Thunder - Giving the Game Away (Tenth Anniversary Edition) | ||
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Album Cover: ![[Image]](../../cd_images/thunder.jpg) |
Label: Eagle Records Producer: ? Year: 1999 Total Playing Time: 51:24 m:s Review date: 6 Sept 1999 |
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| Rating: 6.5 | ||
| Verdict: Thunder without the roar! | ||
| Way way back when they changed their name from Terraplane to Thunder, I bought "Backstreet Symphony". Whilst that album most definitely has it's high points, I've always considered it a patchy affair. The result of all this is that although I've heard a few Thunder tunes over the years I've not really been that interested in the band. Thunder have a good relationship with the music press and sometimes I wonder if their popularity has more to do with the fact that they always come across as a bunch of very likeable guys rather than anything to do with the music. So ten years later I'm checking out the new Thunder album.
It sounds like Thunder haven't changed that much over the years. They're still a blues-based hard rock band playing a style of music that's got a Bad Company vibe. Halfway through the first listen I thought "Wait a minute! Haven't the lads quietened down a bit over the years". Whilst I can't comment from personal experience, I know from reading other reviews that this album is a slight departure from the norm for the boys. I guess this is another album in the "Bad Habit - Adult Orientation" mould, where it is not so much a case of wimping out, but more a case of adopting a more mature attitude to the music. There certainly has been a spate of these semi-acoustic adult rock/pop albums and it has to be asked if Thunder aren't doing a bit of bandwagon jumping here. There is no doubt that Thunder are accomplished executioners of their craft and this is a polished performance. However, I can't help feeling that I'd have enjoyed this album more if Thunder had swapped the mature pop rock for some good old fashioned boisterous rockin'. The review was still managing to stay on the positive side until I started writing a few comments about each song. Whilst doing this I realised that this album doesn't have any really killer tunes, in fact the vast majority of tunes are pretty much forgettable. Apart from the cover version of "Play That Funky Music" only "Just Another Suicide" (A catchy semi-acoustic uptempo start to the album), "You Still Got A Friend" (which highlights what a great voice Danny has), "Numb" ( which is one of the numbers that display a Beatles influence) and "'Til It Shines" (which builds nicely from a gentle start) come close to getting noticed. The rest, well, I'd describe them as pleasant and unobtrusive, even the rockers - "Rolling The Dice" & "Time To Get Tough". Well, that turned out more negative than I originally thought it would. Sounds like I should have caught up with Thunder before that decided to go all mature on us. | ||
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