ROSE TATTOO – Blood Brothers Album Ltd Ed. Red Vinyl

ROSE TATTOO – Blood Brothers Album Ltd Ed. Red Vinyl

 

ROSE TATTOO has always been a major player in Australian rock, and has been at the helm of the music scene for decades, reaching a cult status here and overseas. Blood Brothers is a rock ‘n’ roll album that mixes traditional and modern styles and is a tribute to previous band members no longer with us. Originally released in 2007, the album was re-issued with bonus tracks on CD in 2018 via Golden Robot Records.

This Blood Red Double Vinyl LP features 17 tracks, including the original 11 on LP 1 and 6 live tracks on LP 2, and will be released by Golden Robot Records on August 20th.

In the category of ‘cult bands’, Rose Tattoo has been at the top of the pile since 1976. Their raw style of blues rock that the Australians manage to create out of a hot mix of slide guitars, pounding hooks with a sharp and tight rhythm, along with the unmistakable voice of their front man, Angry Anderson, is what gives the fans a welcome feast in what is today a fast pace orientated music business built around TV shows. They have influenced some of the biggest rock bands around including Guns ‘N Roses and L.A. Guns, and are still going strong after 40+ years! Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including ‘Bad Boy for Love’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw’, ‘Nice Boys’, ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’ and ‘Scarred for Life’. ROSE TATTOO are one of the all time greatest Australian bands.

Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane comments that ROSE TATTOO are “one of the most revered bands of all time. The Tatts played peerless, street-level heavy blues with the emphasis on slide guitar and strident lyric statements”.

Pre-order the limited edition blood-red vinyl Blood Brothers:
The Golden Robot Records Store
Sanity
JB Hi-Fi
Amazon

Avalanche – ‘Second-hand Band’ (Golden Robot Records/Sliptrick Records)

Avalanche – ‘Second-hand Band’ (Golden Robot Records/Sliptrick Records)

‘Second hand band’ is the latest offering from Aussie hard rockers Avalanche. The Sydney based four piece have been around for two years, and have built up a strong following in their native Oz and even have their own music festival! I know!

 

The band have their tongues very firmly in cheek and sound ever so slightly like that other well-known Australian rock band, yes them, the ones with a lightning bolt in their logo. They aren’t afraid to show their influences on their sleeve and let’s be honest, it hasn’t done much harm to Airbourne’s career. It does get a little too close to the mark on occasion though, with the riffs sounding almost identical to a few AC/DC numbers. Being influenced and downright plagiarism are completely different things!

 

 

Opening track ‘Killer Instinct’ bounces along nicely with some shouty bits and a great widdly guitar solo from lead guitarist Veronica ‘V’ Campbell and a frenetic, full on rock n roll ending. Next up we have the title track which tells us the bands story so far, including lyrics about ‘wanting to blow them all away’ and they admit that they are pretty much re hashing everything that came before them. After listening to the lyrics to this I start to enjoy the band more. They don’t give a fuck that they sound like other bands, and they are obviously having a great time. The production of the EP is crystal clear with plenty of bottom end to boot.

 

 

‘Get Back (To Fuckwit City)’ is ‘If You Want Blood (You Got It)’ played slightly differently lol. More great lyrics with plenty of puns here make it a standout track. Vocalist/bassist Steven Campbell (yes, they are married) barks out the words with gusto and his better half cranks out more fine solo work. ‘Spit in My Mouth’ starts off with a nice build up before we are off into full on AC/DC territory again (think ‘Riff Raff’ and you won’t be far off). Drummer Ryan ‘ADHD’ Roma deserves a mention here, his solid grooves propel the band along superbly.

‘Down in the Gutter’ has a more Ramones-like feel to it with a more up-tempo groove before dropping down into an extended jam. There’s more solid guitar work from Campbell and rhythm guitarist Arthur Divis on display here. Final track ‘Permanent Ink’ closes the EP in style with another barnstormer.

Avalanche aren’t going to change the world and they certainly aren’t doing anything new, but they sound like they are having a blast, and I would bet that they are a great band to catch live with a few beers at your local dive.  Don’t over analyse them, just bang your head, stamp your feet, and enjoy a burst of good old (new) fashioned rock n roll!

Buy ‘Second Hand Band’ Here

Social Media Links:
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Author: Kenny Kendrick

 

Rose Tattoo – ‘Outlaws’ (Cleopatra Records)

Rose Tattoo – ‘Outlaws’ (Cleopatra Records)

A couple of years ago I just happened to bump into Rose Tattoo’s Angry Anderson at Hellfest for the briefest of chats following the band’s blistering set on the festival’s main stage. He let it slip to me that the line up (albeit minus the stand-in drummer at the time) would soon be hitting the studio to record the first Tatts album since 2007’s ‘Blood Brothers’ and I must admit that at that point my inner Rose Tattoo fan did do a little fist pump.

As 2019 drew to a close I then happened upon the fact that said album was finally due to be released in early March 2020 and it would be entitled ‘Outlaws’, BUT as a rockin’ amigo of mine was quick to point out…whilst it may be a new album it wasn’t really new material being recorded. That’s because ‘Outlaws’ is the band’s SEMINAL ten track debut record re-recorded complete with three bonus tracks; songs originally written during that era but not originally on the debut.

On learning this my initial gut reaction I must admit was to holler ”WWWWHHHHHYYYYY?” I mean how can you improve something that is already perfect?

Winding my neck in for a minute and recalling having once seen a Rose Tattoo show at Dudley JBs where Angry (suitably refreshed, due to it being his birthday) totally reworked the vocals on most of the band’s back catalogue, I was now more than just a little bit intrigued to see what this would sound like. Plus, when you also factor in this line up now also boasts the talents of Mark Evans (ex-AC/DC) on bass, (ex-Skyhooks and The Angels) guitarist Bob Spencer, slide guitar player Dai Pritchard (who had been hand-picked by the legendary Pete Wells to replace him not long before he passed away from cancer) along with (Jimmy Barnes’ son) Jackie Barnes now behind the kit, it must at least be a half-decent record right?

Well, yes of course it is, not least because it’s well recorded, the performances are tight (albeit Angry does a bit AWOL on a couple of tracks, not least the “ahem” bluesy love song ‘Rosetta’ where he kind of vocally jams around the tune – let’s not forget he is 72 though), and as I mentioned above a few of the classic tracks do get some fresh air in their lungs (especially a bruising ‘Remedy’ and an almost Faces-like take of ‘Snow Queen’ which are both excellent) thanks to this great line up of the band.

HOWEVER, then when it suddenly sinks in that (if you live in the UK) it’s going to cost you £30 plus just to own ‘Outlaws’ on limited edition coloured vinyl or £15 on CD I come to the collusion that I’ll probably just stick with the much cheaper option of simply streaming it (and that’s the platform I’m reviewing this from here), as its most certainly not as one Amazon reviewer insanely claimed “better than the original”.

‘Outlaws’ is still very much a decent Rose Tattoo album though; it’s just that it feels more like one of those bonus discs reformed stadium rock bands recorded when they released new material. You know that limited bonus “hits” disc to try and attract older lapsed fans back into buying new music once again. So, as such ‘Outlaws’ is something of a disappointment, especially after the quality ‘Pain’ and ‘Blood Brothers’ records that preceded it.

Who was it again that said “always trust your gut reaction?”

Buy ‘Outlaws’ Here

Author: Johnny Hayward