Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
...too much awe, not enough rock..., 9 April 2008
A few years ago it seemed as though rock and roll was returning to save us from the wishy washy wastelands of Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Embrace and their legions of emotional rock followers. I say emotional, I mean despairingly dull. But then, the battered purveyors of gut clenchingly powerful rock began to emerge, shaking off the icy shackles of corporate rock.
We had Jet, who managed a couple of hits before turning itno a turgid Oasis tribute band on their most recent album, there was The Glitterati who promised much but have vanished into the netherworld of second album 'preparation' and my favourites The Mooney Suzuki, who combined the power of rock with the look of The Banana Splits. However, the ones who seemed likely to succeed were Young Heart Attack. They seemed to have it all. The look, the songs, the trendy record label. Even the hairier denizens of rock and roll, me included, were suitably impressed when they took on the thankless task of opening for Motorhead on a UK tour. They were so rock and roll, they even got Lemmy from Motorhead to sing on their cover of the AC/DC gem, 'Get It Hot'. And it doesn't get more rock and roll than that. Mind you, with an attractive young girl in the band, the chances of him not agreeing were slim
Having seen them first on the Motorhead tour, I was hammering on the doors of the record shop the next day to grab a hold of their "Mouthful Of Love" debut, and a mighty fine beast it was. But then it all started to go horribly wrong. The album didn't set the charts alight and then bass player Steven T Hall announced that the band had split. Just another band who never made it. But then two years passed by and all of a sudden Young Heart Attack were back. With a new rhythm section, but back nonetheless.
Now we have "Rock And Awe", the brand new album, and the first to see singer Jennifer Stephens involved in the writing. And, it's not as good as it was first time around. To be fair, they've stuck to their manifesto of three minute rock anthems, replete with choruses of "I'm gonna knock your walls down", but there isn't an out and out killer tune that's going to rock the dancefloor down at the local rock night. They have tried to advance their sound on the druggy Jump Into The Picture and Good Love, but they just sound like latter day Oasis out-takes. Which is a very bad thing.
But there are also some very good things. The opening, title track is an absolute peach of a song, full of shimmering seventies hard rock. And when they stick to what they do best, then it's an absolute delight. For when they rock, then they really roll. There is half a very good album in here, but it left me wanting more. Maybe I'm too one dimensional when it comes to my fill of rock, but sticking to the one tune never did AC/DC any harm. Maybe Young Heart Attack should learn from the masters.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Austin's Finest Discover Glam Rock!, 4 April 2008
Let's make one thing clear immediately-it's great to have Young Heart Attack back, both live and on record. I love this band and have seen them seven times in total, six times at Bristol's Louisiana (official capacity 120) and they have played brilliantly every single time. On record, Mouthful of Love was an almost perfect debut that rocked from start to finish and remains one of my all time favourite albums. I was genuinely saddened to hear of YHA's premature demise but surprised and elated when the news came out that they were back together again, with a UK tour and a new album to boot! Their most recent gig at the Louisiana was another blistering set of sweaty rock 'n' roll as expected. Now on to the new album, Rock and Awe.
The good news is that YHA have not taken the easy option by simply repeating the tried and tested formula of Mouthful of Love. Rock and Awe sounds very different, with vocalist Jennifer Stephens much more to the fore than on the album's predecessor. The production is also markedly different from Mouthful of Love, resulting in a trashy, glammy sound similar to that of Sweet and Suzi Quatro in 1972. This is no bad thing and, along with regular reminders of the great Cheap Trick thrown in, makes for a varied and interesting sound throughout.
The not so good news is that, at times, the quality of the songs lets the album down. I read somewhere that Jennifer Stephens contributed to the songwriting for the first time but whether that is the reason for the inconsistency in terms of quality I do not know. As for the songs themselves, opener Rock and Awe gets the album off to a belter and we are right back into YHA at their glorious, Mouthful of Love style best. Hell on Earth immediately follows and keeps the momentum going nicely. Munki has a real Cheap Trick feel to it and carries on the good work. This is then followed by the outstanding Runaway, with Jennifer Stephens' vocals playing a big part in the song's success, along with it's infectious hooks. So far so good and at this point you're thinking that YHA have come up with a second offering to easily match their debut. It is here, however, that the album begins to falter in terms of song quality. Jump Into the Picture is a slow paced rocker with plenty of hooks but too reminicient of tedious latter day Oasis for my liking. I Love This Town is a bit of a plodder but does have a melodic chorus and some great guitar sounds from Chris "Frenchie" Smith. Vacant Love is played well but sounds like filler, whereas Jackboot Goons picks things up once again in terms of hooks and is likely to get better with each listen. The heavily pop influenced Welcome to My World sounds like YHA meet S Club 7 so best to move on. The penultimate song, Drums of Revolution, gets things nicely back on track and reminds me once again of mid-eighties Cheap Trick. Finally we have the slow burning Good Love, with Robert Plant like vocals to start it off and an anthemic chorus to see the album out.
Rock and Awe is a good album by anyone's standards and well worth spending a few quid on. I've played it a few times now and, like most quality records, it's sounding better with every listen. It's not as immediate or consistent as it's predecessor, Mouthful of Love, but there is more than enough to satisfy most diehard YHA fans and to hopefully attract new interest in the band also. So, whilst not quite the all conquering comeback we might have hoped for, it is far from the disappointment it might have been after the high standards set by Mouthful of Love. To sum things up, Rock and Awe will make a welcome addition to any rock fan's record collection and, as I said at the start, it's great to have Young Heart Attack back with us. Let's hope they stick around for a lot longer this time around!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
HELL YEAH, 12 April 2008
I fell in love with this band after hearing their debut Mouthful of Love and its in my top ten favourites! Cracking album!!
This second album from the Austin, Texas Rockers has taken me a few listens to get into and now I love it! it is a step on from the first album and a natural progression I feel. Jump into the picture really grooves, its addictive. Both the title track and Hell on earth are straight down the middle Rock n Roll songs that would grace any AC-DC album, Munki and I love this Town will make you want to jump in your car pump up the volume and cruise.
Chris and Jen's vocals are amazing and really compliment each other,Frenchie's guitar work is insane! add real rock drums and thunderingly groovy bass lines and you have a collection of Rock tracks that no fan of classic or modern Rock will fail to love.
YHA should be massive, deserve to be massive and put to shame some of the so called superstars of today's Rock world!! BUY THIS ALBUM, BUY THEIR FIRST ALBUM, TRUST ME YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED!
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