Commander Cody Rockpalast: Blues Rock Legends, Vol. 1 Review by Gary Hill
This smoking hot performance from Commander Cody shows off why these guys always thrilled their audiences. It’s a good blend of familiar musical sounds with original ideas. And, it’s all delivered with passion and fire. It’s a lot of fun. This is the audio companion to the DVD I reviewed last issue.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2010 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Rockpalast Caption
Leading off most of these sets, this is just a short little title theme for “Rockpalast.”
Thank You Lone Ranger Here’s a smoking hot, energetic bluesy rocker that’s quite a cool tune. There are bits of Alice Cooper at times and the spoken section makes me think of Meatloaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” album.
Two Triple Cheese Take an old time rock and roll jam and blend in some Zappa-like humor and you’ve got a pretty good image of this track. It’s got a lot of that 1950’s vocal harmony thing going on within.
It Should Have Been Me A bluesy rocker, this is tasty, but nothing exceptional. It’s got a lot of old school rock and roll to it.
Beat Me Daddy 8 To the Bar This boogie woogie number features some country and some old school rock and roll in the mix, too. There is both a whistling solo on the cut and a piano one. We also get a smoking hot jazz improv late in the piece.
Seeds and Stems They introduce this one as a country song, and it really is. That said, there’s a lot of the blues in this, but, of course, the two styles are intimately related.
Who's Got the Rock? This still maintains a lot of the musical aspects of the rest of the show, but there’s a bit of a punk rock texture here, too.
Go to Hell They introduce this one as a “religious number.” It’s a killer jazz groove. It reminds me a lot of The Atomic Fireballs. Of course, this predates that.
Sea Wolf I Here’s a killer rock tune that is a pirate based piece.
Rocket 88
Take Thorogood type of rock and roll sound and blend it with some jazz and you get somewhere around here.
Midnight in Memphis There’s a lot more of an R & B meets gospel texture to this.
Stealing At Seven Eleven
Here’s another that’s a scorching hot retro rock and roller. It’s a great piece of music that really works.
Rock That Boogie Another with a lot of old time rock and roll on board, this killer boogie woogie jam mid track is a real screamer.
Ubangi Stomp A jazzy jam, this has a lot of old school rock and roll built into it, too. It turns out into a smoking hot instrumental section with alternating solos and such.
Hot Rod Lincoln They put in a killer take on this old school rock and roll song.
Riot in Cell Block No. 9 A real smoker, this jazzy, blues rocker might be my favorite cut of the set.
Roll the Dice
There’s no huge change or alteration here, just some killer retro rock and roll.
Sea Wolf II They redo the song from earlier – apparently because Cody made a mistake the first time.
