Album review : SON OF MAN – Gaslight
Pete Feenstra chatted with George Jones about the new album and development of Son Of Man. First broadcast on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, 7 April 2024.
Esoteric Antenna [Release date : 26.04.24]
‘Gas Light’ is Son Of Man’s third release and is essentially a classic rock album, with nods to the Gods of the genre such as Zeppelin, Purple, Floyd (with Dave Gilmour in particular), AC/DC, The Who, and on the last track Yes.
They’ve morphed into a powerhouse rock band with traces of AOR and symphonic edges, built on muscular grooves, keen dynamics and real intensity.
The album flows from beginning to the end on the back of an undulating sonic sweep due in no small part to keyboard player Marco James, while guitarist George Jones anchors the project with his intricate attention to detail, notably his solid rhythm playing, an intuitive ability to switch from power chords to subtle solos, and occasional acoustic sketches.
His role is that of a buttress between the powerful rhythm section of bassist Ray Jones and drummer Bob Richards, and Richie Galloni, an animated vocalist with a fine range whose vivacity dominates a harmony drenched album.
What’s probably missing is a couple of memorable songs to match their riff driven intensity and melodic sweep.
At their best, the band combines story telling narratives with well chosen retro musical influences played with a contemporary fervour.
The outstanding ‘There Will Come A Day’ for example, evokes The Eagles’ ‘Doolin Dalton’ and more generally Pink Floyd, on the first of two Native American themed songs,
The lyrical imagery might be as old as the hills, but there’s an undoubted emotional pull to the song, while George Jones’s David Gilmour style guitar resolution pushes it into the realms of a resounding triumph
“The union wants a railroad cross the prairie, they want to lay it down as fast they can, and populate the country all around it, and civilize and wipe out the red man.”
And while the track nails the band’s style admirably, it also leaves us in no doubt that they have traded the last vestiges of their Man connection for a classic rock heritage.
That said, it isn’t quite the clean break that you might expect, as evidenced by echo reverb intro of the 80’s sounding ‘Far From Home’, which has palpable Micky Jones feel to it, while the track as a whole could be The Fixx.
The album opens with ‘Down’, the first of 2 arpeggiated keyboard patterns, (there’s a similar motif on the following ‘Stuck’ ) which references Pink Floyd on a strummed acoustic before exploding into life on a heavy duty Jimmy Page style riff.
It then reaches for the kind of a harmony rich hook which is a template for the album as a whole.
For example, the opening riff to ‘Stuck’ could be AC/DC, but it quickly morphs into a recognisable Son Of Man track because of the harmonies.
The title track leans on a sludgy Zeppelin style riff, but with doctored vocals, synth pulses and a symphonic chorus, which tells us; “perceptions lost but at what cost, the gaslight fades til all is lost.”
And if “gaslight” is taken to mean a term for psychological manipulation, the band bursts through the claustrophobic feel at the 2.38 mark, with some fiery guitar and organ interplay which recalls early Deep Purple.
As an aside; the album also uses a few Zappa style repeated lyrical and musical motifs, notable the use of the words “down” and “gaslight” alongside the 2 native American song themes and several different but related riffs.
They all act as memory triggers which will make you want to play this ripping rock album again.
Stylistically, the band is unafraid to follow where their muse takes it, be it on the powerful rock ballad ‘Can’t Stop Loving You’ which features Galloni’s vocal prowess perfectly, or ‘The 103’, spirited hard rock homage to the famed moped, complete with glistening harmonies.
The intro to ‘Tomorrow’ feels like a waltz before building to another George Jones, David Gilmour style indulgence, while the riff driven rocker ‘Hiding’ broaches an AOR feel complete with a Honky Tonk piano and a big wall of sound.
Then there’s the portentous feel and sabre rattling stomping intensity of ‘The Road’, which is topped and tailed by Bob Richards military drum break, and features more colourful lyrical imagery: “The desert wind it burns my eyes wind, spirit soars as the eagles flies, red men’s country, white man thief, steal the line the land that’s there beneath.”
It’s also notable for repeated bass motif, a big mid-number drum break and an unexpected acoustic (or possible Theremin) riff, which thinking about it, could be Man!
The subsequent chiming guitar part and choral drenched symphonic wall of sound leads to Bob Richards’s staccato finish on another album highlight.
They round things off with the wonderful ‘Thanks For The Ride’. The blended tinkling piano figure, strings and acoustic guitar intro sounds like a film soundtrack, until it’s ripped asunder by another Page style riff.
It’s framed by Celtic guitar tone and a choral drenched wall of sound which has an eerie Micky Jones quality. Not a bad ghost to have in the machine.
Marco James’s concluding piano coda is the perfect finish to an album you will want to revisit. ****
Review by Pete Feenstra
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
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UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.
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12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
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