Electric Deja vu is a new compilation to celebrate 40 years of The Godfathers one of England's more irascible bands, this compilation features 18 songs chosen by Peter Coyne from the bands last three albums Jukebox Fury, A Big Bad Beautiful Noise and Alpha Beta Gamma Delta. I won't recount what I did to upset Peter enough to ban me from going to see the band live, suffice to say I smiled when this cd arrived for review as I continue my near 40-year love hate relationship with The Godfathers.
According to the press release the band on the album are Peter Coyne, Jon Priestley, Billy Duncanson, Richie Simpson and Paul Humphreys, although some of the 17 or so former members of the band may also be involved.
The album opens with the clanking hard rock of Back Into The Future a dirty greasy rock tune, with vocals barked or shouted with plenty of bile and anger at the state of everything falling apart around them, guitars going full on, sounding every bit like Bernie Torme's magic touch has been involved co-producing it.
OCD uses a great biker rock riff and rock-solid drumming, Peter explains the nature of his affliction, the OCD that plagues his every move, claiming OCD did a job in him, didn't it just.
You Don't Love Me could easily be an anti-love song for all the band members who have left, or been pushed out of the band over the years, let alone the woman this may well be about, who has stopped loving Peter, this is full of his apologies, while making clear he is still stalker like obsessed, with stunning Crittall style guitar solo soothing her worries hopefully.
The Outsider states clearly that he is The Outsider well yeah, I agree he is, always on the outside, never saying yes at the right time to be the insider, he tells us we don't want to know him, which sounds about right to me, this is all about what the guitars are doing with Indian inflections surrounding the main colossal riff.
Bring On The Sunshine sounds like it could have come off of Steve Wynn's Dazzling Display album, this is a bit of a late summer come down tune. You Gotta wait has laconic spoken word vocals giving this slower tune a much more new wave feel.
Till My Heart Stops Beating is a statement of intent that Peter will be playing in one line-up or another of The Godfathers till his dying day. This is fist pumping A-Grades pub rock, with a great guitar solo that has a bit of a Marlborough Road edge to it, solid as it comes drumming helping keep everyone rocking till the end.
I Can't Sleep Tonight is a stone-cold Ramones rip off, with lyrics about being up all night that should get a crowd clapping along with it. Miss America is as close to a Rolling Stones rip as they can get, Rain hasn't quite stopped play yet, in this dark night they are roaming through, hoping life is a gas.
Theme To The End Of The World could well be a song for 2025, or just the final argument between a couple of bickering brothers, this is downbeat western soundtrack country rock and stands out by sounding nothing like The Godfathers and being a real highlight with some great castanets.
I Hate The 21st Century is something many of us with memories of the 70's 80's and 90's agree with more and more, wanting to go back to a more analogue world, one this alienated rock tune, is for the lonely blokes unable to get with the modern programme.
A Big Bad Beautiful Noise is driven by Darren Birches bassline and Steve Crittall and Mauro Venegas guitars, this cooks, while Pete nicks a line or two off of Iggy this has a great biker rock rumble.
Primitive Man is spoken word almost nursery rhyme song for the Caveman ethics of The Godfathers, never evolving from there primitive roots, this grinds away over Del Bartles guitar flying off.
Midnight Rider has Pete cruising the streets looking for some greasy back street action, he claims to be a human being, just like you, he seeks the illicit alley of his black leather dreams, so you best not ignore him, less he forces you to start waving lighters in the air for the second half of this song.
Poor Boy's Son is a proper garage rock stomp with brilliant drums and shaken chains, over super sharp guitars, Peter claims to be a working man.
Tonight a song about liars lying through their teeth to you, making promises he'll never keep, anything so you'll do what he wants, like a petty dictator, they are not going to shed tears for anyone with some cool harmony backing vocals from I guess Mauro and Darren.
She's Mine to such a degree he wants to do a ghost dance with her, electro-acoustic guitar wizardry, help lift how much this is in debt to Patti Smith.
The album closes with I'm Not Your Slave another biker rock anthem, stating he's the man and no matter who you are, or what you're trying to do for him Peter is always his own man, he won't let you dictate to him oh no of course not.
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