67 Special - The Devil May Care (Album)

Warning: 67 Special’s sophomore album The Devil May Care may cause momentary amnesia. Because while the album is a “nice trip” (hippie connotations intended), like any good joyride across wild terrain, after a certain point markings and signposts become almost indistinguishable, resulting in a journey that seems like one particularly long blur. And such is the haze that is induced upon listening to the opening half of 67 Special’s album. Their trademark blues-fused rock thang is a prominent theme that is comparable to The Whiskey Go Gos, as the music storms past you with songs about devilish pleasures. The lyrics contain the same subtext as those found in Deep Purple’s music i.e. fast cars, fancy women and fivers as the singer is in a feverish dash away from the fuzz (okay, I really exhausted that avenue of description!)

Thankfully, the latter part of the disc provides more diverse sounds complemented by Ash Santilla’s hoarse vocals that resemble Stevie Wright’s singing style. The concluding half boasts some atypical songs like 'Shot At The Sun,' which could have been recorded for The Strokes’ 'Is This It' album and the bittersweet and wallowing 'So Help Us All' that aims to escape the demons in your head by seeking refuge in bed. Meanwhile, 'Hard Kinda Talk' nods at The Vines by showcasing some new crunchy guitar riffs and melody.

'Quickdraw' soars back to Deep Purple territory and is peppered with organ flourishes that could have been Jon Lord’s creation. Finally, the album closes with two atmospheric tunes, 'Running From The Man' and 'It’s Not Like You'.

In sum, the latter part of the album is where the interesting tunes are evident and these really exhibit the diverse influences of the band, as they successfully add their own original spin to the proceedings. Just be sure to avoid the vague opening songs or you may forget everything.

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