Album Review: Rossall - "The Last Glam In Town"

 

John Rossall is probably best known as the musical leader of the Glitter Band way back in the '70s (for those unaware, the band actually had a whole separate music career away from their disgraced singer and chalked up a fair few hits on their own). Last Glam In Town sees him making a comeback with an impressive backing case including John Robb (Membranes/Goldblade) and various members of '80s indie stalwarts the Nightingales who comprise his backing band nowadays.

If you're expecting some flat trip down Memory Lane here then prepare to be surprised - this is very much the '70s glam sound but much as Joe Elliott and the Quireboys did in their Down 'n' Outz side project, it gives the formula a much-needed 21st century makeover. Opener Fear of a Glam Planet uses Robb's sinister whispered vocals to create something that owes as much to imperial phase Marilyn Manson as it does to Marc Bolan and it's not a bad sound at all.

Elsewhere, Neon Lights, featuring another vocal turn from Robb, takes things into an almost power-pop territory with its icy guitars and rumbling bassline and sounds genuinely unique like some great collision between the Cure and Berlin-era Bowie given a pop makeover while Blackpool Rocks could almost be the lean mean new wave sound of Valley of the Dolls era Generation X if you squint a bit.

If Go Go Girl, Glitterbomb and a stomping cover of the Honeycombs' Have I The Right? (featuring the Nightingales' Robert Lloyd taking vocal duties) are a bit more easily identifiable as the classic glam rock template, they're done with such enthusiasm and tightness that you can't help but enjoy them. Equaliser, co-written by the late Alan Merrill of the Arrows, is another highlight with its driving riff and honking sax powering it along.

I was pleasantly surprised by this album - Rossall is evidently anything but a guy trading on past glories and Last Glam In Town really does take the classic glam rock sound and well and truly drag it into 2020 to good effect. Give it a spin (stream or download) over at the Rossall Bandcamp page and see for yourself - you might just be pleasantly surprised.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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