Released in 2001, Hallelujah Rock 'N' Rollah is the second full-length
release by the Flaming Sideburns for Denmark's Bad Afro imprint. As the turn of
the millennium revival of garage rock was brewing in Sweden, Finland's Flaming
Sideburns were creating a buzz of their own thanks to their raucous, fun, and
skintight rock & roll attack that blends the singsongy hip-shaking of the
Rolling Stones with the roar of the MC5. The remarkable thing is that the
Sideburns manage to avoid sounding overly derivative or stale -- which is
clearly no small feat, as evidenced by the current influx of by-the-numbers
garage rockers currently boring the jean jackets off of audiences around the
world (and that includes Sweden, kids). In 2002, Hallelujah was released
Stateside by Jet Set Records under the oh-so-modest title Save Rock 'N' Roll.
While that album didn't spark the sort of fever the Hives' did, it certainly
kept the flames burning. Although repackaging efforts like this aren't usually
worthwhile, Save Rock 'N' Roll proves to be a rare exception as a few of
Hallelujah's more lackluster numbers ("Underground Confusion,"
"Shake In," and "Testify") are traded out for full-on
scorchers ("Lonesome Rain," "I'm in the Moon," and
"Sweet Sounds of L.U.V.") making it a rock-solid record from start to
finish. One of the keys to the Sideburns well-honed attack is that they pile on
numbers that rock out, and just when the listener thinks the band is about to
peak, they throw in a midtempo Stones/Velvet Underground slow burner like
"Stripped Down" or "Flowers" that eases up the pace just
long enough for them to regroup before rocking out once more. Brilliant. The
Sideburns serve up red-hot guitar lines and slinky bass breaks so effortlessly
that it allows frontman Eduardo "Speedo" Martinez to be the star of
the show, with his swaggeringly confident vocals that exude the sort of playful
cockiness that makes guys like Mick Jagger great. Even the Argentinean howler's
occasionally awkward turns of a phrase sound cool with his rolling accent (see
"World Domination" for head-scratching lines like "On top of an
iceberg/Got no medication/You want medicine?/That's out of the question").
Although they never had a hit in the U.S., they did garner a bit of airplay in
the form of a car commercial. A snippet of "Street Survivor" was used
in a 2002 Toyota Camry ad campaign. Somewhere, a young marketing intern is
probably giggling with self-satisfaction at this unlikely feat.
(AllMusic Review by Karen E. Graves)
Immer wenn man denkt, man
hätte schon alles gesehen und gehört und so allmählich die Schnauze voll hat,
zum Beispiel von Schweden, die einem den Rock´n´Roll erklären wollen, dann
kommt so eine Band wie die FLAMING SIDEBURNS daher.
Die haben dann dochmal ihr erstes Album auf die Reihe bekommen, nachdem man
schon angesichts ihrer Singles und der Split-Scheibe mit den HELLACOPTERS
wissen konnten, wie gut die sind. Also: Schweden ja, Klischees nein, also fast
nicht...
Das hier ist wirklich exzellent groovender Rock´n´Roll mit ´ner gut souligen
Komponente und einem exzellenten Sänger, wobei man Eduardo Martinez einfach
anmerkt, dass er gebürtig aus Südamerika ist, wo man eben nicht ganz so
unterkühlt ist wie in Nordeuropa.
Stellt euch eine Mischung aus HELLACOPTERS, ROYAL BEAT CONSPIRACY, THE
SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES (bei "Flowers" verdingen sich Ebbott und Ian
als Hintergrundsänger), ROLLING STONES und MC5, minus den Superlativfaktor,
dann kommt man dem hier gebotenen ziemlich nahe.
Klasse Debüt, das mich auf Anhieb begeistern konnte.
(Joachim Hiller @ox-fanzine.de)
Flaming Sideburns - Hallelujah Rock 'N' Rollah (Bad Afro Records 2001) FLAC 320
Enjoy!
