SAVAGE GENTLEMEN - ‘Savage Gentlemen’ Album review

Describing themselves as playing “seasoned, unapologetic rock’n’roll”, Savage Gentlemen are a new side project formed by Ron Young (Little Caesar, Cruzados) and his original Kingpins’ bandmate and guitar player from the ‘80’s, Rich Thomas. And in true gentlemanly style, this description savagely under-sells the quality and depth of music which they’ve produced.

If, like me, you weren’t living in the New York area in the 80’s, you’re probably not familiar with The Kingpins. Prior to moving to LA and forming Little Caesar, Ron and Rich lived in New York and formed The Kingpins who were described as “NYC roots rock/rockabilly” and plied their trade around various clubs including CBGBs, Peppermint Lounge and The Ritz. And while Ron enjoyed some success with Little Caesar, but nowhere near the level their talent deserved due to the emergence of grunge, Rich continued to play in a number of local bands.

In getting the band back together, Ron and Rich were keen to avoid the nostalgia trap and joining them on this side project are Bo Conlon (The BoDeans) on drums and Joe Viers on bass and who, as owner of Sonic Lounge Studios, Columbus, Ohio, also produced the album.

Featuring ten songs, early listening to their self-titled debut (including the first single and album opener ‘Runnin’ and the character-led ‘Lost Your Mind’) could cause you to think that, to quote the old Ronseal ad in the U.K., “it does what it says on the tin”. Straightforward, no-nonsense, heads-down, rock’n’roll/bar-room boogie.

But dig a little deeper, listen a little longer and you will be richly rewarded.

‘Switchblade’ lays down a gently rolling rhythm and groove, between guitar, bass and drums somewhere between a strut and a swagger and by the time Ron’s raw and soulful vocals are layered on you’ll be wanting to swing your tush, tuck a cane under your arm and kick and extend those legs. Yessss, baby …. this song swings, but s-l-o-w-l-y; it rocks and it rolls like a bar-room burlesque cover of ‘I’m All Shook Up’. It reminded me of a female friend who once simply described Ron’s voice as “sex”. More on THAT voice later.

And if it’s boogie you want, boogie you will get with ‘See You Later’ continuing the theme.

Sandwiched in the mid-section of the album is a series of four songs which stretch the promotional description of their music further and in different directions.

It’s probably now time to write about THAT voice. Fans of Little Caesar will be aware that Ron Young has one of the most distinctive and recognisable voices in rock music, who has taken care of his voice and is one of the few rock singers from the ‘80’s who can still sing really well and without a choir or army of backing singers to mask it or songs played in entirely different keys to help him to still carry a song; many have tried to cover the soul classics, but few (particularly white singers) can nail them and bring the soul in the way that Ron can. I give you Exhibit A (Chain of Fools) and Exhibit B (I Wish it Would Rain). Case closed. And at the risk of sounding like a fan boy, I could happily listen to him sing the telephone directory.

Match this vocal quality with an opening line of “I knew you loved me when you keyed my car” and you have my attention. Dropping the tempo ‘All Over Now’ does this, captures your heart and soul, and much more. Underpinned by a drum beat which wouldn’t have sounded out of place in any number of Phil Spector-produced songs by sixties girl bands, the song is multi-textured and like a mournful bar-room Wall of Sound with some great guitar work which matches the emotion in Ron’s voice perfectly. Just wonderful, that’s all.

‘Looking Back Ahead’ turns the dial to “intimate”, oozes fragility and vulnerability and is played by the full band, but based mostly around an acoustic guitar.

Recognising the need for the groove to return, ‘Pushing Water’ does as required before leading into ‘I Don’t Care’ which starts with a swaggering and strutting groove (what else) and gang chorus, and turns the groove up to eleven with swirling organ and other sounds added to the mix as the song spirals upwards before fading out.

The shuffling ‘Soul Shakin’ varies the rhythm before the wonderfully different and more garage-based 60’s/70’s West Coast pop of ‘Everything is Easy’ closes the album.

‘Savage Gentlemen’ rocks, it rolls, it grooves, has so much soul and is an album of rhythm and tone which really needs to be listened to to get the most from it. It’s also surprising on a number of levels. For a side project, the quality of the musicianship is really high and the rhythm and grooves which they create and lock in would make you think they’d been playing together for years. The production is top drawer capturing the musical tones perfectly. And with THAT voice, hard to go wrong.

Details of how to order the album can be found on the Savage Gentlemen’s Facebook page.

GMcA