Bluelight 1998 / Angel Air 2013
Land Of The Blind
Land ahoy! The power trio crew deliver one of the best, yet most obscure, cargo.
Mick Green might not have rumbled on the immortal “Shakin’ All Over”, but it’s his name that is associated with the band he inherited from Johnny Kidd, and his axe was a weapon of choice for the likes of Paul McCartney. Yet while mostly remembered for their late ’50s – early ’60s hit ‘n’ run, this late album from THE PIRATES is impossible to ignore thanks to its atomic energy and sheer merriment. It accumulates in the “Who needs love? Let’s eat” line of the handclaps-abetted swirl of “Let’s Eat” harking back to the band’s glorious past, and there’s much to savor here.
With vocal duties shared between the leader and bassist BJ Anders and with Roman Parol providing the backbeat, the group rock hard – never more so than in “Lover And Fighter” given a memorable riff – and get deep from the modernly twanging opener “Underground” to the ass-swinging finale of “Sex On Legs”. It picks up where “Wood In Your Fire” leaves its hot glow, yet if the romantic guitar solo burns wild in the acoustic setting of deliciously rough reading of Billy Fury’s “Wondrous Place” and in the strings-elevated “Shattered Glass”, the title cut is a catchy slice of hoarse-throated disco topped with the shards of slider. This reissue is expanded with three live bonuses from the album’s era, including the sharp blues of “Lindy Lou”, for the killer effect. That’ll shiver your timbers for sure.
****4/5
