Childhood heroes deliver an album of the year contender
It was a different time. It was – literally – a different century. 1990, A glam rock obsessed kid was growing up in the English Midlands. Back in those days we’d buy Kerrang every week. There was, if memory serves, a flexi disc on one of the editions featuring a band called The Quireboys. It sounded new and fresh (there was no Spotify in those days and the young lad didn’t know The Faces, The Small Faces and only had – at the age of 14 – the briefest knowledge of The Stones.)
That small piece of wobbly plastic was the start of a lifelong love of that type of music. Within a fortnight, the kid was wearing a London Quireboys tshirt (that was their US name and for some reason that’s the t-shirt that was on sale in Birmingham at a shop that has long since gone), knew every word of their debut “A Bit Of What You Fancy” and was proudly showing off to his mates that the band sponsored the kit of his favourite football player (Wayne Biggins, the erstwhile Stoke City striker – that is absolutely true by the way).
Fast forward getting on for 27 years and that kid is a balding bloke who happens to own this website and has been sent a copy of “Twisted Love” to review. And, ladies, gents, boys and girls MV is here to tell you that it is their best album since then (to be accurate, it is in honesty probably better, but like a first love I will not be swayed from the thought that “…Fancy” is one of the best 20 albums ever made).
In the interests of fairness, since the band reformed a decade or so back they have made a string of great records and their live shows have been better and better, so you always kind of thought they had a cracker in them and “Twisted Love” is absolutely that – and more besides.
It is special from the delta blues kick off of “Torn And Frayed”, the Stones-y stomp of “Ghost Train” – one of many to feature keyboard man Keith Weir at his very, very best – is arguably better still and this is a record that keeps on surprising.
“…Train” is an interesting track because, like plenty here, it showcases the incredible voice of Lynne Jackamann. If she showed in St Jude and subsequently in her own band, that she has all the talent in the world, then here she fetches something soulful out of The Quireboys. Check out the title track, “Stroll On” and album closer “Midnight Collective” and ask yourself if Spike and the boys have ever sounded this good?
Throughout this, though, they remember that they are The Qureboys even if they are merrily adding to their sound, then they still sound just like they should. “Killing Time” marries these worlds just about perfectly, and “Life’s A Bitch” follows in a long line of tracks from “Long Time Comin’” all those years ago to be just an out and out rabble rouser and have the band sound like the best bar band in the world.
As always there’s a country element here (that’s been there since the start too) and here it manifests itself as “Shotgun Way”, but there’s also a couple of things that you wouldn’t automatically associate with the five piece (and in Dave McCluskey, latterly of The Union, they seem to have finally ended their drummer issues) “Breaking Rocks” has a dark, Led Zep kind of groove, and “Gracie B Pt2” has an echo or two of Deep Purple as it goes about its work.
All of which adds up to something that is better than you would dare believe. It seems as though their comeback – hell, their entire career – has been to lead up to this. “Twisted Love” is purely and simply, that good.
Rating 10/10
