Good day waveriders!
It's high time I give credit where credit is due. Last year I downloaded an album. What kind of album? Don't be ridiculous...the rocking kind! I sampled the first song off of Gasconha Rocks by The Inspector Cluzo and immediately decided that it was worthy of
investigation. After the download
completed I listened to the whole shebang and a funny thing happened. My ears told me that this album was
fantastic, but then my brain got in the way.
Allow me to explain.
Perhaps you've experienced this situation. As I mentioned a moment ago upon listening to
Gasconha Rocks my ears essentially
screamed at my brain for thirty straight minutes that I had stumbled onto hard
rockin', audio gold. All ten songs made
my head bob back and forth and had my toes tappin' enthusiastically. This was a bona fide winner! We're talking slam dunk territory! But then my brain had to get involved, and
guess what happened? That's right. I convinced myself my ears were wrong.
Does this music rock?
Of course it does! I mean several
songs sound incredibly like The Rolling
Stones. This one? Very reminiscent of Led Zeppelin. How about that
track? Oh well, the guitar riff is
pretty darn close to Foreigner's
"Feels Like The First Time".
The point is my lizard brain successfully argued that I only enjoyed The Inspector Cluzo because they
mimicked music I grew up listening to on the radio. Unfortunately I bought into the argument and put
Gasconha Rocks aside.
Fast forward to present day.
I happened to stumble upon the album while exploring my old playlists
and I listened to it again. Same music,
different result. I realized that I
don't care one bit if The Inspector
Cluzo don't reinvent the wheel with their music. So what if the opening track "Hello
Goodbye Education" has a guitar riff that is disturbingly familiar yet I
can't dredge up the identity of the original artist from my memory banks? Honestly it bothers me every time, but I'm
getting sidetracked. The bottom line is
that this music is awesome! Flat out
outstanding, old school rock 'n' roll that will light a fire under all but the
most curmudgeonly of rock fans!
Trust me waveriders.
Don't outsmart yourself. If you
listen to an album and like what you hear, tell your overanalyzing brain to
take a hike! Also, I urge you to sample The Inspector Cluzo's wares. You're going to like Gasconha Rocks. I guarantee
it!
-Penfold
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