Let’s go back in time to the skinny tie era of Power Pop (before people even knew the term) in 1980. And a little known New Jersey band, Ambulance had a single “It’s All Up To You” early that year on Sing Sing Records. And even Richie Ramone helped play drums on that track. Much like our friends Buddy Love, these gents have returned decades later to re-tell the tale of Ambulance.
If you are a fan of that old school garage power pop, SW Miller (guitar), Bobby Padula(drums) and Alan Rigoletto (bass) deliver the raw energy and enthusiasm. The original tracks are great – and mixed in with the new stuff. I’ll give Miller credit, his guitar playing and song composition are spot on. Unfortunately his vocal sounds like Bob Geldof with a sinus cold and the attempted harmonies on “Tonight” made me cringe. There are several good new tracks here like,”Not Fighting Fair” and “Believe In You.” But I had difficulty getting past those vocals. Fans of the early punk/new wave era however will not be disappointed.
I have been looking forward to the release of this project for over a year now. Vintage S.W. Miller. Lived the old stuff and love the new. Congrats!
A.S.
I never had the pleasure of experiencing Ambulance live back in the day; I heard of them but didn’t get to hear them play. Planet You’s tracks are a mix of a little old, a little new, a little live, and a lotta studio so you get a pretty good idea of their diversity. A mini anthology of sorts. You can hear different influences in each tune but the album’s flavor is old school left lane feel good music. Cookie cutter it ain’t. If you like music packed with raw energy, memorable lyrics, riffs and melodies guaranteed to get you dancing wherever you are, then Ambulance’s Planet You will get you there.
Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to catch them live this time around. Till then I’m keeping this CD on constant queue.
Wow, that’s some bad stuff. Some bands just shouldn’t come back.