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Thunder, the quirky, witty and bluesy band from England, has given
themselves quite a public relation’s edge with their new release,
The Magnificent Seventh. Actually, they’ve cornered
themselves by dubbing a CD that has to live up to its name. For
the most part, it does, but it isn’t as magnificent as their
last release, Shooting at the Sun.
The
band has somehow flown under the radar all these years and is easily
one of the most talented bands out there. Singer Danny Bowes should
be spoken about in the same vein as Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers,
but that isn’t happening yet. Thunder always pens the brightest
lyrics, regardless of the song topic. Yet, while the album is more
upbeat and fun than the direction they were headed before the stellar
Shooting at the Sun, it leaves you wanting.
Saving
the best for first, The Magnificent Seventh opens with
Luke Morley’s blues-tinged guitar on the track, “I Love
You More Than Rock ‘n’ Roll.” The production on
this entire CD is so clear. Morley’s guitar playing is extremely
crisp and is as much a focal point to the songs as Bowes’
voice. This is what Thunder does best.
You’ll
think the CD will continue to excel with “The Gods of Love.”
There is a funky guitar part at the beginning, and then the song
really kicks in. The song talks about hot chicks going home with
ugly guys; basically that we are all slaves to “gods of love.”
“That mirror really loves you tonight,” is a line we’ve
come to expect from these guys. Again, it has smart lyrics, excellent
musicianship, and is a great song.
When
they slow things down, it’s a guilty pleasure for all their
fans. On “I’m Dreaming Again,” they bypass the
sardonic lyrics and cut to being honest. Bowes is a huge talent
so start paying attention. Letting him sing the chorus without backup
vocals makes the song even more honest, although the background
vocals kick in during the second chorus.
“Amy’s
On the Run,” is a fun, grooving song, with probably the best
overall melody on the whole CD. But there’s a catch to this
track. Amy is a guy, trying to be a girl. What? Transexual, he-she,
whatever. The song never explains itself or what is going on, and
the only clue is the lines, “She tells them a joke or two
then stops, just short of confessing. They know she’s a man,
they all understand.” One has no idea how this fits into the
theme of the album, or why this was written. It’s an incredibly
catchy track, though.
Things
start becoming forgettable after “Amy’s On the Run.”
Maybe the band went back to the well too often, because you’ll
swear you already heard “The Pride,” earlier on this
CD, but you didn’t. “Fade Into the Sun,” actually
brings the album back up to par, and then “Together or Apart,”
levels things off again. Hearing Bowes sing a love song is always
a pleasure, but we are used to craftier lyrics, as in the song “Loser,”
where he sings with heartfelt abandon, “I’m just a loser
in a band.”
To
be fair, it’s damn near impossible for Thunder to write a
bad song. Well, it hasn’t happened yet anyway. For a band
that became known for the song “Dirty Love,” a long
time ago, they’ve bested that track again and again, year
after year. But The Magnificent Seventh just doesn’t
measure up to Shooting at the Sun. Guess what, though? Not many
albums do.
www.thunderonline.com
www.frontiers.it
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