Quite a ride
Did I miss the memo? I only ask because there seems to have been a hard rock revival and no one told MV.
Certainly it is beginning to look that way. We have had Canadian sleazebags The Last Bullet on these pages recently, closer to home The Cruel Knives, and even some of the greats like Warrant have remembered where their balls are and released their best album in years.
That said, there have always been triers out there.
Take On Top, a three piece from Philly, just over two years ago, we reviewed their “Topless” EP and said: “Ultimately this is the sound of a band having great fun. It matters not that this sort of music hasn’t been vogue since Poison released “Flesh And Blood” because this four tracker will either act as fine nostalgia for those of us who lived through it and had the posters the first time around, or be an eye opener for anyone under the age of 35 who picks it up.”
Now they are back, and give or take a line up change – Ric Haas is on guitar this time – everything is as you were in their world.
Look at the cover. Still don’t understand the sound? Well, this is the Sunset Strip in the 80s, baby. MV faves like Poison, Ratt and a little later – as a reaction to the overt hair metal stuff – came the greatest of them all, Guns N Roses. On Top have elements of all three and many others.
“Lovin The Devil” – which sees Haas announce himself with a screeching Eddie Van Halen style lick – has no subtlety whatsoever, but is as sleazy as you like and is reminiscent of early Motley, albeit with a mighty bass groove.
“Walk The Walk” follows the same pattern – in truth they all do – but adds a whiff of violence, “Everything” is perhaps the best of the bunch, and when Jaron Gulino intones: “are we doing this or not?” woe betide anyone who says no….
The closing “This Way” comes in with a real chug and there is a sort of WASP thing going on, and it shows the improvement that the band have made in writing hooks and catchier material – and seldom has the line “I’ve been dreaming of your satin sheets” been delivered with such malevolent glee.
Nostalgia? Yeah, course it is, but whilst this will appeal to anyone – like MV – who wishes the 80s hadn’t ended, it is more than that. “Top Dollar” is more confident, classy and sleazier than before and that is worth the big bucks.
Rating 8/10
