Album Review: The Godfathers - "Alpha Beta Gamma Delta"

 

There are some albums where reviewing them requires twisting your conscience into a bit of a half nelson. Allow me to explain - I do actually like the Godfathers (This Damn Nation is arguably one of the great lost garage-punk anthems of the '80s) but, similar to Wayne Barrett from Slaughter & The Dogs, their frontman Peter Coyne's actions in recent times have tested a lot of fans' faith a bit after he abruptly sacked the entire line-up in 2019. I'm friends with a couple of the guys who were in that Godfathers line-up on Facebook and rest assured that Coyne does not come out of the story well. It seems like even he acknowledges as much with the press release for this album claiming in its defence that "you don't have to like the person to like the music".

Hey ho. Anyway, to give Coyne credit where it's due, he's made a fairly smart move in putting a new line-up together by recruiting from the ashes of the sadly missed Heavy Drapes and to be fair Alpha Beta Gamma Delta is an album that actually surpassed my expectations a bit. It kicks in with the gentle laid back Bring On The Sunshine which has a hint of one of Iggy's more laid back moments (think something like Innocent World from Naughty Little Doggie). The irascible You Gotta Wait sums up the frustration of the nine to five world well while I Hate The 21st Century has a similar sort of grumpy veteran vibe to it and, lord knows, I identify with that. Elsewhere, the sinister Midnight Rider and the gentle acoustics of There's No Time show off the versatility of this line-up well.

If anything, the main plus point of Alpha Beta Gamma Delta is that it's a surprisingly melodic album especially given the acrimony it was born from. Coyne's backing band fire off the whiplash riffs and catchy hooks while he barks out his angst backed to some big gang chant choruses which recall the Godfathers' seminal early stuff. Admittedly, there's a couple of songs later on the album that are a bit generic like Lay That Money Down and I'm Not Your Slave while Tonight is a bit meandering and dull but the good moments here like the slow-building snarl of Dead In Los Angeles definitely outnumber the disappointments.

Whatever you may think of Peter Coyne as a person (and I fully understand that a few people may well find it difficult to dissociate the man from the music here), he deserves credit for coming up with an album which, far from being the disaster it could've been, actually sits up there with the Godfathers' strongest stuff from this side of the millennium. Like I say, consider my expectations well and truly exceeded.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)