From heavy pettin’ to a full blown seeing to….
One of rock’s great triers Gary Moat made his name as the drummer in the shoulda-been-huge Heavy Pettin’, then had another go in the band that sprung from their ashes, Mothers Ruin.
Now he’s back, behind the mic in the band he formed last summer, with the aim of creating some good time rock n roll. The result is this album, and “Swallow” has plenty of that.
Not the type of record to break new ground, “Swallow” is 11 songs of varying degrees of quality, but all with their eyes very much on the classic rock prize.
The first thing to say about the album is that when its good, it is extremely good. The first couple of songs, are the eponymous cut and the title track and both are worthy of such billing. “Burnt Out Wreck” casts them in the role of indefatigable rockers who won’t be denied – and benefits from some quite stunning guitar work from Adrian Dunn, a long-time cohort of Moat’s – while “Swallow” is probably even better, taking to task politicians, Big Business, and just about anyone else it can find in its crosshairs.
These are followed by “She’s The One” which swings in on the back of a mighty groove and thumping chorus, and you are ready to anoint this as a BoW wow.
Which leads us to the second thing that you must say about the record. A little too often “Swallow” doesn’t hit those heights and there is a lot of filler to chew through.
“Pulling It Out” is the type of thing that does actually suit Moat’s rather Bon Scott voice, but come on, lets be honest: “she’s always pulling it out/I’m always sticking it in” is a line so naff that it wouldn’t have made the first Poison record, which is a shame, because musically this is mighty fine stuff. “She’s a Dirty Love” a little later in the record ploughs much the same rather pointless furrow.
The annoying thing is how much these tracks detract from what would be a brilliant album, full of UFO-meets-Magnum hard rockers, like “Talk About Love” and the ebullient “Medusa”. “Flames” – a real fists in the air thing – is another cracker and the ballad “Your Love (Is All I Need)” is lovingly done, as is the bluesy stomp of “Rocking Man”.
“Best Of Your Life” – which ends this – is apt. Because it is a confident, classy affair like so much of “Swallow” but also because it really could have been a proper classic as that song title hints. That it isn’t, is a little frustrating, but “Swallow” remains a collection that deserves be on the menu, even if it isn’t quite as tasty as it might have been.
Rating 7/10
