  
Damage Control: Raw
Angel Air/Border
A more seasoned trio than DAMAGE CONTROL is hard to find. The duo of Robin George, guitars (PHIL LYNOTT, GLEN HUGHES etc) and Pete Way (UFO, WAYSTED) formed the band. They started out with spike of QUIREBOYS on vocals and a drum machine, and that session is out a self-titled album. But their intension was that Pete and Robin were to share lead vocals, and to have a real drummer. Robin opted for Chris Slade (AC/DC, URIAH HEEP etc.) – and hey presto he was in the band and his drums were being on a plane from L.A to Worchester. The info mentions a canopy of styles and ideas – how did they do?
British rock with a stress on UFO, possibly WAYSTED. Pete´s voice provides no other associations. The title track lacks balls; another title would have done them a favor. Already the next song, “Alice” has way more grooves and a jewel of a refrain, especially in comparison. That goes for “Savage Song” too, a track that transports the listener to a sweaty English pub and a stage covered in smoke. I bet old fans of UFO likes the boogie of the contagious “Damage Control”. It might even be about Pete´s touring habits. “One Step Closer” will not scare off any of the possible buyers, it´s all about typical Brit rock grooves. A lot of the lyrics seem to be retrospectives of days gone by, which suits the genre. As a change there is the bluesy ballad “Selfish”, which is complete with a flamenco-like part. “Spy” has a refrain that creeps up on you, without distortion it could have been 90íes pop. The current recession makes “Redundant” echo of doom, but it is apparently about totally different issues. Slide guitar opens the Ron keel reminiscent country-ish boozer track “Slaughtered”. They manage a couple of tired pub rock songs too; “Pray for You and Me” and “Victim”. The blues 12 bar is being worn out in the LONNIE DONNEGAN cover “Seven Golden Daffodils”, which I could have done without. There is routine and habit in heeps here, but the spark doesn´t last all the way. Maybe I have hard standards to measure this lot by but we all know that they can create hard rock history when the mood is right.
Track List
Raw
Alice
Savage Song
Damage Control
One Step Closer
Selfish
Pray for You and Me
Spy
Redundant
Slaughtered
Victim
Seven Golden Daffodils
Bitchin´ Blues
www.angelair.co.uk www.peteway.net
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