Anyone who's been paying attention over the last few years had to have seen the possibility of Taylor Hawkins restarting The Coattail Riders coming. Recently, Hawkins has leant his voice to a series of albums including those by Dennis Wilson (where he filled in a missing vocal part), Slash, Queen and a few others as well as stepping up to the mic to sing with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones at the Foo Fighters' classic show at Wembley Stadium. In addition to that, Hawkins has played as part of the SOS Allstars (with Roger Taylor and Chad Smith). Each time, the performance has been memorable because a) it's not often that a drummer takes the lead vocal spot (unless you play in The Eagles) and b) he always tends to do it with some big-name help and fanfare. With that fanfare ringing in his ears, why wouldn't Taylor Hawkins reignite the engines of the Coattail Riders? It's been about ten years since the band recorded, but what's he got to lose right?
So Red Light Fever and the release of it were sort of a foregone conclusion; everybody saw it coming, but the beauty of inevitability is that people might be receptive if they see something coming. Hawkins and his Coattail Riders don't disappoint on Red Light Fever in that regard either; the echos of every swingin' sound of the Seventies that Hawkins has offered his talent to over the last couple of years ring through loud and clear in these dozen tracks.
While the fact that Hawkins wears those influences clearly on his sleeve leaves exactly no space for surprises on Red Light Fever, that doesn't mean the album is an exercise in farce. The strains of Zep, Queen, The Police, Pink Floyd, The Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age all echo in unison through songs including “Not Bad Luck,” “Never Enough,” “Way Down,” “Sunshine” and “James Gang” as the drums hammer, the multi-layered guitars blast with epic grandeur and Hawkins hoarsely croaks out lyrics that can pound or wow listeners depending on the timbre that he elects to take throughout the proceedings. Everyone that comes out to help Hawkins realize this record (including Dave Grohl, Brian May and Roger Taylor) places their authoritative stamp on their parts so listeners can't miss who's playing which, again, makes the record seem like it should be huge and exciting. To be fair, it does sound like a huge, star-studded occasion but it somehow falls short and leaves something to be desired. Listening to Red Light Fever will leave listeners a little cold because – let's face it – the record is a side project and everyone except (maybe) Hawkins is coasting here; everyone plays instantly recognizable licks to prove they were there, and there's not much more to it than that. That fact is ironic, in its own way; here's Taylor Hawkins – this player that surprises the hell out of everybody when he steps up to the mic in the company of rock royalty – but he's not much on his own.
Artist:
www.taylorhawkins.com/
www.myspace.com/taylorhawkinsandthecoattailriders
Album:
Red Light Fever is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
