Joker Five Speed - Rock'N'Roll Is A Motherfucker

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 18 / 6 / 2006

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Review

Joker Five Speed come loudly, kicking, spitting and drinking their way out of New York and you can tell. They play fantastic good time rock music. They are right up there with the sing-a-long soft metal of the likes of Guns n’ Roses, Motley Crue and Buckcherry. There seems to have been a real insurgence of new bands coming out playing old fashioned balls to the walls music which does nothing more than entertain, but this Joker Five Speed do extremely well. This album collects together songs that have been put out between 2000 and now and is their farewell album. Song such as 'Too Far Gone' and 'Dirty Power' are almost timeless, although it would be far more accurate to say that you could imagine them being made somewhere in some graffiti covered hole of a club in 1987. Either way this band sound exactly how you imagine them to, on looking at their album cover. While this is often not a great way to judge an album (or book as the saying goes), sometimes it works. It is also good to know there are some bands out there that are just there to play and have a good time. Joker Five Speed are closer to the dirtier less polished side of rock n roll music, keeping up that grimy New York punk rock feel. It will be a favourite to those of you with a fondness for Geordie rock n roll legends the Wildhearts. No messing around, just good song after good song, and definitely no weak tracks here. It is also short on over-elaborate guitar solos and full of heavy riffage and melodic backing vocals from guitarists B-Stone and front man/guitarist TOR. It is a shame that Joker Five Speed have called it a day now. This is the type of album that would be as essential at some over-excessive party as a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Track Listing:-

1 Too Far Gone
2 Everybody's Alright
3 Jet Set City
4 We Get Along
5 Take Me Home
6 You Dont Know Me
7 She's So
8 So Bored
9 Destination: Meltdown
10 Little Bit
11 Shotgun
12 Letting Go
13 Turn To You
14 Dirty Power (Demo Version)