Previous Radio Moscow albums, ‘The Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz’ and ‘3 and 3 Quarters’ both scored favourable reviews here at W&H, and their fourth album ‘Magical Dirt’ sees them stepping away from the garage leanings of their previous releases: this is a straight down the line, full-tilt, hard-riffin’ old-school blues rock monster of a distinctly 70s vintage with a heavy late 60s psych edge – and I mean heavy. As such, the album finds them playing to their strengths and firing on all cylinders with some epic instrumental sections that are pure wig-out. As a rule, guitar solos are pointless onanism. But done right, in the right context... hell, why not?
They get straight down to some rockin’ blues boogie with ‘So Alone’ a monster solo and some wigged-out wah-wah prefacing the arrival of the gritty vocals. ‘Death of a Queen’ draws on elements of Zeppelin, ZZ Top and Hendrix’s ‘Foxy Lady’ for its thunderous guitar strut. ‘Gypsy Fast Woman’ is all about the riff, bringing together contemporary rock revivalism with classic old-school rock.
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It’s the kind of album that’s hard to argue with, because it’s solid and you can’t criticise a blues rock album for treading a well-worn path. What matters is that it rocks, and it does. In fact, ‘Magical Dirt’ is seriously kicking, and with massive transistor amp tube-crunched guitar riffage flaming over a chunky, no-messing’ rhythm section, it’s both magical and dirty – just the way it ought to be.
Radio Moscow Online
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