| CD REVIEW The Crystal Caravan |
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Band : The Crystal Caravan These guys have a strong 70s rock sound with a nod to the likes of The Doors, Iron Butterfly, Rare Earth and Steppenwolf.. There is also a pinch of latin rock both in their sound and in their attitude. “Between the mountain and the spoon” opens with congas and percussion and Doors/Joe Cocker/Rod Stewart/Chris Robinson mix of vox taking centre stage. This was a good track to start with because it sets the mood and lets you know that you are in for some bare bones bluesy hard rock. They bring on some songs that have some fire to them like the instantly likable “Wicked mind” the catchy “A new time is coming” with fantastic guitarwork and the groovy Purple-esque“Desert king” Great organ sections too. Although not every song works, as “Down under” came across as dull filler that was lacking the personality that most of the other songs contained. These young guys quite clearly are good musicians, and their level of performances is one of the most enjoyable factors when listening to their debut. The production is perfect for the sound. You can hear every instrument equally and there are just enough rough edges to complement their approach. That is certainly refreshing for this brand of hard rock because too many bands settle for a glossed over sound. The Crystal Caravan carve out some great material that may recall bands like their Swedish neighbours of Siena Root, Graveyard, Hellacopters, Dollhouse,… 85/100 Cosmicmasseur. |