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Starwood: If It Ain't Broke, Break It!

They may look like modern-day Mötley Crüe and Poison, but they sound more like old-school L.A. Guns and Ratt. No surprise, really, considering that Starwood comes from the same Hollywood circuit that berthed those bands. Sadly, If It Ain't Broke, Break It! ain't Appetite for Destruction. Or even Out of the Cellar. But it is a nine-song barrage of snotty rock 'n' roll attitude that'll have you pining for the old days, when punk, rock and metal sloppily melted into one another. Hear singer Lizzy sneer on "Subculture," while Starwood dishes out a dose of Dio on "What's Your Damage" and prances around Cheap Trick hooks on "All My Girlfriends Have Boyfriends" and "Social Zero." And the title track sounds funner than anything else Metal Blade has released all year. I still haven't decided if the grungy production hinders or helps this record, but If It Ain't Broke, Break It! gets better with repeat listens. Yet like The Darkness – another band seeking to put the "cock" back in rock in over-the-top fashion – you can't help but wonder: Are these guys for real?


Track Listing:
1) Subculture
2) Won't Back Down
3) What's Your Damage
4) All My Girlfriends Have Boyfriends
5) Social Zero
6) If It Ain't Broke, Break It!
7) Backlash
8) You're So Real
9) Bad Medicine
Total Time: 33:05

Added: March 20th 2005
Reviewer: Michael Popke
Score:
Related Link: Official Starwood Web Site
Hits: 2739
Language: english

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» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews:

Starwood: If It Ain't Broke, Break It!
Posted by Ken Pierce, SoT Staff Writer on 2005-03-20 22:33:44
My Score:

Solid rock and roll is what I found on this release, pure and simple. I think it is great to find this every once in a while and seeing how rock and metal have so much against them these days it's good to see a record like this come around. Oddly enough this one seems to be fronted by a member of a once very popular heavy metal act though none of the press releases seem to bring it up. The lead singer is named Lizzy and as I listened to him sing, I said "hey that's Lizzy Borden!!.". This was a band that had more of a cult following than legions and I liked several of their releases especially "Master Of Disguise". With this new release, Lizzy is clearly taking a very different approach and while that can be risky to some I admit the end result is quite good. Instead of metal, this piece is more along the lines of the straight ahead rock and roll normally given to you by Hanoi Rocks or old L.A. Guns. It is quite the turn for someone who was so entrenched in the metal style.

Joining Lizzy on the release is Marten Andersson, Joey Scott and Joe Steals (Marten and Joey also are from Lizzy Borden). More than the change in format, one can simply view that Lizzy Borden ceased to exist as a band and Starwood was born at the same time.

There are a bunch of catchy numbers on the CD such as "Subculture" and "All My Girlfriends Have Boyfriends" (an anthem for all the fellows who have the ton of gal pals but no significant other). The tune "Social Zero" had some moments where I felt I was listening to the "Major Tom" song by Peter Schilling from the early 80's. It was the effect used on the voice, as that's all the song has in similarity. "You're So Real" and "Bad Machine" round out my favorite tunes on this debut release.

This is clearly a 'highly recommend' from me, and if you enjoy the basic rock and roll feel as well as some ass kicking riffs you will dig this. It's a lot of fun, and so many of the tunes are quickly able to be sung along to. That does not happen a lot so it can't be a bad thing. Let's see if Lizzy made the right move by moving to a different genre of music. So far so good.




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