Reviews roundup – Fandango vs. Arago vs. RazorCut
FANDANGO
The Complete RCA Albums 1977-1980
Hear No Evil
Or as they are now known Fandango featuring Joe Lynn Turner.
Which makes sense considering he was the one who went on to fame and fortune with Rainbow and Deep Purple. Mind you, I never got over the fact that Fandango had a guitarist called Rick Blakemore! Yes, really.
Anyway this four CD set rounds up their, wait for it, complete RCA albums 1977 – 1980, which is exactly what it says on the tin. It also shows exactly why Fandango never made it to the big time. See they’re quite good at a lot of things without being great at any of them. So they dabble in melodic rock, pop, soft rock and even country rock. Which is why they ended up touring with a varied assortment including The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Beach Boys and Billy Joel.
Luckily for JLT, Ritchie Blackmore was listening and off he went to bigger and better things. This is a curio for diehards which really should have been released a long time ago. There’s nothing rare bar some mono single mixes and it comes with an essay from Classic Rock’s Malcolm Dome based on new interviews with singer Joe Lynn Turner.
ARAGO
The Flying Dutchman
independent
Drametical. That’s what Arago call their music. Which is an odd way of saying you’re a female fronted symphonic metal meets prog band.
Fair play. I assume they want to be distinguished from the plethora of bands plying their trade in said genre. However if you want to be different then don’t go down the concept album route as that’s a well trod path.
Their story of “The Flying Dutchman” is divided into six chapters and it actually makes for a really enjoyable listen as the Austrian band show that they have what it takes to up their with the best of them. There are actually three singers playing different parts and it really does pull together as a complete work.
There are plenty of highlights icluding the big ballad ‘Brand New Day’ and the heavily orchestrated ‘Through The Storm’ but it’s a record that really does need the listener to take the time to appreciate it from beginning to end.
RAZORCUT
Common Enemy
Contra Records
Oi! Oi! Oi! To the mythical continent of Australasia now for some skinhead anthems courtesy of Razorcut.
Which is really all you need to know. Because if skinhead anthems are your thing then this will be right up your street. It’s not really up mine although I am old enough to have seen the Cockney Rejects in their prime.
It’s all been sped up these days although Razorcut do manage to cling on to the notion of a melody in most of their songs. If you’ve heard them before then you might want to know that they’ve got a new rhythm section in tow with bassist Jig and drummer Lyndon pushing things along.
They say ‘We Are Not Defeated’ and on the evidence of this old school Australian punk is in safe hands.
The Rocker 