The Jokers - Hurricane

(CD Album Review)

***

Taking a little trip back to the 90's!!!

The Jokers are a band that have shown so much promise, and have been getting great reviews all over the country. With people telling me to check out their albums, well I reviewed their last offering and it was ok... so I thought I would give their new outing a chance as well. The first thing I notice is that the album 'Hurricane' has a quite cool cartoon cover, which makes you want to pick it up and listen to it. But was the album going to be as good as the artwork, only time would tell.

The album starts off with an AC/DC style riff, before it comes into a Thunder / Whitesnake Esq Classic Rock segment. I find the mix a little unbalanced and some of the music could be louder, even though it is better put together than the bands last album 'Rock and Roll is Alive'. It has real promise, but I feel The Jokers have held back a little. As an opening track it should be hard hitting, making you want to listen to the rest of the album.

The title track 'Hurricane' has a Little Angels feel to it, and is one of the better tracks on the album. I think if this had been released in the 90's, it would have been a chart hit for The Jokers... but we are in 2015 now. I think one of my personal favourite songs on the album is 'Her word is Love' which has a little bit of a Dan Reed Network vibe to it, mixed with a little touch of Aerosmith's 'Sweet Emotion'. Again they just need to pump this up a little, and I think it would have made more of an impact on me. It's just too laid back and chilled.

Their is some nice contrasts on this album though, like the 70's Country 'Young Guns' vibe,, on 'Summer Time' this track has some nice guitars on it too. 'Lockdown' is The Jokers version of the Classic Rock / Blues song 'Bad to the Bone', didn't think I would hear bands still releasing music with this element in a song now. 'Salvation' is quite good, it sounds like a real road song that you could listening to on the way to a gig to get you warmed up... so I quite liked this one.

'Silver City' has more balls to it, and is a little Cock Rock. I would have liked to have heard more of this on the album. But the lyrics of this are nothing new, and you really feel you have heard this before. Like 'Everywhere I Go' which you feel should be on the next Little Angels album. They end the album with some hope with 'Rockerman', it's a little Bluesy and sounds how Classic Rock should be done.

The album sounds a little bit dated, but their is a craze for Retro Revival bands at the moment, so I think their is a place on the live circuit for The Jokers. If you love the Little Angels or Thunder, you will absolutely love this band. Because the singer does sound a lot like Toby Jepson...but the thing is, why don't you just go and buy one of the albums by either of these bands. Saying that you might already have them, and wants something new... and if this is the case? I don't think you can go wrong with this album.

Review by Dan Devour