JODY ST — Fight Back (review)

JODY ST — Fight Back album cover Demo · 1981 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Certif1ed
Jody St are an odd one really - if it was up to me, they wouldn't get a look in among any NWoBHM catalogue - or be anything to do with Heavy Metal.

In fairness, they're a miscategorised funk rock band, who happened to be playing guitar-based rock music in 1981, and got swept in by rather over-enthusiastic fans of the NWoBHM - by mistake, I'd wager.

So the music isn't intrinsically bad or anything - the musicianship is top notch, by which I mean it's classy, precise rock and roll playing with a liberal dash of jazz funk.

Fight back really shakes its funky stuff - if you're a fan of Wild Cherry's famous song, then this will really shake your tree. The heavy overdriven guitar sounds are a really nice touch, the vocals flow, and the bass slaps, pops and drives like a mean machine.

There are some synchronised bass/guitar passages which will have extreme tech metal fans absolutely gagging for the tabs, and the vocal/lead lines are enough to make George Benson hang up his dancing shoes forever.

Somehow, it doesn't really do it for me - even though I feel like it ought to. The quality of playing and extreme technique doesn't make up for the lack of real songwriting.

The B side, "Granny Did It" sounds a lot like a slightly funked-up Thin Lizzy - even the vocalist is doing a passable Phil Lynott impersonation. The song is even more dull than the A-side, though, and the best performance in the world (which this very nearly is, by the way) doesn't make up for that.

At 2 minutes I found myself checking to see how much song was left to sit through...

Maybe a guitar solo is going to appear any moment - oh, yes - there it is, and it's a Brian May special. A really amazing job - exactly like the Queen maestro in style, without directly ripping the great man off. Neat job, but too short, and it's back to that interminable song. Yawn.

In summary, I've said it all - superlative playing and musicianship, but lousy songs.

Your mileage may vary considerably...
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