I’ve always wondered what happens when a legend in the world of
\nheavy metal decides to start a new career. But I don’t think anyone
\nwould have expected what Ross Friedman chose.<\/p>\n
Oh – you’ve never heard of Friedman? Maybe you know him better
\nas “Ross The Boss,” the guitarist for Manowar during the height of
\ntheir popularity in the ’80s. His guitar work on tracks like “Blow
\nYour Speakers” and “Defender” are literally worshiped in some
\ncircles.<\/p>\n
So what’s so shocking about Friedman’s new band, The Spinatras?
\nWell, it’s not that they’re not a metal band, and it’s not
\nsurprising that their debut disc,
\n@midnight.com<\/i>, is entertaining from start to finish. It
\nis<\/i> surprising, however, to hear that this group sounds a lot
\nlike Cheap Trick – and that’s the last thing I’d expect to hear
\nfrom anyone who was deeply entrenched in the metal world for any
\ntime.<\/p>\n
Friedman seems like he wants to tone down his guitar work on
\nthis disc – and it’s a pleasant surprise to hear that it’s an idea
\nthat works (though I would have liked to have heard some more
\nguitar solos; often, it seems like the solo is sacrificed for the
\noverall song). The rest of the band – vocalist Brian Corley,
\nbassist\/cellist\/vocalist Ron Giordano and drummer Richie Fazio –
\nall add their own signatures to make sure that The Spinatras is a
\nband effort in every way possible.<\/p>\n
What The Spinatras have in abundance is a good sense of humor,
\neven if it’s occasionally a bit of a back-handed slap against some
\ninstitutions, as “Mrs. Cindy’s Mom” is to the world of culture.
\n“Dog” is a surprisingly good track about one’s love for a pet that
\ntends to go one step too far. (Censors,
\nrelax<\/i>, I’m not talking about beastiality. Read the friggin’
\nlyric sheet, and you’ll know it’s a
\njoke<\/i>.) Other tracks, like “Anti Depressant” and “You Like
\nIt,” all take a lighter look at life in the serious lane – and
\n“Michelle” is a letter of worship to actress Michelle Pfeiffer and
\nthe desire to just hang out with her. (Memo to Friedman: Did you
\never get your wish?) And maybe this says too much about me, but
\n“You Like It” is forever endeared to me because of the reference of
\nfarting in a sealed car. Hey, I grew up on the campfire scene in
\nBlazing Saddles<\/i>, whaddya expect?<\/p>\n
Don’t think for a minute that
\n@midnight.com<\/i> is all kicks and giggles; this is a serious
\npop-rock album with some catchy songs. “My World,” “Ketchup”
\n(here’s a hint: it ain’t about Heinz) and the title track all have
\nthe combination of skillful playing and excellent songwriting that
\nmake the listener want to hear these tracks over and over again.
\nYes, there’s more than a splash of Cheap Trick in their sound, but
\nI don’t think that The Spinatras went out of their way to clone
\nRick Nielsen and crew.<\/p>\n
The only mis-step I’d point out – and I admit this is personal
\ntaste here – is the “hard rock” version of Bob Dylan’s “My Back
\nPages”. Sorry, but I’ll always prefer the Byrds’s version – but
\neven so, I’d have preferred a little more of a straight-line cover
\nthan the sped-up cover that’s presented here.<\/p>\n
\n@midnight.com<\/i> is the kind of album that should get a lot of
\nattention – and seeing that most people might not know Friedman by
\nhis real name, they can’t be prejudiced against The Spinatras
\nbecause of his metal past. If you listen to this with an open mind
\n(and, if you happen to know Friedman’s musical past, don’t enter
\ninto this disc with any preconceptions), chances are you’ll find
\nthis disc could well be one of the most exciting releases of the
\nyear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6229],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-36437","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-spinatras","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36437"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36437"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}