Elly Roberts reviews
Alabama 3 - M.O.R.
Distributed by
One Little Indian
- September 2007
- Rating: 10/10+
Alabama 3 - my new favourite band.
Somewhere in the depths of Brixton, London, there's
nine rough and ready souls making the most incredible
music. They're not household name: may never be. Shame.
Their musical influences seem to lie Stateside, though
traces of British influences seep through. Nine of
them appear to gel perfectly on their best album in a
decade. They've also been described as the 'best live
band in Britain' and the greatest American act the UK
ever did produce.
Their music is a heady combination of Rock'n'Roll (a real spirit of the '70s
hangs heavy too), techno, country and western,blues, gospel, reggae and (not
too much) rap, making them a unique presence on the UK scene. Sounds like my
kind of band !
Somewhere, they appear to be shifting between Dr.John, Fun Lovin' Criminals,
Primal Scream, Happy Mondays and even Lou Reed, but more expansive in
repetoire. This sixth album has a confusing title - M.O.R (Middle Of The Road), which it isn't. Alabama 3 like to confuse people as Welshman
Rob Spragg aka Larry Lovesays in his fake American accent, "Who else would
mix acid with techno, country and western and blues? But then we've always
been about smokescreens. We like the idea of confusing people but also luring
them in, then dazzling the." They've certainly done that to me.
For real music fans, there's nothing about Alabama 3 to dislike, possibly even
to the casual listener. M.O.R. takes flight slowly using F/X and mock airport/pilot
announcements, a precursor to the' bumpy ride' ahead.
And what a magnificent ride it is. Fly, a mellow techno ditty featuring
songbird Devlin Love's glorious soulful vocals.The cool beats and wiry guitars
only add to its uniqueness. The Klan is a fun and jaunty take on C&W
with mesmerising steel guitar ghosting in the background, and again, an uplifting
chorus rounded off by rap.
Further in, The Doghouse Chronicles brings out their gentler (acoustic)
C&W leanings as Love does a great Dylan-like vocal, similarly on the easy
rambler (shades of Eagles) on the Middle Of The Road, complete with
sing-a-long chorus.
American southern boogie-blues a la Lynyrd Skynyrd takes us on a romp of
stomping proprtions for Amos Moses, bolstered by dazzling wailing guitar just for
the hell of it. Lazy techno beats drive the ultra cool Way Beyond The Blues
with Love doing his mercurila thing on vocals.Their mostr subtle techno is
Are You A Souljah? with rapping adding an extra dimension to the shifting
beats. Gospel-tinged Holy Blood, initially driven by keys, turns into a
stirring crescendo.
Their earthy approach comes across as the most polished rough'n'ready album to
ever surface. This wonderful freewheeling effort has all the hallmarks of a
21st century classic.
The full list of tracks included are :
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
