THE DEAD DAISIES – Locked and Loaded
- Posted on 20-08-2019
The magnificent The Dead Daisies are undoubtedly one of the most exciting hard rock bands out there today. The thrilling entity boasts an impressive line-up and some of the best musicians in rock have trod the board with the band in the past (we are talking former members of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, DIO, Motley Crue, Guns ‘N’ Roses, and so on and so forth). This 10-track effort is, as its sleeve art so neatly indicates, an album consisting of cover renditions, and trust me when I say that this one is much more interesting than your typical covers record out there. For one thing, The Dead Daisies inject a ridiculously huge amount of passion into their takes on classic cuts by Neil Young (“Rockin’ in the Free World”), The Beatles (“Helter Skelter”), The Rolling Stones (“Bitch”), The Who (“Join Together”), and Deep Purple (“Highway Star”) among others. It is fun and riveting, crunchy and uplifting, and it is damn-near impossible not to be swept away by the energy and joy of it all. These are some of the greatest tunes known to man, performed by a class of world-renowned musicians – what is not to love about that?! Granted, some versions are better and more rewarding to listen to than others, so whereas the bluesy “Evil” (Howlin’ Wolf), the gritty “Midnight Moses” (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band), and the massive-sounding “Fortunate Son” (Creedence Clearwater Revival) leave absolutely nothing to be desired, “American Band” (Grand Funk Railroad) and the aforementioned “Rockin’ in the Free World” might not blow of the entire roof off your house even though they are strong and powerful cuts in and of themselves. The blistering interpretation of the Rolling Stones’ immortal “Bitch” is without doubt one of the highlights of the disc – what a darkly charming thing of beauty that one is.
On “Locked and Loaded”, The Dead Daisies pay tribute to some of the greatest bands and artists of all time, but at the same time, they have succeeded in making the tunes their own by putting a different and rather unique spin on them. I sincerely wish that there were more bands like this one out there. This is a stunning homage to classic 60s and 70s rock music and it has a loud, raw, and suitably modern edge to it. “Locked and Loaded” is not to be missed if hard and heavy rock gets your dick hard!