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Issue
#144
May '11
The power-trio. It’s a difficult format to undertake
let alone master. Each of the three musicians must be able to pair off as well
as break free, yet stay united as one. Since Cream first broke the power-trio
format in the 60s many bands have come and gone, trying to live, but mostly
dying, behind an art form much more problematical than would seem from the outside
looking in. This month we bring you 2 power-trios that have each mastered the
format in their own individual ways. The Ivory Bills and Eula are both
power-trios out of New Haven, CT and while their existence parallels each other, that’s
about where the similarities end. So tell me, how do you like your power-trio?
In Color by The Ivory Bills
is a flat out blistering 70s classic Rock record complete with monster riffs
and monster rhythms. This tight 3-some welcomes back GlamRock with a Mott The
Hoople/Deep Purple hybrid and a Foghat style Blues-Metal that has us yelling “More Cowbell” in a most complimentary
way.
Comprised of veteran New Haven scenesters, James Velvet (vocals, bass, songs), Johnny Java (drums, percussion) and John L. (guitars, harmony vocals), The Ivory Bills let loose 6 songs that capture the essence of Rock
in all its loud and live glory.
Evident on Here/Today and Golden Girl, The Ivory Bills
rally around John
L.’s killer guitar
licks, hooks, and runs that channel Mick Ronson incarnate. Supported by James’ and Johnny’s tight
rhythm section, John
L. has the freedom to
step up and back when called for, which allows them to take the garage blues
and blow it wide open.
Close your eyes, open your ears, move your feet, it
doesn’t matter if you’re in a shotgun shack, a bayou gin joint, a city club or
arena, a fair or festival, or your mother’s garage, The Ivory Bills will blow it up with pure primal Rock-n-Roll.
Delivering on that and more is Bonehead, The 21st
century’s 1st flat-out Anthem, the heir-apparent to The Kingsmen’s
“Louie, Louie.” Whether your pelvic (elvis) bone is thrusting to the beat or
dancing over John
L.’s Jimi Hendrix/Eric
Clapton/Steve Earle inspired bridge solo this is the song that will define The Ivory Bills and your admiration for them.
To keep things interesting, the record includes two
slight variants: Down In The Basement is a mid-tempo mood shift, exploring the softer,
gentler side of the band (much the way Mott The Hoople, The Rolling Stones, and
Led Zeppelin use to do), with a tale that accentuates Velvet’s songwriting skills centered around brazenly
suggestive lyrics that get to the point of what Rock-n-Roll is suppose to be about.
Strange Weather solemnly creeps in much like New England weather, with the instruments enacting the feel of an
unsettling storm while the lyrics chart the course of a shifting personal tempest.
Velvet’s vocals are just that – Velvety smooth yet intensely
on edge.
Mother
Of Pearl closes
the disc by launching us deep into (another power-trio) ZZ Top’s Texas, A huh, huh,
huh. This is outlaw territory; a juke joint, “Glory-to-me,” braggart Blues-Rock
at it’s finest. The
Ivory Bills lay down
the southern spirit, musically and lyrically, as smooth as passing the
moonshine, all the while staying true to the original concept of the
power-trio.
So tell me, how do you like your power-trio?
In Color by The Ivory Bills
available now for $6.98 + s/h*
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