Back in 1999, a time when sleazy and dirty Hard Rock wasn’t exactly the coolest thing on Earth and the heavy musical climate was ruled by nu-metal bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit, Buckcherry – a sleazy and dirty Hard Rock band – released their self-titled debut album and scored a hit with the cocaine-fueled stomper “Lit Up” and the album went gold in the U.S. The follow-up Time Bomb wasn’t even close to match up those sales and in 2002 the band was put on hiatus only to re-emerge in 2005 with a new album, 15, and another smash-hit, Crazy Bitch, which spawned another big seller for the band and since then the band has released six more album. Buckcherry never became huge despite releasing a whole bunch of great records but since quitting is for quitters Buckcherry keeps on keeping on. After all, they still sport a decently big yet very loyal fanbase, something we’re all happy for as every album holds high quality melodic yet raunchy Hard Rock meets Classic Rock albums. As the title might suggest, we’re now being treated with album # 10.
The album opens with the blues-rock shuffle fueled rocker “This And That”, a foot-stomping piece with both hand-claps and an Aerosmith smelling groove. It’s one rhythmic piece perfect for a live environment with a ton of hooks, attitude and dirt. It’s a chunky rocker with memorable melodies and a kick-ass refrain that stuck right from go. Very good. “Good Time”, the leading single, has a title that tattles of what Buckcherry’s all about. It’s upbeat, danceable, crunch-riffed and hooky with a Sunset Strip party-rock vibe. “Shut up and hit the floor”, commands singer Josh Todd. Ok, you da boss. This is splendid, feelgood party-rock and it should be a big ass hit, in my humble opinion. Good one.
On a faster track, “Keep On Fighting” comes on strong with grit and attitude. It’s a no-bull, straight on Hard Rock puncher with a rawer sound and direct, striking melodies. It’s a song about fighting addiction, something that Todd has been doing successfully for 27 years and it’s a song about giving people strength to do it. A powerful tune that will work splendidly live. Good one. Reminiscent of Hinder’s party deluxe cruncher “Up All Night”, the big grooved rocker “Turn It On” comes on so party-happy it’ll even open your beer for you. Catchy riffs, big hooks, sing-along melodies and solid rhythms with a crowd-friendly chorus on top takes the song for the win. Great stuff.
“Feels Like Love” is a semi power-ballad with guitar-lines borrowed from Def Leppard and a song-structure that has embraced Whitesnake’s “Is This Love”. It’s a late 80’s smelling mid-paced tune, quite smooth with a cosy and somewhat dreamy flow. If late 80’s power balladry makes you puke then skip this but for us loves that, this tune is an absolute gem, catchy as can be. Should be a single. The guys picks up the pace and the rawness with a ballsy rocker called “One And Only”, a faster paced rocker with both classic Hard Rock and sleazier moments involved. It’s concise, distinct and direct – a juicy rocker, no more , no less. It’s ok but it doesn’t arouse me.
The single “Shine Your Light” is an attitude laden, gritty rocker that brings us back to Aerosmith’s 70’s. It’s dirty, sleazy and raunchy with big melodies and a kick-ass attitude but also very melodic with some mid 80’s smelling vocal arrangements and memorable guitar lines. The big chorus also brings on an Aerosmith vibe with some instant catchiness. Good one. Also a single, the grovely and sleaze-laden rocker “Let’s Get Wild” comes along with a big nod to AC/DC with a fierce, raunchy riff on a pumping bass-line and a beefy rhythm beat. It’s live-friendly and it sends out party vibes with a hooky, in-your-face chorus that sticks right from go. Good one.
“With You” is a song that swishes by in an instant without leaving all that much of an impression. It’s a crunchy rocker, short, concise and simple, quite gutsy but the melodies and structure feels quite generic and the chorus is forgettable. A skipper. Taking a stroll down ballad street, “Pain” is a mellow and melancholic piano ballad, dark and even saddening with a held-back vibe, soft-ish with low-key vocal arrangements. After a while some orchestrated keyboards joins in and sends some bombastic soundscapes into this emotional and fragile number and Todd’s emotional vocals sounds so brittle it almost hurts. Way to go.
The album closes with a cover of a Bryan Adams song. Bryan Adams. “Summer Of ’69”. How imaginative. It’s also the latest single. First of all, it’s not a bad cover. It’s just a boring choice. I have never understood why you’d wanna make a cover of a song that was already a mega-hit and therefore been played to death. Second, it fits this album as well as Slayer covering Poison’s “Unskinny Bop”. I don’t hate it, I just wonder why they bothered because it doesn’t do anything. It’s just there. It’s a slightly sleazier version with Todd’s voice instead of Adams. I can’t see one reason for listening to this instead of the original. The good thing is I can end the record after “Pain” without the skip-button.
So the final judgement is that except for the unnecessary cover, this is a really solid record. It’s full of life and spark and a band that’s been having a damn good time recording it. It rocks, it’s a party and without going on repeat, it sounds like a classic Buckcherry record. It might hold the odd filler but no bad songs can be found on here. You can find hooks, though. Lots of them. Lyrically, there are some deep stuff going on here and there but musically it’s a raunchy, good-time rock-album that’s easy to enjoy. So that’s what I’ll do – enjoy it!
7/10
More Buckcherry reviews:
All Night Long
Confessions
Rock N Roll
Warpaint
Hellbound
Tracklist:
1. This And That
2. Good Time
3. Keep On Fighting
4. Turn It On
5. Feels Like Love
6. One And Only
7. Shine Your Light
8. Let’s Get Wild
9. With You
10. Pain
11. Summer Of 69
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