REVIEW: Joe Canzano and the Rhythmic Revolution, Armed &
Amplified
- Daniel Aloi
If you miss the late Bon Scott and don't want to shell out big bucks for the AC/DC box set, you can hear the next best thing to the late Aussie screamer - and much cheaper.
This New Jersey rock trio's namesake lead singer-guitarist has Scott's well-documented vocal histrionics down - even if his band doesn't hew too closely to the car-crushing simplicity and volume of Angus Young and company's arena rock.
The rock'n'roll they play is straightforward, to be sure, but it goes beyond being plain fast'n'loud. Canzano adds touches like Zappaesque phrasing and a Lou Reed feeling to some of the lyrics and arrangements, reflecting two influences from the artier end of the '70s musical spectrum - making this more than the barroom rock'n'roll it first appears to be. The rhythm section of Eric Rachel (bass) and Rob Eastlund (drums) adds more than the beat to the effort, meshing with and complementing Canzano's riffs and rants like "Sort of Antisocial" and "Total Garbage."
Some songs are from the New Jersey working-class school, especially "If I Were a Millionaire" (which continues its chorus: "You'd be in love right now.") I don't hear a lot of airplay potential here, but this album's production suggests the band is a high-energy live act, and the CD, like the band itself, wouldn't be unwelcome at a keg party.
The 10-song CD is available for $8 postpaid from Rocket Bomb, an Internet record label. Go to http://www.rocketbomb.com for info, sound clips, and free subscriptions to the electronic newsletter The Red Glare Record. You can also write to the label at P.O. Box 70, South River NJ 08882 or call 800/995-0393.
