Friday, February 27, 2009

The Del-Lords- Frontier Days


Straight ahead Bronx rock n' rollers The Del-Lords were led by ex-Dictator Scott Kempner and featured Eric "Roscoe" Ambel (Joan Jett's gutarist) on lead. This first release is roots rock through and through, dealing almost exclusively with the plight of the working man. Fortunately that is not as boring as it sounds. Opener "How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live" is like rockabilly Woody Guthrie, and "Get Tough" is just a very solid rock song, which the Del-Lords have a knack for effortlessly pulling off. "I Play The Drums" is a clever ode to a working loser who hits the skins to escape his trouble, and "Mercenary" makes it clear they know their rock history (listen for the guitar line from another song about a man who lives a life of danger.) Put the real gem is "Double Life", the best, most melodic song here, and one of the only songs on the album to deal with a romantic relationship not in the context of economic hardship (and, I might add, sort of a preview of an even better song in this vein on their next album.) Frontier Days isn't quite as good as any of their next 3 albums, but is a solid start for a great, overlooked band. Info in comments.

1 comment:

jjstraka said...

rapidshare.com/files/203881675/Frontier_Days.rar