'77 - Maximum Rock 'N Roll (2013)
'77 - Maximum Rock 'N Roll (2013)
01. Maximum Rock 'N Roll 02. Don't You Scream 03. Down And Dirty 04. Highway Rebel 05. Jazz It Up 06. Stay Away From Water 07. You Bore Me 08. Take Me Or Leave Me 09. Virtually Good 10. 16 Years Old King Armand Valeta – Vocals and Guitar LG Valeta – Lead Guitar Dolphin – Drums Raw – Bass
This hard rockin’ quartet from Barcelona Spain, known simply as ’77 (and yes their name is taken from the release year of “Let There Be Rock” by rockers AC/DC), is here to rock your world in an, oh so familiar way, with their third offering from Listenable Records, “Maximum Rock’n’Roll!” And I assure you….it lives up to its name! ’77 has absolutely nothing to hide when they claim that they are influenced by the Bon Scott era of AC/DC.
After just one run through of this LP, if I didn’t know better I would swear this album would fit chronologically, somewhere between AC/DC’s “High Voltage” and “Powerage.” From the uncanny resemblance of front man Armand Valeta’s voice to that of Bon Scott to the driving bass lines of Raw Rau, ’77 is a perfect retro fit to the hard rock of yesteryear! Armand not only covers the vocal duties, but also slings an axe. And yet another coincidental comparison to their influential heroes in AC/DC, Armand’s Brother LG Valeta takes to task the duties of lead guitar stretching strings in a manner that would make Angus Young proud! LG does not disappoint! All the while Dolphin Riot compliments the driving bass lines with crisp, yet simplistic time keeping from behind the drum kit.
The title track, Maximum Rock’n’Roll, is also the lead track. And at approximately 6 seconds in, the toe tapping starts, setting the tone for a rock’n’roll party with a cliché boogie riff, a touch of distortion and an injection of rockabilly. And it only takes a little over 60 seconds to get the first dose of AC/DC influenced song writing as the familiar contrasting high tone guitar fills shine brightly!
It doesn’t take long for the ’77 boys to shift gears and jam the throttle down! As Don’t You Scream, gets rolling so does the inadvertent head bobbing! One of the stronger songs on the album, Down and Dirty, lends enough sleaze to the psyche to keep any rock’n’roll attitude fresh, not to mention its ready made for just about any strip club runway in town! Jazz It Up adds “funk” to the mix with a very catchy rhythm and probably the most “original” sound on the entire album. There are definitely some high points to this disc in tracks Highway Rebel, Virtually Good, You Bore Me and the aforementioned Down and Dirty and Jazz It Up. But even the tracks that fill in around these are very good!
As opposed to riff driven writing, ’77 has lent themselves to the AC/DC style of high volume, simple chord progression, driving bass lines while concentrating their songs with memorable guitar fills that you will remember for a long time! If you are a rocker and like ‘70s flavored Hard Rock. ---heavymetalicu.com
Last Updated (Thursday, 21 September 2017 14:31)