{"id":13552,"date":"2013-07-01T00:00:32","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T00:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=13552"},"modified":"2013-08-17T17:36:01","modified_gmt":"2013-08-17T17:36:01","slug":"album-review-the-quireboys-beautiful-curse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-the-quireboys-beautiful-curse\/","title":{"rendered":"THE QUIREBOYS – Beautiful Curse (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE QUIREBOYS
Beautiful Curse<\/strong><\/span>
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\nOff Yer Rocker Recordings (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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For some 29 years, The Quireboys have been churning out good ol\u2019 fashioned rock \u2019n\u2019 roll. Despite having more than 20 ex-members and living through the grunge invasion, this bunch of heartbreakers has ploughed on and Beautiful Curse<\/em> is the result of that never-say-die attitude. <\/p>\n

Beautiful Curse<\/em> is the seventh studio album by the UK band, and it\u2019s as if the mid-90s and all that nu-metal never happened. Spike (vocals) and his merry bunch of travelling gypsies have returned with another swaggering, sweating, alcohol-fuelled opus which continues to combine cheeky rhythms and that distinctive Faces-style oomph. <\/p>\n

Considering these guys have played with such huge names as Bon Jovi and Guns N\u2019 Roses, their no frills brand of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll has never given them the recognition they deserve. Live however, they are one of Britain\u2019s best bands; The Quireboys are entertaining, hard-working and genuine, and thankfully these qualities have transferred well to Beautiful Curse<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Spike is on his usual form, his gravelled vocals still as endearing as the day they were born. On album opener, \u2018Too Much Of A Good Thing\u2019, he proves his worth as one of the country\u2019s most lively of frontmen. Adorned in waistcoat and head scarf, there\u2019s the look of David Essex underneath that Rod Stewart-styled rasp. <\/p>\n

Spike is backed on the album by guitarists Guy Griffin (original member) and Paul Guerin (both Griffin and Guerin share bass duties too), honky tonk pianist and keyboard player Keith Weir and stand-in sticksman Simon Hanson. The result of these fine individuals getting together is that \u2018Too Much Of A Good Thing\u2019 is one of the best sleaze anthems this side of 1987; the track comes complete with an opening twang, a bluesy sway and a chorus that slips into the ears and stays there for a long, long time. It\u2019s the sort of song \u2013 part-AC\/DC, part-Faces \u2013 that, if released in the 80s, would have been a hit no doubt. Hard to believe that bands such as The Black Crowes and, to a lesser extent, Primal Scream have been churning this sort of stuff out with success and yet with less sincerity than Spike and company.<\/p>\n

\u2018Chain Smokin\u2019\u2019 follows suit, beginning with a Rolling Stones-type of drooling guitar and, again, that AC\/DC-inspired bluesy shake. Some would say that Beautiful Curse<\/em> is already becoming predictable, but those of you who think this clearly don\u2019t understand this type of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll. <\/p>\n

The Quireboys have always been a straight up rock \u2019n\u2019 roll band combining blues, sleaze, soul and the likes, not to mention the obvious influences of some of Britain\u2019s greatest bands. Expecting anything more seems absurd, especially when such a formula \u2013 when displayed correctly \u2013 works so well. <\/p>\n

The ushered chorus of \u2018Chain Smokin\u2019\u2019 is simply infectious. The number eventually melts into what sounds like a lighter version of The Who\u2019s 1966 hit single \u2018Substitute\u2019, as a glistening, summery \u2018Talk Of The Town\u2019 floats in on the breeze. Again, it\u2019s the usual tale of love as Spike barks, \u201cShe\u2019s got heart, she\u2019s got soul… yeah she\u2019s my little rock \u2019n\u2019 roll\u201d<\/em>. Yep, it\u2019s nothin\u2019 fancy, just an effective swagger, which drifts into the acoustic charm of \u2018Mother Mary\u2019. A mellow little number, \u2018Mother Mary\u2019 wouldn\u2019t seem too out of place on an Oasis record with that whining guitar.<\/p>\n

\u2018King Of Fools\u2019 is basically what the band do best, kicking up a storm with that twanging guitar and honky tonk piano. Admittedly, the drums and bass are rather subdued, but for me though The Quireboys\u2019 best tracks have always been written to be played onstage, because only then do they really come alive. <\/p>\n

\u2018Homewreckers And Heartbreakers\u2019 begins life with a funky guitar strut and Hammond groove, which adds a lil\u2019 colour to proceedings. Spike\u2019s vocals are at their most measured as they bleed into that punchy chorus, which features a smattering of the ivories. We\u2019re then introduced to the drum shuffle and bubbly bass of \u2018Diamonds And Dirty Stones\u2019, a killer track that reeks of earthy soul. <\/p>\n

However, the band really shine on the sun-blessed groove of the title track and the piano-lead ballad \u2018Don\u2019t Fight It\u2019, a smouldering smoocher of a tune. Spike ponders another love lost, mourning \u201cIt\u2019s another break-up morning and another sleepless night, when darkness comes-a-calling and the future don\u2019t seem so bright\u201d<\/em>. Lyrically, it\u2019s typical Quireboys, harking back to the glory days of \u2018I Don\u2019t Love You Anymore\u2019 (1990).<\/p>\n

Track ten is the barroom boogie of \u2018For Crying Out Loud\u2019, a real party anthem of piano and drunken guitar, followed by the reflective \u2018Twenty Seven Years\u2019 and album closer \u2018I Died Laughing\u2019, with its smooching organ and soulful croon. Critics will certainly point out the lack of drum punch throughout the opus, but hopefully real fans will turn this record up loud in preparation for the live shows.<\/p>\n

The Quireboys have done it again; Beautiful Curse<\/em> is another smokin\u2019 rocker of a record that does exactly what it says on the tin, and for that you can\u2019t blame them.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE QUIREBOYSBeautiful Curse Off Yer Rocker Recordings (2013)Rating: 8\/10 For some 29 years, The Quireboys have been churning out good ol\u2019 fashioned rock \u2019n\u2019 roll. Despite having more than 20 ex-members and living through the grunge invasion, this bunch of heartbreakers has ploughed on and Beautiful Curse is the result of that never-say-die attitude. Beautiful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,680],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-the-quireboys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13552"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13645,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13552\/revisions\/13645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}