Da “LUNARLOUNGE” (www.lunarlounge.co.uk)
I must admit to not knowing anything of The Link Quartet until a copy of the CD arrived through the door from our friends at Hammondbeat so I had no preconceived ideas as I placed it in the player. I must admit to being a tad frustrated by bands with Hammonds in them that don’t really ‘let go’ on the instrument on at least one track of the album. I see owning a Hammond as being similar to owning a high-powered motorbike – what’s the point in having all that power if you are going to skulk around at 30mph. Luckily ‘BEAT.IT’ pulls a wheelie at full throttle with the opening track ‘Strudel Girl’, a fantastic full on, upbeat number that pulses through moments of pure, raw beat, interspersed with more gentler riffs. The 12 track album is a combination of originals interspersed with some inspired cover versions including ‘Happy Boys Happy’ by the Small Faces and a fantastic version of ‘Cross-town Traffic’ which does for Jimmy Hendrix what James Taylor did for ‘Starskey and Hutch’. The title track of the album is another stunning original. A real beaty number that lives up to it’s name comprising a building, Batman-esque bassline surrounded by scratchy Barbarella-like sound effects that put it straight on the Lunar Lounge playlist. On ‘Little Italy Serenade’ the quartet demonstrate that they can take things down a gear or two and still produce the goods. This track takes a journey through a vibraphone-like cloud city and would not be out of place on one of the seemingly endless ‘chill-out’ compilations that pop up throughout the year. I must admit to not really being able to find a duff track on this album but, one of my personal favourites has to be the fantastic cover of Georgie Fame’s ‘Somebody Stole My Thunder’ which is a combination of a distorted bassline akin to the Fantastic Plastic Machine sample but with an incredible live ensemble overlaying it. Also, sign me up for ‘An Evening With Linda Lovelace’ if the track of the same name is anything to go by! It doesn’t feel right to rave so much about an album but this one is up there with the classics and is an absolute must for fans of this genre. A very late contender for Lunar Lounge’s album of the year.
Xoh
