2016 CD Reviews - The Dead Daisies - Make Some Noise

[TageRyche]

The Dead Daisies

Make Some Noise

SPV / Spitfire - 2016

http://www.thedeaddaisies.com

Eschewing even a hint of soft balladry, the new album from The Dead Daisies rocks out from beginning to end with a radiant energy that showcases what is likely the best of the band's three releases.

While formally acknowledged as a supergroup and self-referred to as a musical collective by the group's own past and current members, I simply prefer to think of the Dead Daisies and Make Some Noise as pure hard rock group and album.

The album kicks off with the high energy "Long Way To Go" (see the video below), the first single released off the disc. The song has a vibrant sense of itself and just gets the heart racing. It showcases what each member of the band brings to the recording.

You have great vocals from John Corabi, with a scratchy gritty inflection that powers everything musical behind it. Doug Aldrich and David Lowy stretch their six strings and make their guitars sing all on their own. Marco Mendoza fuels the music's rhythms while all-world drummer Brian Tichy is all aces behind the kit.

The band has a perfect concert opening track with the title cut. It's a song designed to get the crowd on their feet and hands in the air and it surely accomplishes that goal with a very heavy vibe.

The band covers two classic tracks on the album with varying degrees of success. On Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son", they recast the song with a far more hard rock sound. On "record", I wasn't completely on board with the song because I thought the mix covered up the vocals too much. Oddly, this approach works far better in a live setting, where the song takes on a different life.

Meanwhile, I had kind of the opposite reaction to their version of The Who's "Join Together" (see video below). It worked better for me on the album with a bit more of a rock sound thrown in, but live I notched it below "Fortunate Son" just a bit.

As I said, the band keeps the fast paced action going throughout the disc, but they really sped things up with "Mainline". The song's chorus is spewed out with a sense of the frenetic.

The band is credited with writing (along with Marti Frederiksen) the ten original cuts and lyrically there's some good stuff that is being sung about. I wish all the lyrics had been in the booklet (just the first three songs are included) because I enjoyed a lot of what was being said.

"Freedom" talks about life on the open road via motorcycle while "All The Same" talks about loving an impossible woman.

But for me, the two best songs on the disc combine not only great lyrics but a great sense of the melodic yet hard rocking hook. "The Last Time I Saw The Sun" addresses touring life. That hook I mentioned catches the ear easily and you ride along with the band for the duration of the song.

But weaving lyrics of both tragedy and hope with a great overall full band performance, "Song And A Prayer" stands head and shoulders above everything for me. The song was so good in all respects that it was the one song I mentioned when I got to speak briefly with singer John Corabi.

With Make Some Noise, The Dead Daisies has staked out their claim to being one of the better (dare I say best) straight up hard rock bands on the musical horizon. Top to bottom, there's no REAL clunker of a track here. The album is a pure shot of adrenaline, a thunderous rock 'n' roll punch that is a joy to listen to.

RATING: 4.6 out of 5.0

[RJhog (Admin)]

Can't say I disagree much.  I did like Fortunate Son better than Join Together, but the latter has certainly grown on me with each subsequent listen.  Terrific album and spot on review TR.

[TageRyche]

Thanks RJhog!

[Scott]

I like both covers, and I generally am not a fan of them either.  This album is solid through and through.  Aldrich is a stud and Corabi sounds great.  Definitely will make it high in my top 10, not sure where yet though...

[TageRyche]

Scott, it is definitely an album that will rank high for me as well.

[RJhog (Admin)]

[TageRyche]

You sir, are an evil man.

[RJhog (Admin)]

This cartoon is immediately what I though of when I heard the title track the first time.  My six year old watched a lot of Sofia last year, so I had heard the trolls many times.