THE DEAD DAISIES: Light 'em Up (HARD ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

After two albums and an acoustic EP, Glenn Hughes climbed down from the Dead Daisies ship to rejoin his fellow members of Black Country Communion. As usual, the David Lowy-founded collective has seen its line-up changed once again, in what has become a traditional game of musical chairs. John Corabi, the band's historic singer, returns to the fold, as does Tommy Clufetos, who replaces Brian Tichy on drums after having already acted as interim drummer when Deen Castronovo left. Last but not least, bass is this time held by Michael Devin, who had already crossed paths with Doug Aldrich in Whitesnake.

Once all these moves have been recapitulated, it's time to turn our attention to what's most important: the musical content of “Light'em Up”, following on from “Radiance”, which left us a little disappointed. And it's fair to say that the Lowy / Aldrich pair, aided by the return of Marti Frederiksen on production, have rediscovered a raw energy whose effectiveness suffers at no point from its lack of originality. Indeed, while the shadows of the genre's legends regularly hover over most of the tracks, they are above all a reminder that the Dead Daisies are the guardians of the temple of classic hard rock, but timeless when offered with such ardor and unstoppable savoir-faire.

Carried along by the rocky voice of John Corabi, who took advantage of his break to recharge his batteries with his family, the quintet's music smells of sweat and is cut out to blaze a trail and heat up the asphalt. Whether driven by an AC/DC riff ('I'm Gonna Ride') or featuring Aerosmith-style dubbed vocals ('My Way And The Highway'), some tracks won't wait long before becoming biker anthems. Straightforward and unadorned ('Light'em Up'), with slightly naughty lyrics ('I Wanna Be Your Bitch') or groovy and bluesy ('Times Are Changing'), the tracks on this opus are all uppercuts with choruses that get stuck in the neurons for good. Although the haunting ballad 'Love That'll Never Be' and the crepuscular, monumental, southern-inflected 'Take My Soul' take the edge off a little, they keep the intensity at its peak right up to the last note.

Here, then, is the very type of work that doesn't revolutionize anything, but does a world of good for all fans of hard rock as traditional as it is timeless. With “Light'em Up”, which smells of exhaust fumes and adulterated alcohol, The Dead Daisies once again take their place as guarantors of a heritage that's always so much fun to immerse oneself in. - Official website

THE DEAD DAISIES

LIGHT 'EM UP

AUTRE LABEL

HARD ROCK