Royal Beat Conspiracy - Dig It!

  by Andrew Carver

published: 26 / 10 / 2002

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Pity the Royal Beat Conspiracy — every band must worry about the dreaded sophomore slump, but, when your first album is as brilliant as Gala Galore, well, you can almost guarantee effort No. 2 is going to fall a little short. 'Gala Galore' was a brilliant synthesis of pop, Detroit soul, disco and rock’n’roll of all ages, and 'Dig It' is almost — almost — as good. The RBC has added to their arsenal by recruiting keyboardist Carl Stintzing full time, and his presence is fully felt in the little burbles that echo the vocals in tracks like 'Try Me' ; the raucous electric piano on lead track 'Can You Dig It', and the slow tricking groove of “By Your Side.” Singer L-P Anderson, guitarist Tord Arne Komsell and bassist Ulf Janson demonstrate the same tightness as on previous efforts, with new drummer Anders Stub fitting in smoothly. Credit also goes to Torsten Larsson, who provides the excellent production that embellished the first two Soundtrack of Our Lives albums and his own work with the Stonefunkers. Perhaps the best thing about the first RBC album was the diversity of sounds. 'Dig It' has many of the same sort of  touches — they deserve some sort of prize for successfully incorporating  flute, perhaps the least rocking instrument of all time, in 'Let Me Into Your Life'. It must also be said that few bands integrate backing vocals and horns as well as the RBC. The Royal Beat Conspiracy have produced another excellent long-player (they also have a very good EP, 'Shake What You Have Got'), and if it isn’t quite as fresh as their superb debut, it’s a more-than-worthy follow up.

Track Listing:-

1 Can You Dig It
2 Try Me
3 Good All Over
4 Let Me Into Your Life
5 By Your Side
6 Come Along With Me
7 Soulshake
8 No No No, I Can't Take It Anymore
9 Super Sweet
10 St Michael Theme

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