much. When she woke up in the morning, she made sure to put her Panthers jersey on over the top of her shirt because she wanted to walk around saying, "Rawr". I have two very happy Panther ladies in the house this week and hopefully they can get their win in next weekend's Grand Final. Our son still thinks that his team (and mine - Roosters) are still in the finals and I don't have the heart to tell him that we got knocked out last weekend. He still wears his jersey and beanie around cheering them on.
In contrast to everything so far on the album, the first song on Side B, 'FADE OUT' brings the pace down to a stroll. I can imagine Buchanan on stage with a low light slightly showing his face as he builds and builds on this track vocally. It's full of emotion and rawness and that is something that this band has in buckets. We had a funny moment on Saturday night at dinner time where the kids just wanted to dance. There wasn't any music playing but our son (K) yelled out, "Dance time" and we all started dancing and laughing around. Our daughter was dancing from her high chair and before we know it, she will be chatting to us more and no longer needing her high chair. They've both grown up so much and I always feel that more when I return home after traveling for work.
'BLACK COFFEE' is a cover of the song by Humble Pie and I enjoy their take on this song. It also has backing vocals (Kristen Rogers, Whitney Coleman and April Rucker) to support Buchanan's singing about that hot drink that is the world's most popular hot beverage. I feel like this song should be played through a jukebox at an American diner, while sipping on a cup of black coffee. "Way back you all know since I don't know when. See I got hungover before I was 10. You see my skin is white but my soul is black and my hot black coffee, that's where it's at". If any of you know my wife, she was the one who got me onto coffee and I remember the first one was a mocha. I pulled a face and she laughed because she knew exactly what I was experiencing. The song builds up towards the end and makes me think of James Brown commanding the stage as he struts around.
I really enjoy hearing this one with that slow drumming introduction and bassline as the crowd would be getting involved and hyped up. 'HOLLOW BONES PT. 2' is the second part of the opening track on Side A and really enjoy the wide range of musicianship that Rival Sons show over the course of this song. I hope that they come out to Sydney again and get a chance to headline themselves, as I feel in the Rock 'n' Roll scene, they are the best currently. This song is the longest on the album and I thought it was the last track but thankfully we are given one more song from Rival Sons to savour.
That last song is a slow ballad that brings a lot of emotions out in its listeners called, 'ALL THAT I WANT'. I don't think I even need to write about this track. All that I want you to do is to close your eyes and sit down to absorb the sounds of this closing song. That brings 'Hollow Bones' by Rival Sons to the end and I hope opened your eyes to another great band in the world today. "I don't care what it takes, from me to give to you. I'll do anything that you ask me to, You're all that I want, You're all that I want".
I want to feature some guest spins from family and friends over the coming months and will be reaching out for their views, in order to share them with you all (don't worry, it will be anonymous and won't use any real names). I love talking music and hearing why an album or artist gets you excited and maybe it'll even get me to add it to our R'nR collection. If you'd like to feature in the coming months, please get in contact with me through our social pages. Thanks for taking the time this week and maybe I have given you a band to add to your collection now. If you enjoyed this album then check out their other releases and see which ones you want to also add to your record shelves.
"Wolves don't lose sleep over the opinion of Sheep" - Aristotle
Until our next Spin, be Kind to people who prefer feeding the good wolf and be Kind to your Wax!
YEAR RELEASED | 2016 |
PRODUCED BY | DAMIAN TAYLOR |
LABEL | EARACHE |
PRICE RANGE | $50+AUD |
SPEED PLAYED AT | 33 1/3 RPM |
ALBUM BEFORE | GREAT WESTERN VALKYRIE (2014) |
ALBUM AFTER | FERAL ROOTS (2019) |
FURTHER LISTENING | PRESSURE & TIME (2011) |
FAVOURITE SONG | TIED UP OR FADE OUT |
RATING OUT OF 5 | 5 |
WHAT'S INSIDE THE RECORD SLEEVE | 1 X BLACK LP IN A GATEFOLD JACKET, INCLUDED RECORD SLIP AND TRACKLISTING/IMAGERY OF BAND. NIL LYRICS INCLUDED |
Favourite lyric:
"Now that I'm neck deep in this fire and that's not the least of what I would do. 'Cause your love, sweet love, is all but a burning desire and sugar you know that I burn for you" ~ Tied Up - Side A
TRACK LISTING
LP / SIDE | SONG | TRACK LENGTH |
SIDE A | HOLLOW BONES PT. 1 | 2:52 |
| TIED UP | 3:27 |
THUNDERING VOICES | 2:52 | |
| BABY BOY | 3:36 |
| PRETTY FACE | 3:23 |
SIDE B | FADE OUT | 4:49 |
| BLACK COFFEE | 5:33 |
| HOLLOW BONES PT. 2 | 6:50 |
| ALL THAT I WANT | 3:39 |
Rival Sons performing before Black Sabbath's final Sydney Show in 2016
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