This agreeable instrumental outing from
Bad Company
's longtime guitar ace will likely find its greatest favor with guitar and home recording buffs of all stripes. He plays everything here, except for a bluesy, stampeding version of
"Hideaway"
taped on
's 1999 reunion tour.
Ralphs
ignites his renowned
blues-rock
muse on
"S.E.X."
and
"Train Wreck,"
while
"Don't Need Money"
is a funkier display of his signature piercing licks. He drops the gears down a notch on the aptly titled
"Atmosphere"
before winding back into
"Coming Up the Hill"
's more mid-tempo territory. He also proves himself to be a fair piano player on the mid-tempo
cocktail
piece
"Large!"
and its slinkier cousin,
"Jessica."
A couple of these efforts are too cursory to make an impression, such as
"Gravy Booby"
"More S.E.X.,"
which is
minus the guitars. Otherwise, this album brims with the joy of someone stretching out for the sheer bloody fun of it. ~ Ralph Heibutzki