It's not easy to make a place for yourself in the sun when you're an Australian rock band. Just ask Airbourne and Koritni, for example, who, despite their immense qualities, have all the trouble in the world to reach the last rung of international recognition. It's hard to get out of the shadow of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Angels or Cold Chisel and Jimmy Barnes... That's a bit like what happened to Wrecking Crew in 1993. With its album produced by Kevin Shirley (Iron Maiden, Journey, Rush, The Black Crowes...), the quartet seemed to be ready to impose itself in the hard rock landscape. Unfortunately, in the midst of the grunge wave, they didn't get the support they should have got from their label and it took all the tenacity and flair of Eric Coubard to give "Fun In The Doghouse" a new chance by being re-released by Bad Reputation in 2019.
And it would have been a shame to miss this nugget which, far from proposing a new cloning of the traditional pub-rock of its island-continent of origin, offers a hard rock with asserted funk and fusion colours married to blues-rock roots. One thinks of The Black Crowes ('Welcome To The Circus' and its brass section), Great White ('Ten Cent Lovin' ' and its accents to 'Rock Me' or the mid-tempo bluesy ballad 'Going Down' which reminds us of 'Old Rose Motel') or AC/DC mixed with Aerosmith ('Stay', powerful, direct and groovy). But the main band that comes to mind is Extreme because of this dose of funk they added to their music ('She Wants Love', 'Round And Round').
But if we're talking about influences here, it's never about shameful plagiarism: the Aussies know how to marry genres to make a music of their own. The drums propel the band with an irresistible groove, the bass can be massive and crush everything in its path ('Do What You Do') and this rhythmic pair knows how to unite their efforts on syncopated and original bases ('Outta Love'). Brent Dehn, on the other hand, proves to be a guitarist who would have deserved to sit next to Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme, Mourning Widows) with unstoppable riffs ('She Wants Love') and luminous soli ('Stay', 'Haunted', 'Outta Love'). We even think of Eddie Van Halen for a quick and crazy 'Hell To Pay', confirming the interest of the three bonus tracks offered on this re-release. As for Dave Wilkins, apart from a few light passages in lead vocals ('Haunted'), he reminds us of Jack Russell (Great White).
Magnificent initiative that the re-release of this opus and it would be inconceivable that this jewel of hard rock, both funky and bluesy, would again missed by the fans of the genre. At a time when the band is working on a second album, it is essential to encourage it by paying to "Fun In The Doghouse" the tribute it deserves.