C D Review
Bernie Woods & The Forest Fires: 'Come On And Dance'
By John Daly - Reading

10 Tracks:
1. Come On And Dance, 2. High Heel Sneakers, 3. Lollipop Mama, 4. Sea Of Heartbreak, 5. Rock Ola Ruby, 6. Just A Little Too Much, 7. Head Over Heels, 8. Be My Guest, 9. Rockin' Daddy, 10. Say Mama.

The first thing that you notice about this CD is the collection of disembodied heads on the front of their candy coloured cover, very East Coast Swing, I must say! Still it is somewhat light-hearted which is, very much, an engaging part of their live performances. The album is full of tracks that you'll recognise and enjoy which, I believe, was pretty much the intent. The mix is artfully done and sounds like you're in the hall with them.

I particularly like the lead guitar style which has a slightly country feel to it which makes the overall sound of the band unique. 'Come On And Dance' (Povey) - Good party starter this. Easy paced jiver with a rockin' under-current. Somewhat shorter than the original (thank goodness for that or we'd need 'Old Shep' on next!). 'Go Man Go' (Rounds) - Rockabilly vibe which followed on nicely from the previous track though somewhat more accomplished, I'd say. 'High Heel Sneakers' (Higenbotham) - Now this is what I call a rocker, full of mist and short black skirts - I loved it! For those of you of the air guitar and blow up instrument persuasion - knock yourselves out!

'Lollipop Mama' (Brown) - Good raw rocker and one where that ever so slightly country guitar twang comes through. It rocks right to the end. I'm sure you're gonna like this one as it's one of those that tempts you onto the dance-floor and keeps you there. 'Sea Of Heartbreak' (David/Hampton) - Vibrato lead vocal worked well on this track (as per the Don Gibson original). This is a track that I find myself listening to over and over. 'Rock Ola Ruby' (West) - Good filler track this but not really remarkable. A bit so what really! So I'm not surprised to find myself skipping over this track.

'Angel' (Tepper/Bennett) - Beautiful Elvis song with a clever arrangement that brings it to life as a stroller. 'Just A Little Too Much' (Burnette) - Bit Oompah band-ish in places for me but still it rocks along Ok I guess. 'Head Over Heels' (Flatt) - This is a movin' little country style jiver that is probably already very popular (what do I know). Another floor tempter because of its catchy melody and pace.

'Be My Guest' (Domino/Marascalco/Boyce) - I find that this song and 'Kansas City', in particular, are either really well done or completely buggered! This sounded like it was sung in the Vic Reeves' Shooting Stars club style, shall we move on? 'Rockin' Daddy' (Fisher) - Oh yeah, back to the good stuff - go on rock your socks off to Colin's (these legs are made of rubber) vocal and this Rockabilly track. 'Say Mama' (Meeks/Earl) - Strong finish to the CD which captures the British Rock 'n' Roll vibe, evocative of those Saturday night café races (they're probably all McDonalds by now!)

Overall, this is a really good addition to anyone's CD collection. Introduction to, and the kind loan of the above CD (you're not getting it back) by Foot Tapping Records (www.foottappingrecords.co.uk).

ooO - - 00000 - - Ooo

 

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