Rocktastic reviews

Waaaaay back in the midst of time, 1979 to be exact I got my first job and started to get enough money together to by my first real "thing". The "Thing" I wanted was a decent stereo system to play the giant black CD's we had back then. In those days you were no one unless you had spent vast sums of money on your HiFi. If you wanted the best you had to go to where the black arts of high end stereos were practiced, The audiophile shops. These places usually looked like someones house, someone with a lot of Hifi gear in there front room. they smelled of jos sticks and sounded fantastic.
When I finally decided on my system the album the shop used to sway me was Rickie Lee Jones's eponymous first album. Now at the time I was into all that new romantic stuff Howard Jones, Heaven 17, Ultravox but not, I repeat defiantly not Duran feckin Duran. I'm rambling again.
Rickie's album was a complete revelation to me at the tender age of 16. Firstly the recording quality was simply stunning, instruments were popping out of the woodwork ands chairs all over the room. I had never heard anything like it before.
The songs were equally wild to my ears. Here was an absolutely stunning looking woman who sang like an angel about stuff that angels would never admit to knowing. It was the purest essence of cool, sophistication. I am not going to fall into the reviewers trap of trying to say what she sounds like because it depends what track you are listening to at the time. It sounds cool, thats all just Coolsville.
I forced this album on all my friends at the time and they thought I had totally lost it.
I have gone on to own everything of hers I could get my hands on. 25 years later and she is still surprising me. Every album is different, sometime Jazzy sometimes funky, sometimes Sinatra classics but always done her way. No one has the capacity to make me cry like Rickie does. There is a track on her follow up album Pirates, called "Skeletons" thats tears me up every time.
If you are having a dinner party put this album on and your guests will think you have had a taste transplant.

Remember Led Zepplin? Me neither I am far too young. However I have heard the odd album (Led Zepp II was really odd) anyway I digress.
The Answer are the best thing to come out of Northern Ireland since Thin Lizzy. Its an easy comparison because I cant think of any other band from NI, accept maybe The Undertones but they dont really count because Fergal Sharky was an annoying tit. Where was I, ah yes, thats where the comparision ends because they sound nothing like Thin Lizzy.
This 4 peice combine some awesome screaming Robert Plant / Ian Gillan vocals and tie them up with The Black Crowes, AC/DC, Whitesnake (in thier lady lovin pomp) and a little bit of Cinderella.
From note one you will be exhibiting the very worst of your "embarasing dad at a wedding" dancing. You may even find yourself tucking your thumbs into your belt loops and doing that down down (deeper and down) thing you used to do at the school disco when the token Status Quo track came on.
Without question the best debut album this year and tieing up with a couple of others for all round album of the year.
For full on Blues fans, the track Memphis water will will have you yearning for the days when Blues was all there was.
Check out the video and get ready to believe.
These guys will be HUGE, no question.