Well Oiled
The Quireboys
•
July 7, 2004
An R & B flavored Rock band heavily reliant on 70's style Blues Rock, The Quireboys include guitarists Guy Bailey (ex-Skid Marks) and Ginger, ex-Avenger and Beki And The Bombshells, in the group early on.
Initially known as The Pretty Girls and then The Quireboys the band recorded demos as a unit of Spike (real name - Jonathan Gray),Bailey and Willie Dowling, that later became (x-)frontman for The Grip.
Supporting David Lee Roth in the UK during February of 2004 the band sported an all-new line up, featuring new draftees guitarist Paul Guerin and keyboard player Keith Weir. Both were previously members of the Firebyrds whilst Guerin had also served with Red Dogs, Brian Robertson's The Clan and The King. The guitarist had also served as guitar tech for Ufo's Michael Schenker, contributing acoustic guitar to Schenker's own 1994 album Thank You. With Michael Lee touring in North America, as part of Thin Lizzy, new man on drums would be Pip Mailing, formely of Bedford act The Pecadillos.
The band's debut album A Little Bit Of What You Fancy back in the 90s entered the UK charts taking over the second position. Now, 14 years later their new effort Well Oiled is another taste of their cool R & B artistic anxiety. It was recorded in Bedford in the band's new studio with producer Nick Mailing. Surprisingly it marks the first time they have recorded a studio album in the U.K.
This time around the band set out to record their most live sounding album to date. This has certainly been achieved with a harder edge on the sound. Well Oiled also marks the first recordings with Keith Weir on Keys, a long time member since This is Rock n Roll as well as Paul Guerin on Guitar/Slide and brand new drummer Pip. All songs were Gray/Griffin compositions arranged by The Quireboys.
Listening to their songs an image captured my mind: I'm on my bike, riding on the highway with my fellow riders, letting the wind come through my hair on a summer day. That's the atmosphere coming out of this album. Have you ever been to a motorcycle gathering? Drinking, partying, yelling, having fun while hearing pure rock 'n roll coming out of the speakers? That's pretty much all. I am sure Well Oiled will be identified with the biggest forthcoming biker meetings.
Songs like Too Familiar, You've Got A Nerve, What's Your Name and Sweet As The Rain are typical rock tunes with a catchy feeling. A beautiful party mood conquers you the moment you press the play button and all you ask is another cold beer. Hand-made rock music, spiced with edgy riffs, driving rhythms and Spike's unique voice, all in a true Rolling Stones and Guns N' Roses tradition.
Yet The Quireboys do not emulate their supposed idols; their originality, their charisma and their unique rock 'n' roll slogans guaranteed the band their very own place in rock history. The album is suitably named: the band's clean and well-oiled rock machinery picks up speed after a few bars and marshes straight though haunting numbers like Good To See You and The Finer Stuff.
The Quireboys are back with their current studio recording, featuring a total of 9 convincing new tracks. The band have the communal finger on the pulse of the time again - because rock 'n' roll is back on the scene, just waiting to be fed by bands with a well-oiled machinery that runs as smoothly as The Quireboys.
7 / 10
Good
"Well Oiled" Track-listing:
Good To See Ya
The Finer Stuff
Lorraine, Lorraine
Too Familiar
You've Got A Nerve
What's Your Name?
Sweet As The Rain
The Last Fence
Black Mariah
The Quireboys Lineup:
Spike - Vocals
Paul Guerin - Guitar
Guy Bailey - Guitar
Nigel Mogg - Bass
Keith Weir - Keyboards
Pip Mailing - Drums
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