itle: Downtown
Company: Epic
Catalog: 83664
Year: 1979
Country/State: Belgium
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: Belgian pressing
1979 saw the release of the band's third album "Downtown" (their second released as the abbreviated Downtrip). Self-produced, the album offered up a rather conventional collection of standard hard rock moves. If that didn't strike you as overwhelming praise, it wasn't ... All ten performances were in English with lead singer Jean-Paul Goosens having a gruff voice that was well suited to the band's repertoire. Unlike many of his Belgian competitors, Goosens sang without much of an accent which was a definite advantage in the rock world. Like countless late-1970s hair bands, these guys had a knack for crafting material that was built on surprisingly catchy hooks and equally inane lyrics ('Love Lights') though you had to give them extra credit since they were writing in a second language. Against that backdrop tracks like 'Scarecrow', 'Shout It Out' and 'Highway' weren't half bad. Sure, nothing here had a shred of originality, but the performances were never less than professional and energetic and there was something endearing hearing a Belgian quartet singing about life in a motorcycle gang ('Downtown'). While there hard rock moves weren't bad ('C'mon Little Darling' sounded like a Golden Earring outtake), at least to my ears these guys were actually better when they nudged back towards their roots. A somewhat stripped down blues number, 'Dedicated To You' was one of the highlights for me. Kicked along by a nice John Hastry bass pattern, the title track was also fairly impressive before degenerating into a more pedestrian heavy metal workout.
- Hum, perhaps not a perfect comparison, but the opening rocker 'Scarecrow' has always reminded me of a cross between AC/DC and Golden Earring. There was nothing particularly original about the song, or the performance, but (like most AC/DC offerings), it was still kind of mindless fun. rating: *** stars
- Opening up with some surprisingly subtle and attractive acoustic guitar from Joe Cuisset, 'Shout It Out' actually found a nifty balance between AOR metal and a more pop oriented attack. Besides, you had to smile at the pro-rock and roll lyrics which included such earth shattering insights as "hard rock music is what young people need ..." Actually, you can't really argue with that sentiment can you ... rating: *** stars
- Opening with some excellent Cuisset slide guitar, 'Dedicated To You' was a cool, slinky, and slightly ominous rocker that again bore more than a passing resemblance to Golden Earring. By the way, the Golden Earring comparison was meant as a compliment. Curiously, this time out Goosens' accent was quite noticeable, but the atmospheric rocker was so good, you really didn't care. rating: **** stars
- With John Hastry's pounding bass taking center stage, 'Downtown' served to underscore the band's hard rock credentials. Again, not the album's most original offering (there was something funny about hearing a Belgian band singing a lyric that seemed to be about the difficulties of life in a motorcycle gang), but professional and the song would easily stand up to most of the Anglo-American competition. rating: ** stars
- 'Highway' started side two with a rollicking rocker that would have made George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers proud. The highlight came in the form of another tasty Cuisset solo. rating: **** stars
- The album's lone cover, their cover of The Pretty Thing's 'Brand New Cadillac' was killer - almost as good as the original. Easy to see why it was tapped as a single. Shame it wasn't a gigantic hit. rating: **** stars
- Another slice of George Thorogood-styled bar rock, 'C’mon Little Darling' came up a bit short in originality, but more than made up for it with enthusiasm. Couple of Stellas and you'd be up dancing to this one as well. rating: **** stars
- Okay, I know they were Belgian, but 'you had to laugh at rock 101 cliches that Goosens and company strung together for 'Love Lights'. Hard to imagine a band making Whitesnake sound deep and sensitive, but this one managed that monumental feat. rating: ** stars
- Perhaps my pick for pick for standout performance, 'Wrong' was a wonderful slice of hard rock. Great rocking melody with Goosens turning in his best snarky vocal while Cuisset's solo was near perfect. My only complaint was that the song faded out just at really started to cook. rating: **** stars
- One of my favorite song titles; 'Belgian Rock & Roll' was nothing more than an extremely brief instrumental section (literally a couple of seconds) tacked on to the end of the album. It actually had kind of a polka flavor to it. rating: * star
I've never understood the business part of the process, but the album was also tapped for a single. Here's where it got weird; rather than being released by Epic, Philips released the 45:
- 1979's 'Brand New Cadillac' b/w 'Dedicated To You' (Philips catalog number 6075064)
Maybe a little routine and pedestrian; particularly for longtime fans who had been with the band since the Dr. Downtrip days, but overall an enjoyable outting. Unfortunately neither the album nor the single did anything commercially and within a year the group had called it quits.
"Downtrip" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Scarecrow (John Hastry - Joe Cuisset - Jean-Paul Goosens - Paul van der Velden) - 2:21
2.) Shout It Out (John Hastry - Joe Cuisset - Jean-Paul Goosens - Paul van der Velden) - 3:19
3.) Dedicated To You (John Hastry - Joe Cuisset - Jean-Paul Goosens - Paul van der Velden) - 3:30
4.) Downtown (John Hastry - Joe Cuisset - Jean-Paul Goosens - Paul van der Velden) - 6:35
(side 2)
1.) Highway (John Hastry - Joe Cuisset - Jean-Paul Goosens - Paul van der Velden) - 4:27
2.) Brand New Cadillac (V. Taylor) - 2:55
3.) C’mon Little Darling (John Hastry - Joe Cuisset - Jean-Paul Goosens - Paul van der Velden) - 2:35
4.) Love Lights (John Hastry - Joe Cuisset - Jean-Paul Goosens - Paul van der Velden) - 3:50
5.) Wrong (John Hastry - Joe Cuisset - Jean-Paul Goosens - Paul van der Velden) -
6.) Belgian Rock & Roll (John Hastry - Joe Cuisset) -
