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Issue
#116
Mar. '09
Once again, New Haven, CT’s heart beats proudly
as it delivers loud original Rock-n-Roll to the masses who sometimes think of
it as extinct. The Ivory Bills debut album is a
hip-shakin’, bone-rattlin’, Boogie-Woogie inspired throw down of an amazing
good time. This trio of New Haven music stalwarts, James Velvet (bass, vocals), Johnny Java (drums, percussion)
and John L. (guitars, vocals), lays down songs of
huge guitar licks with a hot-stompin’ Rhythm that has a pulse of nonstop fun
matched with excellent vocal interpretations of classic Rock subjects, and then
some.
Rhythmic Jet Ear
Games (a loose translation of a European reviewer’s assessment)
opens with 2 straight-ahead, knock-your-socks-off, good old fashioned
Rock-n-Rollers (The Wrath of God,
Down To Dirt). Using a structured balance, rather than bombast to hone
the trio concept in an electric homage to every 50’s Rock-n-Roll icon, The Ivory Bills create a smorgasbord
of musical delight, from Bo Diddley and Buddy Holly to the Brill Building, Cream, Mott The
Hoople and Elvis Costello. Add in every pulse inducing rocker in-between and
you’ll be captured by all the nuances that are not only preserved within the Ivory Bills repertoire, but also expanded
upon to bring us up to speed, because if anything has been lacking in modern
music these days, it‘s the rhythm, the primal beat of the Boogie-Woogie music
within the Rock content.
Of course, this is the
heart of the album from beginning to end, but individual songs stand on their
own as well. For instance, The
Royal Heart is an epic Rock tale sung in a low register that brings
the urgency of the matter to the forefront as the music carries the story along
– doing right by the lyrics by laying back and allowing the lyrics the
spotlight. It takes a professional skill to allow a song like this to breathe
as it must, letting the lyrics play out the story of tragic events in the lives
of but a few characters we all have known – This song/story is a “Classic” gem.
She’s A Collector is a raucous,
Rock-n-Rolling, innuendo-laced gallop through the escapades of one woman who
will never be pinned down, and when John L. explodes with a lead that’ll melt
your face, we as listeners have been collected as well. Now that The Ivory Bills have gotten our
attention with their Cream inspired riffage and John L.’s Mick Ronson style
glam leads, we are treated to an array of substance and style with the solid
groove and heavy backbeat of Solitary
Time and the reverb heavy, crashing, haunting, sinister aura,
rumble of I Pray (which gives us pause to ponder
what/which prayers are being answered, if any, when we hear: “God loves me / God loves me / When I pray”).
Summer Touch, Hamlet Blues, and (Riding In) The Pocket Of The King give us more ringing
guitar, chunka - chunka Rhythm with up-tempo blues beats, gorgeous bridges,
pick and pluck style R&B with rollicking good story telling that have you
toe tapping, your head bobbing and you unwittingly singing along. If anything,
these songs solidify The Ivory Bills’ ease in the studio by
capturing the essence and heart of their Rock-n-Roll commitment. It’s one thing
to lay down a bare bones Rock-n-Roll track, it’s quite another to make it rock
in such a way that we are never even thinking about the studio - it’s all the
band, as it should be.
The Ivory Bills finish the album with
two songs that flat-out kick our asses with pure ripping rhythm and sheer power
guitar. Hold on as Dispossessed gives us a tale that
can be interpreted in many ways, but points to the plight of post-Katrina New Orleans. Howling guitar and
rhythm brings the helplessness of a tragic situation to the forefront, yet
inspires a hopefulness as well. Then, Point To Point showcases John L.’s
awesome guitar riffage as Velvet & Java roll us across the (musical)
landscape with solid hip-thrusting rhythm that soars into the chorus and sends
us reeling. Point To Point is an anthem that
gives us what we haven’t heard in ages – You want to play Guitar Hero? Plug
this song in and see what you can do with real instruments.
The Ivory Bill is “the loudest, most
colorful bird in the swamp – the ‘lord-god’ bird – perhaps extinct.”*
The Ivory Bills are “a collection of
three musicians for the purpose of making loud, original rock and roll music –
heart still beating proudly.”*
*Taken
from the album liner notes.
Rhythmic Jet Ear Games by The Ivory Bills
available now for $11.98 + s/h*
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