Considering it’s made by a band named Howlin’ Rain, Magnificent Fiend is a very sunny record, lasagne-layered with rich bright old-school instrument tones that you don’t hear in modern rock music.
Well, you do hear them sometimes, but most often as samples or ironic reappropriations. And while Howlin’ Rain make an unashamedly retro racket, there’s no irony as the Prohibition-bar piano and brass of Magnificent Fiend’s intro track “Requiem” barrels straight into “Dancers At the End Of Time”, a Hammond-powered mash-up of stoner rock and classic R&B.
Just to forestall any confusion among the younger readers among you, that’s R&B in its original incarnation – not the plastic sleaze and sub-hip-hop egotism of the stuff that gets labelled with that term nowadays. Nope – as Howlin’ Rain would surely tell you, R&B stood for “rhythm and blues” and covered a multitude of sins. Magnificent Fiend harks back to a golden era when people weren’t so hung up on genres and styles, and when music was about having fun and making a damn good noise in the process.
And music don’t need to be clever to be fun, no sir. As the name suggests, R&B is about a good hooky chord sequence and some blues-scale lead and solo work. Every band puts their own stamp on it, of course, and Howlin’ Rain’s remit seems to be rollicking riffs with a bit of white-boy Motown soul and border-hoppin’ mojo mixed in, plus plenty of swirling Hammond keys, warm Rhodes piano and dirty wah guitar. Cook slowly and serve fresh: Magnificent Fiend is carefree, slightly seedy, and packed full of tequila-soaked good times.
And while the style and sound are classic, Magnificent Fiend isn’t simple pastiche or homage. Howlin’ Rain make the sound their own by putting some sidespin on the lyrics, which portray a slightly dark hippie-esque decadence that contrasts subtly with the bright openness of the tunes. Listen close to the catalogue of sins in “Lord Have Mercy” as Ethan Miller flips between serious and surreal and try not to crack a grin - I dare ya.
And speaking of Miller, he’s the star of the show. He doesn’t hog the audio spotlight, but he’s got one of the most memorable voices I’ve heard in ages - a kind of mellow bellow like Rod Stewart genetically spliced into Bon Scott and given a walk-on part in a decent remake of The Blues Brothers. He covers a range from ragged shouts and screeches to close gentle falsetto that, for some reason, makes me think of those scenes from gospel churches where everyone gets up and dances in the pews. Hell, if there was a church where Howlin’ Rain played regularly, I might consider going along.
But Howlin’ Rain are a great band in their own right. They’ve musical lineage in common with Jack Johnson’s band, for example, but while Johnson’s backers may have the technical finesse they don’t have the big-hearted good-time vibe that shines out of every track on Magnificent Fiend. You can hear these guys grinning like loons at each other over every fill, chord change and breakdown - and it’s infectious.
As I sit and write this review, Howlin’ Rain could be a great description of the world outside my window. But Magnificent Fiend is the audio equivalent of the sun poking his face through a chink in the cloud, shining some light into the world and making everything look that little bit more warm. Howlin’ Rain have filled a gap in my musical diet I wasn’t aware existed, and I heartily recommend you give them the chance to do the same for you.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: Americana, blues, Howlin' Rain, R&B, rock'n'roll
