HOREHOUND
JULY 14. 2009
When "60 Feet Tall" hit the speakers, my whole body was sucked back to when I was a child and I heard THE ROLLING STONES for the first time. The southern blues power guitar with overlays of keyboard direct from the late 60's as the rock world was changing. No one yelled "The British are Coming!" so they snuck on our shores and took our sound, long since driven under, and music would never be the same again. Steve Winwood's amazing keyboard rolls put limelight back on an instrument that had been used primarily as a filler for so many years.
Jack White (drums, vocals, guitar), Alison Mosshart (vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion), Dean Fartita (lead guitar, organ, piano, synthesizer, bass, backing vocals) and Jack Lawrence (bass, guitar, drums, backing vocals) complete this all-star "Super-group" and together they have found a sound so lost among rock musicians. Building away from grinding guitars with a drum foundation dredged from the swamps of the south giving way to funk bass lines that bring The Jimi Hendrix Experience's rhythm section of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell to life again. This opens the door for the guitars to play freely with improvised thought provoking riffs.
Mosshart is never afraid to sing lyrics most women in rock do not have the courage to do.
Just absorbing the music it is clear that no one else would have been able to pull off the vocal tracks like Mosshart. Most women in rock write and sing lyrics in the same style but they do it more to get the attention of record companies and listeners. Mosshart sings with meaning, pulling the listener in, then without realizing it the song has become a sing-a-long. Then she can push the vocals low, so quiet a pin can be heard dropping between hard count consonants.
Dean Fertita has contributed amazing songwriting to tracks like "Hang you from the Heavens" and "Will there be Enough Water". Jack Lawrence collaborates with Fertita, Mosshart and White on three of the most amazing tracks including "Treat me like your Mother", "Bone House" and "3 Birds". Each keeps with the basic theme of the record but open the listener up to creative riffs.
Hopefully, Jack White does not put this band to bed early because rock music fans need the grow in the music that they are able to provide with this release. Is there a follow-up in the future?
11/29/10
RUSTY
7/14/09