DOWN & DIRTY – Taste Of Rock & Roll [Demon Doll Records] HQ *Out Of Print*

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Requested some time ago and a hard to find CD now, here’s Chicago’s DOWN & DIRTY album ”Taste Of Rock & Roll”, distributed by Demon Doll Records back in 2011 and out of print now, with used CD copies sold for over $150 –
Formed by young dudes musically influenced by the golden days of hard rock / hair metal, “Taste of Rock & Roll” is a record that could perfectly slot straight back into that era.
Vocalist Majyk has a touch of Mark Slaughter to his voice and song-wise the band have a Slaughter, Pretty Boy Floyd, early Poison feel to them… big sounding party rock. Remaining band members – guitarist L.A, drummer Joey The Kidd and Ryan “9-Volt” Tyler on bass – fit together like they have been giggin’ the Sunset Strip for years.
From start to finish the whole shebang is a bright and breezy listen with an optimistic feel. Everything is covered here — from the title track “Taste Of Rock & Roll” that sails the seas of cheese (but when has cheese ever been a problem for sleazy-rock fans?) with its intro of two girls talking on the phone about their excitement of meeting the Down & Dirty guys, the Poison-like “Party With Me”, the slightly bluesy hard rock of “Get It Right”, the killer low-down rocker “Wild Child” all the way to the infectious “Free & Young”.

The power ballad that is “Fallin” isn’t a song I would personally chose to put on when I wander over to my disc collection, but it has to be said that Down & Dirty do this kind of stuff well and seem to have really hit their stride here.
The unmistakable opening riff of “Hurts So Good” showcases the boys covering the John Mellencamp tune, a song we all used to love back in 1982, by putting their own guitar spin on it as well as changing some lyrics (I’m pretty sure Mellencamp‘s original never contained ‘fucking around all night long’). It is a decent enough cover version though.

While ”Taste Of Rock & Roll” doesn’t equate to reinventing of the wheel, it is traditional, lively party rock and a damn solid release. Without a doubt this is a young band from Illinois that are worth giving a listen — now excuse me while I get back to spinning “Wild Child”.
Highly Recommended

01 – R U Ready
02 – Taste of Rock & Roll
03 – Free & Young
04 – All In
05 – Fallin’
06 – Wild Child
07 – Hurts So Good
08 – Party With Me
09 – Get It Right
10 – You
11 – Gotta Luv It

Majyk – vocals
LA – guitar
Ryan 9-Volt Tyler – bass
Joey The Kidd – drums
with:
Stephen Chacon – harmonica on 11

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amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00533XZII