Hard 20 |
Pat Travers & Carmine Appice"Live At The House Of Blues" Three legendary musicians get together to form a rock and roll powerhouse! Hard rock guitarist Pat Travers has been playing for over thirty years and is a guitar hero in his own right, while Carmine Appice is a drum legend who played in many famous bands over the decades, has been very influential, and has even helped lay some of the groundwork for hard rock and heavy metal. He is something of an unsung hero in rock and roll. Meanwhile, bassist T.M. Stevens has also made quite a name for himself in the world of rock, playing with many legendary performers. This album, recorded live at the House Of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Close to where I live-I've been there!), features the trio playing twelve bluesy hard rock classics in Pat's staple style, in the same vein as bands like Aerosmith, Foghat, or Ted Nugent. All the tunes are rough, raw, rowdy, and raunchy, with a party-hardy attitude. Pat is a great guitarist who plays up a smokin' storm, while Carmine and T.M. make up a thunderous rhythm section. The music is rootsy, no frills, straight up rock and roll, just like in the good old days, when bands like this were ruling the airwaves. One song heard quite frequently on those airwaves was "Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)", and that's included here, as well as a hard rocking cover of the Rod Stewart hit "Do You Think I'm Sexy", which Carmine played drums on. When this song first came out, many fans despised it, thinking Rod had sold out to the disco scene. Pat and his power trio, however, give it a total rock and roll makeover, making it into a rustic, bluesy hard rock tune that packs a serious punch, with Pat playing some very cool talking guitar. This beats the original up one side and down the other! Eat your heart out, Rod! As for the other songs on the disc, they all rocked hard, but I wasn't familiar with any of them. I wish they would have included some of Pat's other hits like "Snorting Whiskey" or "Killer". It would have been cool to hear live versions of those songs. That is my only complaint about this album though. Pat and his merry men kick some serious boo-tay on here, never letting up for a minute! Carmine can sure play drums and throws in a solo on the song "Evil". T.M. is an excellent bass player, and is also given the chance to show off his skills on a few songs, including "Gotta Have You" (in which the guys actually do some RAPPING! Please tell me the classic rockers aren't jumping on THIS bandwagon!), and the last song, "Keep On Rocking". These old warriors have still got it in them and could wipe the floor with many of the bands around today! |