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Damage Control are a power trio formed by Robin George…what you get on Raw is good old fashioned blues rock. One of the joys of the album is, as the name implies, the raw sound of George’s guitar; its rough edge dominating this classic sounding album.
Classic Rock Society Magazine
Formed by Robin George, with Pete Way and Chris
Slade, this powerhouse trio rocks the blues.
A British Rock Supergroup, Damage Control produces
an album of bluesy hard rock..although at times the sound takes on a
surprisingly grungy edge.
The three musicians involved are all undoubtedly
skilled veterans of the rock scene and Robin has plenty of nice licks up
his sleeve.
Heavy Magazine |
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Wow, what a line up this is! On Damage Control's second album we have
guitar hero Robin George; UFO & Waysted bass legend
Pete Way;
and former Uriah
Heep, AC/DC, Asia, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, and The Firm
drummer Chris Slade.
Jeff Perkins EuroRock |
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Formed in 2006, Damage Control were
put together by three veterans of the UK Hard Rock scene, namely
vocalist / guitarist Robin George (solo artist, Phil Lynott, David
Byron, Magnum), bassist Pete Way (UFO, Waysted) and drummer Chris Slade
(Asia, AC/DC, Uriah Heep). Raw
marked the trio's debut album and now receives a re-release via
specialist label Angel Air, whose catalogue boasts a treasure trove of
long forgotten gems. The songs here are slick and melodic with their
roots heavily in the blues rock scene of the 70's where all three first
plied their trade. George delivers some polished solos and riffs and his
earthy vocal delivery perfectly suits the vibe with Way and Slade laying
down a solid groove and they strike a good balance between up-tempo
rockers, ballads and moody blues tunes of which "One Step Closer"
provides a real highlight. A second album from Damage Control remains a
possibility albeit Pete Way's recent health problems may prevent this
from happening in the near future. As it is we are left with this debut
effort to enjoy a solid blues-based hard rock album from these
illustrious musicians. This was an album that was released too little
fanfare when it first appeared but is worthy of re-appreciation and the
three really gel to give a tantalising glimpse of the potential therein.
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The David Byron Band This is enjoyable rock;
great vocals, great guitar and good keys feature…A little slice of
history.
David Byron Band
- Lost and Found
(Double CD,
Angel Air,
Rock/pop) Baby Sue Rock Reviews Boasts great
guitar lines from Robin George and might be today regarded as a minor
classic if only it had been released at the time. An interesting release
I certainly enjoyed listening to. Heavy Magazine
Lost And Found is double CD re-release from
Angel Air Records that gathers together David’s demo recordings,
rehearsals, and portions of a live show recorded in Liverpool in 1980.
Disc one concentrates on original recordings from 1982 and features the
young baby faced guitarist Robin George trying his best to rev up what
unfortunately amounts to a bunch of tepid sounding rockers, although
Byron does turn in a very poignant vocal on the final track “One Minute
More”. The second disc only fairs slightly better, as it begins by
taking the listener through a rather ragged sounding London rehearsal
from 1981.The set concludes with the energetic Liverpool show, which
sees the band, which in addition to George also featured sax man Mel
Collins, concentrating primarily on new material from his then yet to be
released On The Rocks album. Songs like “Bad Girl” and “Start Believing”
definitely comes across better in the live setting, and in general the
material here has more of an edge to it than the studio versions. Byron
doesn’t abandon his past entirely either as they offer up a couple of
Heep classics in “July Morning” and “Sweet Lorraine” to keep the punters
happy. Is it enough to make this collection a worthwhile purchase? Well
I’d say if you’re a casual fan then you can probably afford to take a
pass on Lost And Found. If on the other hand you’re a diehard fan of
both Heep and David Byron’s solo work, then you’ll probably want to add
this one to your collection, even though it definitely feels like it’s
aimed at the completist. -Ryan Sparks Unearthed from the personal
archives of guitarist Robin George, Lost and Found
covers the era of the David Byron Band from the early 80's and is issued
as an expansive two disc set via Angel Air. Disc One offers the bands
demos from 1982 for an album that never ultimately saw the light of day;
the charismatic Byron was clearly still singing well even at this point
in his career and in Robin George he had found an ideal guitarist to
give the material a more contemporary edge. George contributes some
smooth blues based riffs and "Bad Girl" and "Fool For A Pretty Face"
would both have made ideal singles. Disc Two is split between band
rehearsals from 1981 and eight songs from a live show in Liverpool in
1980. The latter is of particular interest as an example of just how
tight the band were at the time and inevitably the Uriah Heep classics
"July Morning" and "Sweet Lorraine" are the highlights and made all the
more memorable by some sprightly sax from Mel Collins. Detailed sleeve notes and previously unseen
photographs make this a very worthwhile package and one which hold
significant appeal for fans of the golden age of Uriah Heep and provides
an excellent reminder of what a star performer David Byron really was
and how much he is missed. |
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Damage Control is a UK based band formed in 2006, consisting of
veteran drummer Chris Slade (Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Asia, AC/DC, The
Firm, Uriah Heep, + quite a few others), veteran bass player Pete Way (Ufo,
Waysted), English AOR musician Robin George and former Quireboys
vocalist Spike. They released their debut album in 2007, and since then
vocalist Spike has left the band, and they have decided to continue as a
trio with Way and George taking over vocals. "Raw" is basically a remake
of their self-titled debut album, with 10 tracks from that one and two
new compositions recorded with the band as a trio. Musically we're talking blues influenced rock on this release. The album kicks off with a trio of hard rock tunes with noticeable blues influences, and then steadily evolves towards a more purified blues rock style until the album ends with the gritty, slide guitar dominated tune "Bitching Blues". People with more experience of the genre than me can probably point to influences left and right here, personally I only identified one; ZZ Top as they sounded in the early 70's. Not an all tunes, but three tunes in particular would not have been out of place on an album by Texas' finest; namely "Damage Control", "One Step Closer" and the aforementioned "Bitching Blues". The opening hard rock tunes do set this release apart from others in the blues rock field to some extent, but more importantly the guitar sound of Robin George; highly distorted and fuzzy, still slick, distinct and very melodic, creates a trademark sound for this band. Slade is an experienced drummer, and utilizes his skill and experience cleverly here to create driving and interesting rhythms as the backbone for these tunes, and Pete Way does a swell job here too. The songs as such are a tad varied in quality as I hear them though. Especially the more heavily blues influenced tracks to become a tad anonymous. It takes great skill to make something sounding interesting in a style that has been explored for so many years by so vast amounts of artists, and although never bad these many tunes doesn't shine very brightly either, with "Seven Golden Daffodils" and "Bitching Blues" notable exceptions. "Alice" is my top pick from this release though, a slick tune with nice grooves and a very catchy chorus. Opening tune "Raw" and "Savage Song" are other strong tunes worth checking out. Fans of blues based hard rock and blues rock will probably love this release, and I feel quite safe in recommending this release to fans of these types of music. Rating: 7,5 (out of 10) Reviewer: Olav Björnsen copyright www.prog4you.com |
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DAMAGE CONTROL 'Raw'
Angel Air (2009)
www.angelair.co.uk
This is a total reworking of an album released back in 2007 which featured Spike of the Quireboys on vocals. For this album the musicians remain with Robin George and UFO/Waysted's Pete Way handling the vocals and Chris Slade (Uriah Heep/Asia/AC/DC) on drums. The classic power trio format. The production is as the album title suggests raw and live sounding. Interesting idea to record the same album in two different styles and having enjoyed both, this one just pips it for me as Spike's vocals didn't always seem to fit well with the music. Highlights? The awesome slide blues playing on 'Bitchin' Blues' and for more hard rocking blues try the title track. 'Seven Golden Daffodils' is the single on the album lending itself to airplay. 'Spy' from Robin George's excellent solo album 'Heartline' gets a radical makeover as well, dropping the acoustic feel for a rawer sound. Not a song I took to staright away as I enjoyed the original so much but given a few plays it clicks with the listener. This has been available through Robin George's website but full marks to Angel Air for giving it a full release. High quality blues rock and no mistake. With any luck this will lead to some live shows and a second album. **** Jason Ritchie News & Reviews Editor Get Ready To Rock! |
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Damage Control
- RAW |
Reviewed for RockFann by Vivienne Lennard
If you can only buy 1 record this year then let this be the one because it’s got it all.
Raw is an album bursting with Savage Songs protesting against injustice and corruption, attacking mediocrity and complacency with the sheer driving force of the music and the razor sharp wit of the lyrics. These are songs ripped straight from the hearts of guys who seem to have been to hell and back, all fused together by the power trio’s incandescent rocking and raging.
Nothing and no-one who deserves it escapes criticism here; the individual (Raw and Selfish), society (Alice) or governments (Spy). There ain’t no love songs here except Victim, Pete Way’s Ode to the drug which becomes a heartfelt lament for victims of drug abuse with the heart rending words Robin George sings ‘straight from the heart’, originally inspired by Phil Lynott, with whom he was writing for the re-formed Thin Lizzy,just before Phil’s untimely death . The track Damage Control seems to be Way’s cry for help, rasped out with raw emotion by a damaged man and answered by George’s controlled, melodic sensibilities.
Not that these songs lack a sense of humour; check out bluesy numbers like Slaughtered and Bitchin’ Blues while One Step Closer is a fabulous cry for freedom and then there’s Seven Golden Daffodils, a captivating song you’d never expect to hear on an album this dark .
Throughout, the outrageously catchy riffs are powered along by the rock-solid yet melodic drumming of Chris Slade, Way’s throbbing bass and George’s dramatic ,innovative guitar playing. The combination of George’s Lennon/Bolan-esque, bluesy vocals and Way’s emotion fuelled rocking are a powerful cocktail sure to send your head reeling. Turn it up real loud and roar!
Raw review courtesy of
'Dmitry M. Epstein'
http://dmme.net
The unholy trinity of
hard rock geezers try to reign in their inner animal and gloriously
fail.
To call it a power trio
would be an underestimation of these veterans' synergy. In their free
time the UFO's bassist Pete, drummer Chris Slade mostly recognisable
from his AC/DC stint and
Robin George who played
guitar for Phil Lynott and David Byron pooled their talents to have fun
and get away with it. The abusive self-criticism peaking in the "Damage
Control" boogie groove, there's no mercy in their deliciously rough
music where the subtlety is well hidden behind the stringers' voices and
the dark humor, with the "There ain't no Alice here, this ain't no
wonderland" line to sum it all up. Well, some more adventurousness
spiced up with the "Nightingales And Bombers" kind of drumming would be
welcome, but the acoustic texture of grungey "Savage Song" brings about
enough buzz, and "Selfish" is one of the most tremulous ballads out
there with an exquisite, almost flamenco lace woven into its blues
fabric. More so, "Slaughtered" is shaped as a fine slab of country
blues, while "Spy" comes as an excercise of cramming as much initialisms
in a song as possible - talk about all things lyrical and dirty, then.
Somewhat purer takes on some of these tracks have found their way onto the "Radio 1" EP - now added to "Raw" - with the almost chamber "Spy" sitting snugly alongside "Damage Control", funked-up and shot through with an acoustic thread, and some new songs which are too good to have been omitted yet not so bright to go to the second album that may see the threesome managing their anger ever effectively.
****4/5
Jake Webb
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LovePower and
Peace |
ViX LovePower and Peace review courtesy of Tristram Valentine - RockFann Magazine
‘LovePower
and Peace’ by Vix (x Fuzzbox).
Is this the rebirth of Vix under the wing of veteran rocker/producer Robin
George?
Under Robin’s guidance the full vocal scope of Vix has been exposed at long
last, with rock guitar and up-tempo riffs this album delivers from the title
track, ‘LovePower and Peace’ all the way through to the final track, ‘World’
A great collaboration between two cool artists. Keep it coming, guys! Pop Rock
at its best.
Review by Tristram Valentine, Sub-Editor for Rock Fann
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Damage Control
- RAW |
Is this a master class in Rock n’ Roll? In poker 3 Aces are a winning hand but in the world of Rock 3 Aces are Damage Control.
3 Grand Masters plying their trade as only they know how. For people who enjoy their Rock in all styles, this is a must have album!
Review by Tristram Valentine
Sub-Editor for RockFann.
what the
rest are saying..........................
Robin George is that
rare thing amongst rock musicians – jack of all trades and remarkably adept at
all of them.... His latest album, ‘Crying Diamonds’, is a finely crafted
collection of modern hard rock songs that perfectly highlights Robin’s ability
as a songsmith. The title track itself is of particular interest, having been
written with
Thin Lizzy’s
frontman Phillip
Lynott just prior to his untimely death Geoff
Gillespie - Majestic Rock Records
Stories about Pete are legion and legend. This is a man who once toured Europe with Waysted sans a passport - in the days before the borders were opened up. All he had was a Waysted album sleeve and a tour itinerary. Did he get away with it? This is Pete Way...of course he did. And that's just the tip of the mythic iceberg. The difference between these tall tales and those told about other rock icons is that, in Pete's case, they're all true. Yet, there's more to Pete Way than a chortle, chuckle and a chianti or three (well, any booze will do). He's also found time to record some of the most essential music in rock history, with UFO and Waysted. Malcolm Dome - radio broadcaster, author and journalist
One of the greatest drummers in rock history Greg Douglas - guitarist and vocalist with The Steve Miller Band
Bluesongs - superb compositions, beautifully arranged and very well produced. It’s good music for Christ’s sakes. One of the best things that I have heard so far this year, it will probably take something really earth stopping to top this off my list. One of the finest AOR releases by a true veteran. Bluesongs Review - Metal Invader
Pete is without doubt one of the most influential musicians to come out of the British rock scene in the 1970s and his distinctive style of bass-playing has inspired many rockstars. Bands including Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and Def Leppard cite him as an influence. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden practically worships him! Garry Bushell - journalist, author and television presenter
Slade was the best musician in AC/DC Angus Young of AC/DC no less
George’s writing and vocal styles are easily recognised, and the album includes ‘Crying Diamonds’, a song George wrote late on with Phil Lynott. The lyrics – “Secret handshake, old school tie brigade/Behind the scenery, I’ve read the book/I saw the film, but now I see reality” – may even reflect the way the industry slammed the door so prematurely shut on Lynott’s career. Fascinating stuff. Dave Ling's review of Crying Diamonds - Classic Rock Magazine
Robin has a refined and witty sensibility, similar to that of John Wetton.
This
album, however, is very different to his usual output. Blues, country and boogie
rock n' roll are all in complete harmony, and he skillfully takes in a duet with
a female vocalist on "World". The record has a number of light pop tunes, and
what really impresses me about this album is the warm and friendly nature of the
recording.
Yasuhito Kitai - Burrn Magazine
An Earth Band without Chris Slade would be like a bird without wings
Barry Winton - journalist for Record Collector magazine
'Bluesongs' is business as usual for the man who almost single handedly ushered in the age
of techno AOR with 1985's seminal 'Dangerous Music'. It's a wickedly fine set of mature pop-rock songs, well crafted, superbly played
and extremely well produced. In 2004, melodic rock doesn't get a whole lot
better than this! Times may change, but Robin George is still a force to be reckoned with…and 'Bluesongs' is the proof of that!
Keep that man away from my husband! He's a bad influence on Ozzy!
First of all I got to say this features some great production
work. Crystal clear, nice bass and every track rings true Brit quality.
Get this cd and play it loud this summer.
Kerrang
The veteran rockers have pulled together an incredibly bluesy
rock workout that doesn’t stop growing on you until the lyric booklet has become
one with your skin.
Rock Something
Robin George
ditches his more polished guitar sound of his
solo work for some mean, dirty riffing and a great piece of guitar on ‘Bitching
Blues’.
Chris Slade’s
drumming is worthy of a special mention as well as he really power along the
songs and seems to get more free reign for powerhouse drumming then in his
Asia
days.
Jason Richie
Damage Control is the brainchild of a couple of stalwarts of the British rock
music scene – Pete Way
and
Robin George,
who
have both been banging out top quality albums since way back when. For this
latest excursion, they have added ex- AC/DC
drummer
Chris Slade.
The songs are an eclectic mix of rockers, bluesy numbers and
high-quality slower tracks. The quality of song writing and lyrics is absolutely
superb throughout.
“Raw” and “One Step Closer” show the quality and variety in Robin George’s song writing in particular, the first an up-tempo rocker and the second a laid-back bluesy number. Both excellent, but completely different in style.
“Redundant” is the track that is still going round in my head after two plays and may well be my favourite of the whole album. It’s just beautifully written, catchy as hell
Damage Control is British rock at its finest. Intelligent
lyrics, superbly crafted songs, great performances by every musician…
Paul Williams