THE GREAT WESTERN VALKYRIE

With Jack White and The Black Keys dominating the recent blues rock revival, The Rival Sons kept to the shadows for the most of their five years as a band. But although they didn't get much mainstream attention, they had several sold-out tours and supported rock royalty ranging from AC/DC to Judas Priest to KISS. And with their fourth studio album, the band from California seems to have reached maturity. While their earlier albums were criticised for sounding a bit too much like their influences, The Great Western Valkyrie the best of the 60's and early 70's into a unique blend that can only be described as The Rival Sons.

The album jumps with raw energy from the get go and the band make it a point to keep the arrangements very simple, no double tracking, no synths, no special effects.  In fact the band is so obsessed with nailing the classic blues rock sound that they recorded many of the tracks in a live environment and that shows. The first couple of songs “Electric Man” and “Good Luck” sound like a blend of The Kinks and The Doors but nevertheless remain modern.  Vocalist Jay Buchanan has a very strong singing style although you can be forgiven for thinking he's too much of a Robert Plant fan at times.

While Buchanan's obsessions are focused more or less on Plant, guitarist Scott Holliday can't be accused of sounding like any one person in general. In fact his guttural guitar sounds display an array of influences with the chunky riffs of “Play the Fool” and “Rich and the Poor” combining almost all the good things that happened in terms of guitar playing in the 60's in a more aggressive way. But while everyone seems to have their moments on the album, they really come together as a powerful, potentially legendary unit on “Open My Eyes” and

“Destination On Course” both sincere and at times wild rock ballads about despair and finding one's place in life.  The sonic landscape is very colourful and they push away from the early blues rock sounds found in the first few tracks and move into more psychedelic territory. Rotating Leslie cabinets first heard on Humble Pie and Mountain records come roaring back to life and Holliday digs into his string work to provide apt support to Buchanan's snarling vocals. This was the first album for bassist Dave Beste, having replaced Robin Everhart (who had played on the first three albums) and he forms a tight rhythm section with drummer Michael Miley , who tie the band down into a very cohesive unit.

A unique moment on the record is the 9th track, “Where I've Been”, which shrugs of any semblance of the sound heard so far and becomes a softer rock ballad. It's probably the best example of song writing on the album too.
The Rival Sons are definitely worth checking out if you're part of the crowd that thinks “Rock is dead”.