Now this is an album I’ve been listening to for months off an on, and have tried on more than one occasion to jot my thoughts down. Initially I thought it was okay, but it didn’t really grab my attention (hmm, that sounds kind of familiar...). But there was something about it that kept me coming back to it - over and over again. This is like a great-layered onion, or if you prefer a nice parfait (gotta quit watching movies with the kids) - every time is a little different to the taste (the parfait, not the onion).

This isn’t a pretty pop record, it’s rough and raw and is a screamin’ wicked fest for the ears (um, I think that means good). I think I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have a lot of 77s baggage from their earlier efforts so I can’t do much other than let this stand on it’s own merits. Mike Roe is perhaps one of the greatest working man’s guitar players around. He plays with an energy and emotion a lot of today’s slingers only hope to attain.

The only fly in the ointment is the aptly named Earache, which is brutally unlistenable, and is preceded by Five in the Nave which is a precursor to the horribleness to follow - I think the guys did it on purpose - and truly enjoyed themselves at the expense of the listener.

~ banophernalia.com
 

 

Many of you have already looked at the end of this review and have seen my name. So you're expecting me to write great stuff about The Seventy Sevens. Lots of you know they're my favorite band, and that I believe everyone else ought to admit they're the best and all that jazz. Well, it's true that I have a long history of loving this highly under-appreciated band, and I make no apologies about that. But for the sake of the cynics, I'll try not to gush.

The Seventy Sevens rock. That's about all there is to it. However one might describe the intricacies of the rarefied art of rock and roll, it ought to be clear to one and all that Mike Roe is possessed by it's spirit. The Sevens' music has ranged from rhythmic and sensitive pop love songs to flailing heavy metal pyschedelia, often within the same record. Tom Tom Blues is the latest in the continuing development of a band that, after 14 years at this, ought to be on the downswing by now. Problem is, they're not.

Although Aaron Smith, arguably the best drummer to be seated in the heavenlies on Judgment Day, is sadly no longer a Seven, his replacement, Bruce Spencer, is a fine drummist indeed. Although Spencer tends more toward the hard-rock idiom than toward some of the tricky tendencies in which Smith prevailed, it's impossible to compare the two because this material is so different. Spencer definitely keeps the backbone solid throughout Tom Tom Blues.

Back on the bass is the brilliance of Mark Harmon, who's as greasy- and fat-sounding as ever. Harmon and Spencer masterfully demonstrate what people mean when they refer to the bassist and drummer as a rhythm section. Then, of course, you have the leader of the circus. The man who's probably the most diversely talented guitarist on the alternative scene, and whose voice has evolved into a sort of rock and roll snake that slides around the songs in an occasionally eerie, but always satisfying way: The Inimitable Michael Roe.

Listen to "Outskirts" for a lesson in progressive musical virtuosity, then skip back to the previous song, "You Still Love Me," to fully understand this guy's range. "Outskirts" is possibly The Sevens' coolest new tangent since their infamous "Pray Naked." Roe sings a traditional blues melody/lyrical structure that reeks of The Stones, then he guides the band through a decidedly Santana-influenced bit of Latin alternative rock. This song belongs in the guitar lovers' hall of fame, kids. Immediately following is the Tommy James/Clapton-inflected "Flowers in the Sand." Hear Mike Roe's voice downshift into sensitive romantic mode as the band mellows into a neo-psychedelic love song. Spencer's deftness with a drumstick is nowhere more apparent than in this number. By the end of what might have been the A side in LP days, The Sevens have locked you in your seat and have held their music to your head like a gun. And unless you're offended by great music, you're just dying for the second half to get underway.

Side 2 opens with the most prominent use of the acoustic guitar by Mike Roe since the self-titled Island album of 1987. "Don't Leave Me Long" is a mid tempo shuffle replete with relentless solos right alongside the hookiest melody of the record. Then "Gravy Train" comes crashing through with the most hysterical and catchy sound of the disc. The guitar lick that dominates is somewhat reminiscent of the repetitive hook that made "What Was in That Letter" (1987) so hard to get out of our heads. The opening lines say it best: "Well I broke my back / in a chicken shack. Well I made a stack / With Pastor Black. I got the knack / for attractin' slack. You jumped my tracks / and stole a snack. Rode my gravy train." Roe does his best Jagger impersonation as he delivers these gems. At least we know he hasn't lost his sense of humor.

"Five in the Nave" is an acid jazz diversion that aptly demonstrates the band's ability to swing, if nothing else. Then "Earache" pounds away with relentless hard-rock abandon and Mike's spooky spoken-voice lyrics. Six minutes later you'll be beggin' for mercy, and it'll come in the form of "Deliverance." Here we have the most delicate moments outside Flowers ..., with an intensified chorus that provides enough crescendo to be dynamic without busting the vibe laid down in the verses.

Tom Tom Blues sounds like the most deliberate and well-thought-out record since the previously lauded The 77's on Island Records circa 1987. Each of their records has been strong, even excellent, but they've lacked the continuity of Tom Tom Blues. If you're a fan, you probably already have it. If you've not yet tasted of this band, there's no better place to start than Tom Tom Blues. Okay. So I gushed a bit. I can't help it. The Seventy Sevens just plain rock!

~ John J Thompson