Release Date: 18th August 2023. Released on: Foot Tapping Records. Reviewed on 10th August 2023 by Dave Diamond Promoter of The Boomerang Club-London. BAND MEMBERS: Vocals Harry Caiger Drums Freddie Lovett Guitar Harry Caiger
Bass Nathan Clark
Piano Will ''Highgate Slim'' Hall
Harmonica Will ''Highgate Slim'' Backing vox Freddie Lovett, Nathan Clark
Produced and Mixed by Graham Dominy Mastered by Graham Dominy Front cover artwork by: Lee Ditch Photography by: Josh Kershaw. Distribution: https://www.musicking.co.uk/.../harry-and-the-hounds-wild... All original tracks are written by Harry Caiger and performed by Harry & The Hounds Let’s have a listen to the tracks: 1. Long Legged Baby-Kicking off this album we have a self-penned number written by Harry himself, and what a beauty it is! Here we have a fabulous rock ‘n’ rollin’ bluesy mid-paced stroller…nice 20 second intro then we are off… the guitar solo is singing to me and its great to hear a double solo, nice piano bouncing in and out of the mix, fab steady drum patterns and terrific bass lines, great light and shade on the verses too, that pick up nicely on the chorus…. “She says come on now daddy, just go with the fl-o-o-o-w!” well worked out lyrics on this opening track… I predict lots of airplay indeed! 2. My Gal'- this one has a Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps feel to it… it really sounds like a Capitol Records tune right outta 1956. Great verses and really loving the stops to break up the track, Harry has the Gallup sound running throughout his guitar playing and its awesome, great range on his voice too which is accompanied by great musicianship. Go cat go… this one’s a tremendous track indeed… so good I had to give it another play… 2 minutes 20 seconds of pure excellence, that’s right! 3. Framed-written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that was originally recorded by The Robins in August of 1954, and then covered by Ritchie Valens in 1958, despite the humour, the song refers to the legal brutality that impacted the black community back in the day. This version gives the spotlight over to Harry’s vocal range… the song is a great listening number and mixed to perfection by Graham. What a magnificent instrumental break and a massive take on the original…pure perfection personified! 4. Tear It Up-going right back to those early Rockabilly days of Johnny Burnette and his rock ‘n’ roll trio, that was written by Burnette/Burlison. Great idea to have the first 16 seconds with just guitar and rim stix, here we have a bouncier version with a jive tempo to it. The piano on the first break really does stand out for me and on the second break the guitar is screamingly marvellous… drums once again spot on and fab bass lines throughout… great to see the band putting their own stamp on this classic with great build up towards the end… top stuff indeed! 5. Nadine...the classic Chuck Berry tune brought right up to date… 1 minute 10 seconds longer than the original, this is a very well worked out cover and it’s a lot punchier, Freddie’s drums sitting higher in the mix, rasping vocals from Harry, fab backing vox, great keys from ''Highgate Slim”, this is an all-round great listening number and I can see it being a big tune for the strollers! 6. All Night Long-wow half way through already and this second release from the guys is awesome! Back to another original number written by Harry that’s got that Bo-Diddley beat running through it, great running bass lines from Nathan, powerful drumming via Freddie, Harry’s fab high-end vocals, and Highgate Slim’s harmonica this song just oozes excellence throughout, I’m loving the the change of tempo instrumental section, before the song returns to the accent Bo beat! Bo-Meets Thorogood me thinks! 7. I Ain't Nobody's Fool- this number is 3 minutes 21 seconds long, and you can really hear all the thought that’s gone into this original track both musically and lyrically. Slow to mid paced bluesy number that could be right off Beale Street, Rum Boogie Café springs to mind in Memphis, Tennessee. What a beauty of a tune and really digging the overall sound of this one. 8. Mary Jane-here we go again, the guys go back to a rockin’ fast tempo tune… this one’s a real foot tapper and such a snappy original track, it’s guaranteed to get your head nodding to the tempo all the way through. I could see it being the soundtrack for a film with the opening credits in the back ground…a real stomper indeed and one I would love to see played live, nice piano run down right at the end too that finishes it off nicely! 9. Gold Digger... Harry tells me “Gold Digger is the fictional story of a gal “this is the story of a gal (known as Ruby) who loves nothing but the finer things in life “Ru, Ru, Ruby, I’ll buy you a diamond ring, Ru, Ru, Ruby, our love don’t mean a thing… says it all I think!” Here we have a powerful tune with a driving beat throughout and great key changes that give it an instant appeal. You will get the feeling that you’ve heard it somewhere before, but rest assured this is another original and I just love the vocal melodious chant! 10. Tush- Is there no end to this group’s talents, here they take on the 1977 ZZ Top track, and give it a fantastic makeover. it’s 26 seconds longer than the original and a lot slower. The track has fabulous bluesy feel and the harmonica really does add that extra spice, I love the staggered section in the break, wonderful guitar licks throughout, drums are solid and bass lines great, vocals just pure class... great version indeed! 11. Marie Marie-originally released by The Blasters from America on Ronny Weisers Rollin’ Rock Label. It’s always great to hear a cover version of this fab tune… and here Harry & The Hounds do not disappoint, Harry’s dulcet tones are awesome on this slightly slower take, loving the instrumental section, drums, bass, guitar, are all top notch indeed. The jive scene are really gonna dig this take, and it’s great to see they have put in the staggered section on the second solo just like the original. Great catchy version indeed! 12. Wild For you-last number from this rockin’ blues-tastic album, and what a belter we have from the guys. My kinda rock ‘n’ roll…high octane verses with speed but also stops mid-way through …here we have Eddie Cochran, Ray Smith all in one track, I’m loving this one and for me what a stand-out track to finish off a fabulous album. I’ll be right down the front for this one… and I hope to see you there, do not miss it! Any inspiration for the song titles you write? about personal experiences? Harry tells me… “A lot of the self-penned material on this new record is really just inspired by those classic topics that were written about in the 50's; girls, lovers, money, being broken hearted etc. I wanted to take these themes and make them a little more contemporary.” “For the album I used all fender guitars for a change. I played my battered black-guard telecaster for the majority of the album but switched over to 50’s spec strat for the Marie Marie, Nadine and I Ain’t Nobody’s Fool. For drums we normally use the house kit at embassy studios however this time round we used Fred’s Gretsch Catalina Jazz kit. Everything apart from backing vocals was all recorded live to really capture that right vibe. Some of it is a little rough around the edges but we like that. Nadine was one take as well. We’re really happy with that!” In their own words We formed back in 2018 as a side gig to earn a little extra cash. It soon become apparent that we were gaining some momentum locally, and decided to start throwing in some tracks that Harry had written. We sent those demos over to Clive Duffin of Foot Tapping Records who, at first, really wasn't sold on what he had heard but after seeing us perform live he decided to take us under his wing and invited us to Embassy studios to record as he wanted to capture on record how we sounded live. Founders Harry Caiger and Freddie Lovett have been through a little bit of a line-up change in the past 12 months by adding Nathan Clark on bass and Will Hall has become a mainstay of the line up. Closing comments on the album: Gotta start off with… hot rockin’ blues-tastic! Here we have 12 fabulous tunes that really drag you in wanting more and more, you can see that the guys have really worked hard on the beginning and endings of all tunes to make them unique and different, which in turn makes you eager to hear the next track in line! This is the bands second full album, they have also done two digital single releases “Hey Jack!” and “Easy Street” in 2022 and they are fresh from playing the Hotrod Hayride. Driven by a fantastic backbeat, great guitar work, that’s mixed in with top bass playing, excellent piano and harp and finished off with Harry’s lead raw edged vocal, when put together they make this album a fantastic release indeed! For Bookings contact: https://www.facebook.com/harryandthehounds YOU TUBE CLIP: https://youtu.be/8js0-_nzJOw
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