Deadbeat Honeymooners (yes, a mouthful to repeat with five syllables), aren’t quite the AOR repeat of Orphan, preferring instead to mix up their sound; gritty, bluesy in parts, jangly too, a real pot pourri.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Deadbeat Honeymooners
ALBUM: Deadbeat Honeymooners
LABEL: Anthem
SERIAL: ANK-1066
YEAR: 1992
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
LINEUP: Christopher Burke-Gaffney – vocals, guitars, strings * Barry G. Player – guitars, vocals * Blair Depape – bass, vocals * Terry Norman Taylor – drums, percussion, vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 Hard To Be Humble * 02 When The Rain Comes * 03 King Of The World * 04 Queen Of The Renaissance * 05 Foreign Legion * 06 Dial L.O.V.E * 07 Temptation * 08 Money, Money, Money * 09 Blind Faith * 10 Can’t Live With – Can’t Live Without * 11 Yo Mama * 12 Mystery
WEBLINKS: NA
Background
Some of you will recognise the two leading lights of this band, who were previously in Canadian AORsters Orphan and prior to that 70’s outfit The Pumps. Nearly a decade on from that band, the Deadbeat Honeymooners (yes, a mouthful to repeat with five syllables), aren’t quite the AOR repeat of Orphan, preferring instead to mix up their sound; gritty, bluesy in parts, jangly too, a real pot pourri.
Still, the Deadbeat Honeymooners are quintessentially Canadian, no denying them that, and even as late as 1992, they still cling on to styles that were prevalent during that pre-grunge era. After forming in 1991, the band were picked up Anthem Records after a string of tour dates throughout Western Canada.
The Songs
Prairies styled rock is what ‘Hard To Be Humble’ is all about. Guitars that zing, and a great drum production throughout sets the tone. A raw version of Bryan Adams would be a good description of ‘When The Rain Comes’. It really does get cranky this one.
‘King Of The World’ changes tack, an acoustic guitar ballad that flows nicely, until turning the electrics on full bore at the 2 minute mark, where it turns into a Led Zeppelin styled rocker. ‘Queen Of The Renaissance’ also contains deep grooves. Think Beggars And Thieves meeting Kingdom Come, and you’re on the right wavelength. Great tune.
Moving beyond the short interlude ‘Foreign Legion’, the Deadbeat Honeymooners move into upbeat mode with ‘Dial L.O.V.E’ which is a late 80’s themed rocker with razor sharp guitar-work. I was kinda reminded of early Hardline with this one.’Temptation’ was the one track that didn’t tickle my fancy, coming across like a Quireboys cast-off.
‘Money Money Money’ too was a glam meets blues collision, Hanoi Rocks and Kix the obvious references. the Deadbeat Honeymooners take an equation out of the Tesla songbook, with ‘Can’t Live With, Can’t Live Without’, a ballad that morphs into a rocker.
Some of you might get some mileage out of high-stepping rocker ‘Yo Mama’, with a rhythm section taken from the big-band era. Both Van Halen and Fate have tried this recipe before with better results. Returning to melodic rock central, ‘Mystery’ goes out with twin barrels burning, a much better send off than the previous brace of songs that went before it.
In Summary
The album didn’t do a great deal in the awareness stakes throughout 1992-1993, though ‘Dial L.O.V.E’ in particular was released as a single with a video to match. the Deadbeat Honeymooners folded in 1993 with the personnel all going on to other musical endeavours, including a reunion in 2006 for The Pumps!
Video
Dial LOVE
Mystery
Blind Faith
