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HAIR OF THE DOG
Rise (Spitfire)
Reviewed by Christophe Chuvan
Remember when rock was supposed to be fun, when the only purpose of a song was to be cranked up on the car stereo every Saturday night while driving down the highway, when albums were meant to enliven the proceedings at every backyard party around the neighborhood? Well, if you don't, don't worry, there's people out there trying very hard to remind you of these times. Hair of the Dog, is one of these bands which proudly wear their influences on their sleeves, right next to their tattoos. "Rise" is their second release and the only record of theirs I've listened to so far but if the first one sounds anything like this, and I bet it does, it won't be long before I get my hands on it too.
While we're not talking about a revolution here, you can't deny the spirit of fun that permeates the album. The band gets off the starting blocks firing on all cylinders, with a fiery opener of a riff which carries the title track into 90's sonic territory while retaining a healthy dose of party rock attitude. After that, we start delving into more "classic" sounding fare, the next few songs mixing AC/DC riffage with "rock'n'roll all night" lyrics straight out of the Kiss/David Lee Roth/Motley Crüe songbook. The material sounds familiar straight away, which can be a good and a bad thing. These guys obviously aren't striving to be remembered for their originality but what they lack in pioneering spirit, they make up in enthusiasm and dedication.
Talking about dedication, they obviously couldn't follow the template for yesteryear's rock albums and not include that most important of 80's staples, the power ballad. This one is called "You are the one" and not surprisingly, it sounds familiar at the first listen, if a bit lackluster. It's one of these tracks you don't care that much for at first but which grows on you after a few listens. If we were in 1988, this thing would be in constant rotation on radio by now.
To add another touch of authenticity to the whole thing, the band sequenced the album as on a good old LP, with the songs organized in two sides. If this was an actual vinyl record, Side Two would have to be my favorite. Although it opens with another ballad, "Rescue Me", it rocks harder than the first. It includes a nice blues romp in "Twice", "The Almighty Strut", whose title is right on the money, "Sometimes is enough", with a riff straight off the AC/DC back catalogue, and "Hammered" which reminds me of John Corabi-era Motley Crüe. To finish the proceedings, an absolutely smoking, if predictable, Kiss cover, "I", on which the band does a good job of trying to sound like a Kiss tribute band.
We could argue for hours about the merits of sticking to your roots as opposed to pushing the boundaries but that would be missing the point. Hair of the Dog is not out to reinvent the wheel, they prefer to leave the "innovation" bit to others that probably do it better. As far as they're concerned, they'd just rather have fun and pay tribute to their heroes in the process. They might not have written an instant classic yet, their material is a bit too derivative to achieve that status but, once they manage to find their own voice and sound, anything's possible. So, if you feel like a little flashback, feel free to join the party. David Lee Roth used to sing "Can't get this stuff no more" four years ago. Well, maybe you can after all.
© 2000 - Christophe Chuvan