Full of youthful exuberance and cocky attitude.

I have a good memory so casting my mind back to 1986 is not really a problem. It was a big year for rock music and the melodic rock scene in the U.S.A. was thriving. Bon Jovi released ‘Slippery When Wet’, Motley Crue were big news and, though not American, there was no denying where Joey Tempest got his inspiration for Europe’s ‘Final Countdown’. Another LP that hit the stores that year had an air of controversy surrounding it due to the nature of the group’s appearance on the cover. Poison’s ‘Look What The Cat Dragged In’ contained several hit singles and may have been responsible for raising the sales of hairspray, make-up, spandex and scarves, amongst men that is, more than any other release during the 80s.

Having listened to Down & Dirty’s ‘Taste of Rock & Roll’ several times now it is easy see where the band draw most of their inspiration from. The fact that the Chicago four-piece have an average age of a mere 18 years means that none of them were actually born when the Poison debut was released. I always find it to be a useful reference when comparisons are made to other bands but in the case of Down & Dirty, at times, we are bordering on plagiarism. This sophomore effort, as you would expect, is full of youthful exuberance and cocky attitude with lyrical themes centred primarily around sex and rock & roll. It does make me chuckle a little when 4 guys who are still popping spots can extol the meaning of life when it revolves mainly around drinking beer (wonder who buys it for them), getting laid and listening to rock music……lets face it though we were all the same weren’t we? Song titles such as ‘R U Ready’, ‘Taste of Rock & Roll’, ‘Free & Young’, ‘Party With Me’ and ‘Gotta Luv It’ should give you a good indication of what you can expect and these are complimented by a couple of ballads straight out of the Motley Crue song-writing book called ‘Fallin’ and ‘You’. The only surprise is the cover of John Mellencamp’s ‘Hurts So Good’ which doesn’t really add anything to the original version.

With time on their side and cool names already in place (Majyk, Ryan 9 Volt Tyler, LA and Joey The Kidd) the Down & Dirty star it seems is already burning bright but maybe a little more thought about originality would be a good idea next time round.

Dave Bott