Yes, it is he. James
Kottak, ex of Kingdom Come,
Warrant and The Scorpions.
With those bands he drummed, but here, in Dave Grohl like fashion, he plays guitar and sings.
That is where the Grohl comparison ends, I hasten to add.
And I should also make it clear that
Kottak shares vocal and guitar duties with the highly talented Jimmy Ratchitt. His (
Kottak's) missus plays drums, with Price Lucas and Johnny Vernon rounding out the band on bass and additional guitars.
Kottak play faux glam metal, three chord, Cheap Trick-esque music, with an undercurrent of punk, delving into classic rock and pop with skill and affection.
As the album title suggests, it's a celebration of the frantic and the fun in rock'n'roll. The bulk of the album is an entertaining, melodic poprock blast, full of sharp chord changes and singalong gusto.
That said, it mainlines on the oxygenated blood pumped into the contemporary pop and rock scene by bands like Weezer and
Green Day, just as much as it emulates the classics of the past.
Doesn't make it a bad album of course. Far from it,
'Rock & Roll Forever' is a head turning affair with a breezy, self assured swagger, full of neatly crafted hooks, with guitars and choruses that frequently race to sweet crescendo.
'Where You Wanna Go',
'Sunset Blvd' and '
Drunk Uncle Pete' are particular standouts. The first two are irresistible feelgood songs with melodic momentum, amusing lyrics and a deceptively layered production (by Tommy Henriksen). The latter is only vaguely amusing (though every family has such a character in its midst), but it's redeemed by a pointed lyrical payoff and an aurally adhesive hook.
Neither do
Kottak avoid confronting today's social ills and injustices, with the twin attack of
'Scream With Me' - at times recalling the LA Guns' vampire rock - simultaneously condemning paedophilia and the USA's gun culture.
'Super Prick' is much heavier, marrying an industrial strength riff to a caustic vocal performance. At the other extreme, '
Time To Say Goodbye's restraint and relative melancholy combine to add this track - and a rattling good cover of the Scorp's
'Holiday' - to the shortlist of album standouts.
The occasional track can sound overly contrived, as if one good song idea was stretched out to fill three minutes. Well arranged, well produced, but thin on substance. Thankfully, these are in a small minority.
If your appetite for some
Kottak has been whetted, look out for the 'Sunset Blvd' video on You Tube, and take it from there.
Written by
Brian Saturday, June 5, 2010
Show all reviews by BrianRatingsBrian: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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