![]() With Tightrope‘s tricky beats, heavy rhythms, and sidewinding ways, Cactus also proudly displays the heavy blues influence that underpinned its lane of the ’70s classic rock superhighway.Īlbum-opener “Tightrope” kicks things off with grinding guitar, stop-start rhythm, and edgily insistent vocals. Guest appearances are made by legendary rock vocalist Phil Naro (whose music I used to review regularly back in the ’90s when I published Geoff Wilbur’s Renegade Newsletter) and original Cactus guitarist Jim McCarty.īeginning to end, Tightrope reminds you why that era of rock ‘n roll is timeless – why it persists to this day and was the foundation upon which the rock ‘n roll of my teens and twenties was built. They’re joined by new members Paul Warren (lead guitar, vocals) and James Caputo (bass). ![]() On this album, Appice is joined by longtime members Jimmy Kunes on vocals and Randy Pratt on harmonica. The band then disbanded until 2006, when it was resurrected by its original drummer, rock legend Appice. An incarnation of the band continued to perform in the later ’70s. ![]() It’s album-oriented rock that straddles the ’70s and ’80s styles, with screeching guitar solos, instrumental mid-song jams, high-pitched vocal wails, a significant blues influence, and the inimitable drumming of Carmine Appice.Ĭactus was an early 1970s classic rock band, founded in 1969, that released three albums from 1970 through 1974. With that recipe, you just can’t go wrong. The new album from Cactus, Tightrope, hit stores on April 2nd. His singsong verse is one of the few moments on JACKBOYS that isn’t just product.Album Review of Cactus: Tightrope ( Cleopatra Records/ Purple Pyramid)Ĭlassic hard rock from a bunch of veteran musicians who know how to make great music and still love rockin’. It’s Toliver who sounds like he’s rallying, his voice less like a piece of software and more an instrument of feeling. This is best expressed on “What to Do?”, a duet with Scott in which they both try to put the pieces of a drunken night back together. (He scored his first TikTok hit with “No Idea” late last year.) Toliver is like the T-1000 model of Travis Scott: he uses Auto-Tune to similar effect, but he works in a higher octave range than Scott and is simply a more lifelike upgrade of his prototype. He doesn’t squander any of that goodwill here, coming off as a budding talent even as the album grows more and more forgettable. His breakthrough on ASTROWORLD’s “Can’t Say” outlined his promise his was such a distinct performance among an all-star cast that it left listeners scrambling to identify him on the creditless tracklist. If anyone comes off like they didn’t waste their time making this, it’s Don Toliver, who goes full tilt even working in the periphery of other people’s songs. The sole JACKBOYS posse cut, “Gang Gang,” is all over the place, squandering WondaGurl production. Don Toliver’s “Had Enough” is his song in name only with Quavo and Offset on hand, it sounds like another Migos demo for the Carters’ album with its blatant “ Summer” sample and blank, reference-track vocal takes. “Out West” finds Young Thug carrying Travis ( for the umpteenth time), and in this case Thug is barely even trying. The song sounds like diet “ Welcome to the Party,” and drill isn’t the kind of subgenre where you’re looking to cut calories. Pop Smoke is in his element over AXL’s drill production on “Gatti,” pushing Travis into the margins. With ASTROWORLD, Travis Scott finally earned the maestro mantle he was so eager to bestow upon himself, but that curator’s touch is missing here. This is music as part of a merch bundle, about as necessary as a branded fire extinguisher. JACKBOYS is a branding opportunity, pure and simple: From the Harmony Korine cover art to the promotional film shot as if A24 produced a Need For Speed sequel, it all seems like empty influencer bait. ![]() Travis Scott fills out the tracklist with a 50-second instrumental and a remix to his recent hit single, “Highest in the Room,” with Rosalía and Lil Baby. There are two Don Toliver songs and one Sheck Wes song. JACKBOYS has been pegged as a “debut album” for the titular crew, but that is clearly an overstatement. ![]()
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