English “English” CD Review
Written by: S9mm
Boo English knew what he was doing when he formed English in 2016. Recruiting the talent of Portland, Oregon’s native son Loren Bates (Glacier) on drums, Todd Donnelly on Bass, and the pretty vocals of Dawn Moore to make this classic, bluesy rock and roll band from North Carolina.
Their self-titled cd, “English” was released in early 2017, via Music Tree. It offers 10 tracks of rock and roll that will stand the test of time. Its modern, familiar, and enjoyable rock and roll reminiscent of a modernized Montrose, UFO, Whitesnake, Badlands, Aerosmith mashup. The drums are perfect. The bass is solid. The vocals are beautiful. And then there is the guitars. One man, one vision, one very stellar execution of what must be years of playing the guitar; You can tell that Boo English loves music, and this is the culmination of years of playing, and no doubt loving every minute of it.
Of the ten tracks on this release, I can say that all of them were thoroughly enjoyable. My favorites were: “Long Road Home” with its heavy guitars, “The Right Way” with its bluesy feel, the softer “To Be Loved,” and the last track on the release, “Premonition.” In between the original work, English does a great job with the cover of Aerosmith’s “Last Child” at track 9.
The song that surprised me was song 8, “Walk Away.” I’m not a fan of horns (saxophone in particular) in rock, but Jeremy Adams (guest) and the rest of the band pulled off making me move from thinking about “St. Elmo’s Fire” and smooth jazz while listening to the song, to singing the song over and over in my head after the cd concluded. It is a crazy catchy song, and the guitaring is exceptional. That is exactly all that is needed to say about this song…the guitaring is exceptional (but it is on every track too).
Recently selling out the Fillmore, English are definitely onto something with their unique blend of rock, blues, and funk. This CD is positive, well written, well executed, and well recorded. The songs are placed in an order that makes sense. The decision to have a singer like Moore in this band makes English stand out from the massive rock and roll band pool. Her voice is that of a pop star, or a gospel singer. Marrying the elements of Moore’s voice with a talented rock band, makes English a really great listen, and one that will stand the test of time.
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