Rossall gives us a no nonsense, but fun album .It’s an ‘in your face’ throwback to the early 70’s, and If you know me from my other musings on this site about this particular era, then you know what you’re in for.
Written by: Explorer
ARTIST: Rossall
ALBUM: The Last Glam In Town
LABEL: Tiny Global Productions
SERIAL: N/A
YEAR: 2020
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: England
LINEUP: John Rossall – vocals, saxophone * Dave Glover – bass * Corrie Shells – saxophone * Jake Bradbury – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 The Fear Of A Glam Planet * 02 Never Say Forever Again * 03 Get Go Girl * 04 Got My Groove * 05 Have I The Right * 06 Equalizer * 07 Neon Lights * 08 Blackpool Rocks* 09 Glitterbomb * 10 Let’s Get Together Again (Again)
Background
John Rossall is a name that needs no introduction to early 70’s Glam fans, but for those who don’t know of his pedigree, he’s a founding member of The Glitter Band, who along with their leader (ahem), were seen as groundbreakers with a sound that echoed not only on the dance floors, but also the football terraces of that particular era.
Since those heady days, Rossall has kept himself busy with a slew of solo singles and playing almost continuously to audiences who have hankered after those somewhat hedonistic days.
This album sees Rossall perfectly capturing the sounds of the Glam drenched early 70’s with a set of songs that are, on one hand a cheeky look back at those times, but also deadly serious as to why that era was so important to my ( and thousands of others) musical development.
The Songs
10 tracks that are, from start to finish a breath of fresh air. Gone is the sterile, overproduced nonsense that is so prevalent in today’s market. The wonderfully titled ‘Fear of a Glam Planet’ lays down a marker straight away and has it all. The huge drums, the football terrace Hey’s and hand claps all make for a brilliant start, and it only gets better there on in.
‘Never Say Forever Again’ has all the glitter trademark sounds bang in place, and ‘Get Go Girl’ just reinforces that, and is a song that rivals anything that was around in 1973! Elsewhere, the likes of ‘Got My Groove’ and ‘Equalizer’ stomp along with a quite breathless pace, and the cover of The Honeycombs ‘Have I The Right’ does the original real justice.
We’re then on the home run with the exciting ‘Neon Nights’, and the wonderfully titled ‘Blackpool Rocks’, which really does bring back fond memories of The Glitter Band, at their very best. ‘Glitterbomb’, is just that, a feral mix of both joy and menace, before it’s all finished off with a cover of the classic Glitter Band‘s ‘Let’s Get Together Again (Again)’.
In Summary
This is a no nonsense, but yet fun album. It’s an ‘in your face’ throwback to the early 70’s, and If you know me from my other musings on this site about this particular era, then you know what you’re in for.
Listening to this I’m like a pig in the proverbial shit. This is an album that unapologetically takes the listener back to that time when all that mattered was a weekly dose of Top of the Pops, smoking round the back of the school bike sheds, and copping off with one of the girls from the local high school, need I say anymore? The album can be Pre-Ordered from John’s bandcamp site.
Video
Let’s Get Together Again.
