I was, it must be said, as shocked as anyone when The Quireboys sacked Spike. Cue lots of wrangling. The upshot of this was that the Quireboys reformed and what had been the Quireboys regrouped as Black Eyed Sons.
At this point, just as I did when I reviewed the Quireboys album last year, I’ll declare an interest. The Quireboys are one of my absolute favourite bands and have been for 35 years, since I got that debut album, which is still one of my top ten of all time.
Which brings us to “Cowboys in Pinstripe Suits,” and immediately, “Lie to Me” has the classic sound. That is to say, if you love the Quireboys, you’re going to love this. It’s even got the harmonica—but of course, it hasn’t got that voice.
And this is when things get complicated. If we went through every special guest here, it would take the 600 words of this review on its own.
Take “Medicine,” for example. Laid-back and Stones-y it might be, but that voice in the second verse? That’s Josh Todd of Buckcherry, and he’s brought Stevie D with him.
And that’s kind of the vibe of all this. “Foolin’ Yourself” is brilliant. It could have come off the Quireboys’ second record (the one with a slightly more expansive sound), but it’s also got Steve Conte on it. And he’s cooler than me, you, and anyone else.
But here’s the thing: you can have a cast of thousands, and it’s pointless unless you have the songs, and I’m here to tell you that “Autumn Reigns” isn’t brilliant because Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke is on it—it’s just a magnificent song.
Arguably the biggest star of the lot is on the title track. Joe Elliott guests, proclaiming “I saw the death of rock and roll today” while singing on something that Mott the Hoople themselves would be proud of.
Chip Z’Nuff finds himself on a couple, but “Don’t Throw Me in the Corner” sees him in the spotlight, and it’s absolutely glorious.
There are some surprises, too. There’s a soulful flavour to the blues of “Your True Colors,” and Mike Tramp clearly enjoys himself. “Savior Faire” (amongst the guests here is Quireboys man Chris Johnstone) finds a more garage rock sound, and Alan Clayton’s playing is perfect.
More than anything, though, this just nails it. “I just wanna play some rock and roll,” sings Griffin on “Dig Me Out of This Hole,” and that appears to be the point. Plus, Scotti Hill of Skid Row has never played guitar quite like this before.
Whilst some of the guests have stretched themselves more than others, they all fit superbly. In that respect, it’s very like the recent Ian Hunter albums. Take “So Glorious,” perhaps the sweetest love song here; Dan Reed sounds like he belongs on it.
As does Ryan Roxie on “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory.” Played with strings here, it adds a freshness to the Johnny Thunders tune (even if the first time I heard it was Guns N’ Roses).
You might not have expected Black Eyed Sons to cover it, and in honesty, you weren’t really sure what this was going to be like as a whole.
There was, I have to be honest, a little trepidation when I got “Cowboys in Pinstripe Suits”. There is no need to worry because Black Eyed Sons, with a little help from their friends, have released a bit of a stunner.
Rating 9.5/10
REVIEW: BLACK EYED SONS – COWBOYS IN PINSTRIPE SUITS (2025
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