Fluke?

This cd title has many conotations attributed to it , but as to the musical content, this cd is indeed no Fluke it is in my opinion the rock cd everyone should have a copy of.
A long while in the making due to changes in the record company and line up, it delivers on all counts, ticking every box . It features tracks from the promo 5 track ep that was released earlier this year on download, different arrangements of some of the tracks, it also features tracks heard live on tour with UFO and their own headline Borderline gig last March , plus 2 tracks that I cannot wait to hear live in all their glory. The songs have the trademark catchy lyric hooks and melodies,but also huge riffs that take you back to the classic rock feel I love.
Opening with the familiar Luke growl of 'Create your world my Mother said when I was young' , the band launch into 'Take The Blame', which when first heard set the tone for the new Voodoo Six sound post First Hit For Free. Then follows the title track from the ep 'Something For You' keeping up the pace and quality, another terrific live song. 'Take Aim' is a work-around of the track that appeared also on the ep called 'Where You Want Me' which will give the crowds at gigs a good singalong, to my ears it carries a bigger sound on it. 'Like The Others Did' is a brilliant rocker , a fantastic guitar riff that hooks you from the start, Luke's vocal layered wonderfully in the track, a great band sound on this that will be a live favourite for years.

The most interesting track on here for me is 'Killer' a sole Tony Newton composition that initally when I heard it a couple of years ago was to say the least not a song I cared for, but it has been reworked and polished up with accompanying movie vocal clips at start and end to give it more gravitas. It is now the ugly duckling thats turned into a swan and I eat copious amounts of humble pie for it.

The centre piece and production number of the cd is the glorious 'Underneath My Skin' starting off slow with piano in the background, the song builds up like Mistaken/Saints & Sinners style, the Chris Jones - Deans and Matt Pearce - Gibson guitars play this track out wonderfully with Luke singing very soulfully, this song is extremely well produced with the bass and drums simmering underneath , a touch of orchestration at the end reallty give the track an epic feel to it. 'Body And Soul' has another great riff to it and it rocks along with a great groove, 'Live Again' bites into you with its choppy guitar intro, great lyrics as well
' You smash down all these walls now you can barely crawl, whereas upon my friend you're gonna live again'.

'Mountain' is another new track to me and is fastly becoming my cd favourite and sounds very radio friendly to these ears. Starting with Tony's bass line it soon settles into a great groove with the twin guitars exchanging the riff, before Grav lays down the backbeat for Lukes gentle vocals, halfway through the song launches into another gear with the guitar break before settling back down into the aforementioned groove.
'Long Way From Home' sends off the cd in grand style , this is a serious rocking track that is already a live favourite and shows everything that is good about Voodoo Six, thundering bass, skin-blistering drums, great vocals and superb twin lead guitars, and a chorus that mere mortals dream off writing.

The songwriting credits are shared between Luke, Tony and Matt and I think the whole band can be proud of making a cd of outstanding quality in difficult circumstances, high quality musicianship from Luke Purdie, Dave 'Grav' Cavill, Matt Pearce, Chris Jones and Tony Newton. The engineering , production and mixing of this cd are also top notch.

This cd is a must for any self respecting fan of classic rock music, 11 tracks of quailty that will be hard to find on another cd this year.

Having followed this group for about 8-months, after seeing them live on a number of occasions earlier in the year, I was looking forward to the album release with a slight sense of anxiety. Too many groups today flatter to deceive, with one or two goods songs and then a selection of filler tracks. Not so Voodoo Six and Fluke. It's a cracking album from start to finish. I don't much care for ascribing genres to music, but these guys are playing classic, British rock. Great guitars, drums and a base line that Lemmy would be proud of.

Still not sure? Head over to their website where you can listen to the entire streaming album. Then, come back and buy it, and then go and see them live.

There is definitely a resurgence in Britain of "traditional" rock, you know, guitar, bass, drums and a damn fine singer and this unsung band are probably as good as it gets. Much more relaxed, with better songs than the over-hyped Black Country communion, I particularly like the way that the bass especially is up front in the mix, giving them a meaty, dirty sound. I can only hope that the extensive touring these boys do gets them the acclaim they deserve, although Planet rock radio and Classic Rock Magazine seem to rate them. If they manage to get a couple of good slots on next year's festival circuit they could break through into the big time.