CD Review - The Idle Hands - All Night Sinnin'
The Idle Hands hail from the town of the crooked spire, Chesterfield in Derbyshire - a classic British Blues Rock band of 20 years standing with four albums already under their belt. All Night Sinnin' is their fifth release and their vocalist and lyricist Phil Allen tells me "… and we've already started writing the next album". It is clear that this is not a band sitting on its laurels - as Phil describes the past couple of years of the bands history it is clear that they are as hungry as ever to grow, develop and to continue to make great music. With influences like Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, Led Zeppelin (and many more cited on the band's website) you will not be disappointed by the characteristic sound of The Idle Hands.
The band was conceived in 1989 by Dave Robinson (guitar) and Jamie Burns (bass) and were joined by Phil Allen as vocalist in 1994. Most recently, a new drummer, Paul Heydon joined the band. It must have been quite daunting for Paul to join such a well established band, however, Phil explains that it was clear from his audition that Paul was the right man for the job. Immediately after Paul's audition Jamie said "He's the one" to Phil and Dave. A year on, Phil has nothing but praise for Paul explaining that he has
brought a new energy to the band. Not to mention, learning a back catalogue of over 40 songs, writing drum parts for the new album, recording an album - a new experience for Paul.
It has all paid off. All Night Sinnin' is an excellent showcase for the band as it is now. The album opens with "I ain't broken" - a cracking rock song that grabs the listener's attention from the very start, a teasing introduction, before launching into a song laden with delicious guitar riffs and hooks. The pace is maintained by "The Stroll" which is anything but; with the excellent guitar playing making my brain dance. "Personal demon" is a touch more laid back with the bands Blues style breaking through and showcasing the superb craftsmanship of the whole band.
The journey continues deeper into the Mississippi delta as the album progresses towards what became my favourite track of the album "40 Nights" and according to Phil I am not alone in picking this one out. The band are simply sublime on this track - excellent vocals, great lyrics and great musicianship from all of the band - but I can't resist picking out Dave's guitar playing on this track. It gave me the chills.
It was about this time that during our conversation Phil reminded me of the good old days of vinyl albums - side one and side two and all that. Now I don't know if the first seven tracks of All Night Sinnin' would fit on one side or not, but if it did then "40 Nights" would be a very worthy high point to end on.
The album continues with "Honey Tree", "Mississippi" and "Bad Situation" all of which are solid blues rock songs taking us towards the title track of the album. My expectations are high and I am not disappointed as the band bring it on with "All Night Sinnin'" - Phil uses the deeper tones in his excellent vocal range, more excellent guitar work from Dave all supported by Jamie's and Paul's solid foundation.
The CD draws towards a close with "I Don't Mind", a beautiful tune featuring one of my favourite instruments, a Dobro. I can just see the band sitting around a campfire with a bottle of bourbon playing this one. Exquisite. And finally, "A Friend Like You" and as the guitar kicks in I feel like we're coming full circle back to the album's rocking opener. It is a great conclusion to a great album - it feels like a typical end song of a great live set.
The production on this album is very professional, but, crucially, not overdone. I feel confident that when I go to see The Idle Hands play live I will not only recognise these songs but I will be hearing them faithfully reproduced.
I am left wondering why The Idle Hands are not signed - I shall resist the temptation to go too deeply into that, other than to say it is largely because the music industry has too little interest in proper bands. That said, I feel a great desire and energy in Phil when I talk to him about the future of the band - they're served their time in pubs and clubs and would love to make the next step to the rock blues festival circuit and get more gigs supporting "bigger" bands. The band do this for love of music, they have day jobs to hold down, they finance their own recordings - I can't help but agree with Phil that they deserve a break - apprenticeship served. The band gig most weeks of the year, at least once a week. I am sure that you won't be disappointed as they play a strong two-hour set combining their own material with a good blend of classic blues rock covers.
Simon J. Gledhill
November 21st, 2009
The Idle Hands website address is http://www.the-idle-hands.co.uk/ - here you will find more background on the band, gig details, sample music downloads, videos and details of how to order their latest and previous CDs.
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