Full disclosure: it\u2019s been a while since I followed the exploits of Chip Z\u2019Nuff and his band Enuff Z\u2019Nuff.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t that I was disappointed in anything that the band was doing; I simply got sidetracked by so many other things. Meanwhile, Z\u2019Nuff kept putting out additional albums and changing band members on a fairly regular basis, to the point that when Donnie Vie exited the band, Z\u2019Nuff ended up taking over the lead vocal chair as well as his normal bass duties.<\/p>\n
Xtra Cherries<\/i>, the latest effort from Enuff Z\u2019Nuff, shows one thing crystal clear: it doesn\u2019t necessarily matter who is in the band, the overall goal and sound have remained the same since they burst onto the scene over 30 years ago.<\/i><\/p>\n
The one thing about this disc that, honestly, gives me the chills is that Z\u2019Nuff resurrects some long-deceased band members and features musical contributions from them. Guitarist Derek Frigo (who passed away in 2004) has his six-string work featured on \u201cYou Make Me Wanna Lie,\u201d while drummer Ricky Parent (who succumbed to cancer in 2007) is on \u201cShine.\u201d What could have been creepy actually turns out to serve as a fitting tribute to all members of Enuff Z\u2019Nuff, past and present, \u201cShine\u201d being a particularly powerful example. (The inclusion of Vie on keyboards\u2014as well as vocalist Robert Fleischman and guitarist Neil Schon of Journey doesn\u2019t hurt, either.)<\/i><\/p>\n
With no disrespect meant to Vie, listening to Xtra Cherries<\/i> makes one wonder whether Z\u2019Nuff could have actually handled vocals all along for the band. Tracks like \u201cHeavy Metal,\u201d \u201cSanibel Island (It\u2019s Outta Control)\u201d and \u201cBack To The Wall\u201d all are powerful showcases for Z\u2019Nuff\u2019s voice. Only the opening track \u201cHeartbeat\u201d stumbles in that regard, but Z\u2019Nuff quickly regains his vocal footing.<\/i><\/p>\n
In fact, the stumbles on Xtra Cherries<\/i> are precious few. Other than the opening track, their cover of the Rolling Stones\u2019s \u201cStar Star\u201d (complete with a guest appearance on slide guitar by Gunnar Nelson) just doesn\u2019t seem to fit the hippy drippy style that Enuff Z\u2019Nuff had become known for. Hearing the non-stop chant of \u201cstarfucker,\u201d quite honestly, doesn\u2019t gel well\u2014and I am by no means a prude when it comes to language.<\/i><\/p>\n
Other than the aforementioned tracks, Xtra Cherries<\/i> is the kind of album that makes the listener sit up, listen closely, and wonder just why the hell they hadn\u2019t been following Enuff Z\u2019Nuff closer over the past several years. It perfectly describes what I felt, and makes me want to go back and check out the eight albums I\u2019ve apparently overlooked since 2000\u2019s 10<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n
To simply write Enuff Z\u2019Nuff off as a simple hair band or a relic from the late \u201980s\/early \u201990s is to do a disservice to not only the band but to yourself as well. Xtra Cherries<\/i> showcases the fact that this is a band that has fostered a light-pop sensibility to their music while paying no small debt to the Beatles in their work. It is, simply, proof that this is a band that demands to be taken seriously\u2014and deserves to be. Check it out and discover it for yourself.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6133],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-47201","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-enuff-znuff","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/47201","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=47201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/47201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47201"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=47201"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=47201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}