10676 - RIVAL SONS - GREAT WESTERN VALKYRIE (TOUR EDITION), DISC ONE (2015)
RIVAL SONS
''GREAT WESTERN VALKYRIE (TOUR EDITION), DISC ONE''
OCTOBER 16 2015
75:16
**********
DISC ONE (48:04)
1 Electric Man 03:20 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan, Dave Cobb)
2 Good Luck 03:18 (Jay Buchanan, Scott Holiday, Michael Miley, Dave Beste)
3 A Secret 04:41 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan, Michael Miley, Dave Beste, Dave Cobb)
4 Play The Fool 03:17 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan)
5 Good Things 05:56 (Jay Buchanan)
6 Open My Eyes 03:55 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan, Michael Miley, Dave Beste, Dave Cobb)
7 Rich And The Poor 05:15 (Jay Buchanan, Dave Cobb)
8 Belle Starr 04:35 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan, Michael Miley, Dave Beste)
9 Where I've Been 06:18 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan)
10 Destination On Course 07:06 (Scott Holiday, Dave Cobb)
All Lyrics By Jay Buchanan, Except 10 By Scott Holiday
*****
DISC TWO (27:12)
1 Too Much Love 03:41
2 My Nature 04:31
3 Open My Eyes (Live At Juke Joint Studio) 03:40
4 Long As I Can See The Light (Live At Juke Joint Studio) 03:29 (John Fogerty)
5 Where I've Been (Live At Juke Joint Studio) 06:02
6 Black Coffee 05:33
Tracks By Jay Buchanan, Except 4
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Jay Buchanan — vocals
Scott Holiday — guitar
Dave Beste — bass guitar
Michael Miley — drums
Additional musicians:
Ikey Owens — keyboards
Mike Webb — keyboards on 9
Kristen Rogers — backing vocals
**********
REVIEW
Thom Jurek
Robin Everhart, the Rival Sons' founding bassist, left in late October of 2013, deciding that the grueling rigors of touring weren't for him. The band replaced him with Dave Beste in time to record the band's fourth full-length. Once more they enlisted producer Dave Cobb (who helmed the Head Down sessions) and recorded at his Nashville studio. Rival Sons have doubled down on their worship of late-'60s psych, blues-rock, and hard rock because of the lockdown groove in drummer Michael Miley's interplay with Beste, a much more straight-ahead rock bassist. What's different is how the band combines these sounds, Led Zeppelin's pervasive guitar and vocal influence still a primary inspiration, but this is colored also by a love the Jimmy Page-era Yardbirds, the Nazz, the Doors, and the boogie of classic Status Quo. The group has manifested most of these before, but not in this way. In their songwriting and arrangements, they recombine these influences in sometimes startling new ways. Even the most sprawling, psych-oriented tracks have excellent riffs, while most of the hard rockers and boogies contain hooks and multiple textures. Force is never sacrificed. Opening single "Electric Man" is unabashed in its Led Zeppelin IV proclivities, but "Good Things" evokes the Zombies of Odessey and Oracle with harder-edged guitars and fatter drums. "Secret," led by Beste's bass throb and Scott Holiday's thundering guitar vamp, makes room for guest keyboardist Ikey Owens (Mars Volta) on organ. "Open My Eyes" opens with a vamp worthy of Black Sabbath, but it becomes a gritty, near country-rocker with phased drum kit. The transcendent Pete Townshend-esque guitar chords that serve as the intro to "Belle Starr" give way to a crunchy slide riff, then an open, spacious psychedelia. It changes shape several times before the close with a woolly, dirty-assed bassline and Zep-style rhythmic syncopations. The proggy blues in the intro to "Destination on Course" is a fine showcase for Jay Buchanan's croon atop brooding guitars and a swelling menace in the rhythm section. This holds sway until a female backing chorus (Kristen Rogers) enters, and things come completely off the rails in Wagnerian mind-melting psych. Great Western Valkyrie continues to revel in retro-rock, but it does so with fine songwriting, arrangements, and -- above all -- taste added to the instrumental firepower. Combined, these strengths make this a full step up from Head Down. (A two-disc Tour Edition added three live bonus tracks -- "Open My Eyes," "Long as I Can See the Light," and "Where I’ve Been" -- and three more tracks, "Black Coffee," "My Nature," and "Too Much Love.")
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Gregory Heaney
Based in sunny Los Angeles, California, Rival Sons evoke the bluesy rock of bands like Led Zeppelin and the Black Crowes. Formed in 2008, the quartet of Scott Holiday (guitar), Robin Everhart (bass), Mike Miley (drums), and Jay Buchanan (vocals) captures that massively huge, guitar-driven classic rock sound, with rock-solid drumming and a riff-oriented approach to songwriting backing up Buchanan’s soaring vocals. Shortly after forming, the band self-released its debut, Before the Fire, in 2009. The quartet got some exposure when its song "Tell Me Something" was used in an ad campaign for Indy car racing, and the following year they opened for some high-profile acts, including hard rock legends Alice Cooper and AC/DC. That same year, Rival Sons made the unlikely jump to extreme metal label Earache, who signed the band after coming across their music online.
In 2011, the band released its follow-up album (and first physical release), Pressure & Time, which went on to be voted Classic Rock magazine's number two album of the year. They were also invited by Amy Lee to tour the U.S. with her band Evanescence. They stuck with the classic rock riffs and blues-influenced sound on their third record, Head Down, which was released in 2012 to widespread critical acclaim and was a modest hit in numerous territories; its greatest success was in Scandinavia where it hit the Top 20 in three countries, including a number six chart position in Sweden. Rival Sons toured heavily in support of the album, playing the Download Festival and supporting big names like Kiss and Sammy Hagar.
Everhart left the band in late 2013 due to the rigors of touring and was replaced by Dave Beste. Their fourth full-length, Great Western Valkyrie, was recorded in early 2014 in Nashville, with Dave Cobb once again producing. It was issued in June.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''GREAT WESTERN VALKYRIE (TOUR EDITION), DISC ONE''
OCTOBER 16 2015
75:16
**********
DISC ONE (48:04)
1 Electric Man 03:20 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan, Dave Cobb)
2 Good Luck 03:18 (Jay Buchanan, Scott Holiday, Michael Miley, Dave Beste)
3 A Secret 04:41 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan, Michael Miley, Dave Beste, Dave Cobb)
4 Play The Fool 03:17 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan)
5 Good Things 05:56 (Jay Buchanan)
6 Open My Eyes 03:55 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan, Michael Miley, Dave Beste, Dave Cobb)
7 Rich And The Poor 05:15 (Jay Buchanan, Dave Cobb)
8 Belle Starr 04:35 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan, Michael Miley, Dave Beste)
9 Where I've Been 06:18 (Scott Holiday, Jay Buchanan)
10 Destination On Course 07:06 (Scott Holiday, Dave Cobb)
All Lyrics By Jay Buchanan, Except 10 By Scott Holiday
*****
DISC TWO (27:12)
1 Too Much Love 03:41
2 My Nature 04:31
3 Open My Eyes (Live At Juke Joint Studio) 03:40
4 Long As I Can See The Light (Live At Juke Joint Studio) 03:29 (John Fogerty)
5 Where I've Been (Live At Juke Joint Studio) 06:02
6 Black Coffee 05:33
Tracks By Jay Buchanan, Except 4
**********
Jay Buchanan — vocals
Scott Holiday — guitar
Dave Beste — bass guitar
Michael Miley — drums
Additional musicians:
Ikey Owens — keyboards
Mike Webb — keyboards on 9
Kristen Rogers — backing vocals
**********
REVIEW
Thom Jurek
Robin Everhart, the Rival Sons' founding bassist, left in late October of 2013, deciding that the grueling rigors of touring weren't for him. The band replaced him with Dave Beste in time to record the band's fourth full-length. Once more they enlisted producer Dave Cobb (who helmed the Head Down sessions) and recorded at his Nashville studio. Rival Sons have doubled down on their worship of late-'60s psych, blues-rock, and hard rock because of the lockdown groove in drummer Michael Miley's interplay with Beste, a much more straight-ahead rock bassist. What's different is how the band combines these sounds, Led Zeppelin's pervasive guitar and vocal influence still a primary inspiration, but this is colored also by a love the Jimmy Page-era Yardbirds, the Nazz, the Doors, and the boogie of classic Status Quo. The group has manifested most of these before, but not in this way. In their songwriting and arrangements, they recombine these influences in sometimes startling new ways. Even the most sprawling, psych-oriented tracks have excellent riffs, while most of the hard rockers and boogies contain hooks and multiple textures. Force is never sacrificed. Opening single "Electric Man" is unabashed in its Led Zeppelin IV proclivities, but "Good Things" evokes the Zombies of Odessey and Oracle with harder-edged guitars and fatter drums. "Secret," led by Beste's bass throb and Scott Holiday's thundering guitar vamp, makes room for guest keyboardist Ikey Owens (Mars Volta) on organ. "Open My Eyes" opens with a vamp worthy of Black Sabbath, but it becomes a gritty, near country-rocker with phased drum kit. The transcendent Pete Townshend-esque guitar chords that serve as the intro to "Belle Starr" give way to a crunchy slide riff, then an open, spacious psychedelia. It changes shape several times before the close with a woolly, dirty-assed bassline and Zep-style rhythmic syncopations. The proggy blues in the intro to "Destination on Course" is a fine showcase for Jay Buchanan's croon atop brooding guitars and a swelling menace in the rhythm section. This holds sway until a female backing chorus (Kristen Rogers) enters, and things come completely off the rails in Wagnerian mind-melting psych. Great Western Valkyrie continues to revel in retro-rock, but it does so with fine songwriting, arrangements, and -- above all -- taste added to the instrumental firepower. Combined, these strengths make this a full step up from Head Down. (A two-disc Tour Edition added three live bonus tracks -- "Open My Eyes," "Long as I Can See the Light," and "Where I’ve Been" -- and three more tracks, "Black Coffee," "My Nature," and "Too Much Love.")
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Gregory Heaney
Based in sunny Los Angeles, California, Rival Sons evoke the bluesy rock of bands like Led Zeppelin and the Black Crowes. Formed in 2008, the quartet of Scott Holiday (guitar), Robin Everhart (bass), Mike Miley (drums), and Jay Buchanan (vocals) captures that massively huge, guitar-driven classic rock sound, with rock-solid drumming and a riff-oriented approach to songwriting backing up Buchanan’s soaring vocals. Shortly after forming, the band self-released its debut, Before the Fire, in 2009. The quartet got some exposure when its song "Tell Me Something" was used in an ad campaign for Indy car racing, and the following year they opened for some high-profile acts, including hard rock legends Alice Cooper and AC/DC. That same year, Rival Sons made the unlikely jump to extreme metal label Earache, who signed the band after coming across their music online.
In 2011, the band released its follow-up album (and first physical release), Pressure & Time, which went on to be voted Classic Rock magazine's number two album of the year. They were also invited by Amy Lee to tour the U.S. with her band Evanescence. They stuck with the classic rock riffs and blues-influenced sound on their third record, Head Down, which was released in 2012 to widespread critical acclaim and was a modest hit in numerous territories; its greatest success was in Scandinavia where it hit the Top 20 in three countries, including a number six chart position in Sweden. Rival Sons toured heavily in support of the album, playing the Download Festival and supporting big names like Kiss and Sammy Hagar.
Everhart left the band in late 2013 due to the rigors of touring and was replaced by Dave Beste. Their fourth full-length, Great Western Valkyrie, was recorded in early 2014 in Nashville, with Dave Cobb once again producing. It was issued in June.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
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