These Wicked Rivers open with 'Shine On', a groove laden slice of southern rock. The guitarist seems like a showman although I don't think his guitar is loud enough. I always assumed that they were American but it is clear that they're not when the singer speaks in between songs. The bluesy hard rock of 'Black Gold' has a pretty catchy chorus whilst 'Evergreen' is another piece of driving southern rock. All of these songs pack more of a punch than the studio versions. The slow burning ballad 'When The War Is Won' is excellent and the guitar solo is great too. The drumming seems too tribal for 'Testify' and is at odds with their southern rock swagger. The singer seem like he's pushing his vocals to the limit on the chorus too. New track 'Horse To Water' sounds like 'Paradise City' if it was played by Blackberry Smoke. The guitarist is terrific, flashy and full of tricks which he makes full use of when playing the double necked guitar on the closing 'Don't Pray For Me'. Excellent.
It's a high energy start to A Thousand Horses' set as they open with The Black Crowes styled southern rock of 'First Time'. The guitar riff is very similar to 'Jealous Again' and it's a solid start. 'Outside' is bouncy country rock which is pretty infectious. 'Blaze Of Somethin' suffers from too much reverb on the vocals and too much feedback, and the more commercial country style just falls a bit flat. The poppy 'Song To Remember' doesn't quite hit the mark either. The more commercial tracks are definitely less successful. 'Trailer Trashed' gets things back on track with its marriage of good time country and bluesy rock. The anthemic '(This Ain't No) Drunk Dial' is excellent. 'Heaven Is Close' follows and it feels like they are really hitting their stride. Pleasingly, they play quite a few tracks from the first album. The swamp blues of 'Travelin' Man' is really good too. The band introductions avoid the usual cheesiness by being a pretty cool jam which leads straight into 'Broken Heartland'. 'Summer' rocks out in a Randall Flatts style. 'Smoke' is absolutely colossal and turns into a cool countrified cover of Oasis' 'Champagne Supernova'. The talkbox and harmonica led 'Highway Sound' is the first encore, and the extended climax brings Primal Scream to mind. The guitar solo during the closing 'Roomful Of Strangers' is excellent too. Some tracks don't quite hit the mark but overall this was very good.
A Thousand Horses ****
These Wicked Rivers ****
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