On The Ripple Desk - A Vinyl Excursion: Featuring Boomerang, Dawn After Dark, and Ram Jam

 More tunes on tap.  Keeper or Tosser?  Let's decide. 

Boomerang - S/T

Gotta thank Mike Markovski , with assist from the indomitable Mike Varney, for turning me on to this one.  These guys know more about music than I’ll ever dream to.  Mike posted this album and the cover got me eye, and when Varney said “get it” I obliged.  And damn glad I did.  After Appice and Bogert departed Vanilla Fudge to form the much more stripped down Cactus, The Fudge’s leader/vocalist/keyboardist decided to do the same; bring on a new rhythm section and a 15 year old guitar wunderkind Ricky Ramirez.  Taking the template of Zeppelin and marrying that to the organ driven drive of Deep Purple, Boomerang exploded with a straightforward heavy blues rock album that is certainly not lacking in intensity. 

For the most part, Stein managed to reign in his histrionics that made The Fudge so potentially annoying, settling for a still histrionic but more subdued Gillian-esque vocal.  The big organ and bass positively thunder throughout, and the album simply charges.   Tip of the hat to bassist Jo Casmir who really rolls and the guitar work is beautifully done. Hard to believe Ramirez disappeared from music after this.  Stein, at times still can’t get out of his own way, and just wants to show off, but when a song like The Peddler explodes out of the speakers, all is forgiven. 

Apparently a second album was recorded but scrapped which is too bad cause this is some funky, heavy bluesy shit and a sequel would be most welcome.   Keeper

Dawn After Dark

Starting the morning rocking!  File this one under The Cult circa Electric-era.   A little derivative, but heck, I love The Cult. I’d never heard of these guys until a couple weeks ago when I saw an article in Vive Le Rock Magazine.  A bit dirty, a bit sleazy but with a UK gothic hall undercurrent, not glammy/cocaine-riled like Sunset Strip.   More than a touch of Ian Astbury in the vocal delivery if not the actual tone of the voice, and while not blessed with a Billy Duffy, there’s no slouching in the guitar arena.   I’d see the guys on a bill with The Almighty as part of a lost UK 90’s rockers show.   Now I gotta track down their other stuff.  This one’s a keeper for me.

Ram Jam - S/T

Much more than just Black Betty, which still rocks to this day.  Classic 70’s hard rock with a southern swagger of whiskey and backyard moonshine.  I never realized the bubblegum roots of this band, Bill Bartlett was the former lead guitarist of The Lemon Pipers and the album was produced by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz who brought us such bubblegum classics as “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy” and “Chewy Chewy”.   I’m truth, you can pick up on some bubblegum roots in songs like Keep Your Hands On The Wheel, which could be sickly sweet if they’d gone full pop on it.  But no, It’s a dirty southern infused rock song.   Album won’t break down any new doors, and songwriting could use a boost, but a solid riffing effort, like a BTO crossed with Lynryd Skynyrd. 

--Racer