TRAVERS & APPRICE

"It's all rock 'n' roll!!!" — as the old saying goes. Listening to the new creation from the TRAVERS & APPICE tandem, I couldn't help recalling classic rocker mantras: "Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll!!!", "Rock never dies!!!", "Rock is power!!!"... So, "It Takes A Lot Of Balls" is high-octane, old-school hard rock from people who are by no means newcomers to the genre. What truly blows the roof off is the scorching modern sound — tight and heavy, the kind of production that not every death metal band achieves. Among the old guard, perhaps only MOTORHEAD on their recent albums — "Hammered" and "Inferno" — were equally convincing. The album has room for both rock 'n' roll and blues touches. The closing track, "PT Slide," is a classic guitar solo in the Chuck Berry vein, while the mid-tempo "I Can't Let You Go" features reggae elements. If you remember that Pringles commercial where a crocodile prop with a backward-opening jaw visits a guy lounging in a deckchair in New Orleans — well, that's the vibe. Heat, street musicians, voodoo, and the smell of ganja. As for shortcomings, there's just one. There are a million and one albums like this; nothing truly special or distinctive. But then again, those are the genre's rules — where can you escape them...