RTX - JJ Got Live RatX

by Andrew Carver

published: 26 / 10 / 2008

Label: Drag City
Format: CD

Explosive late 70's/erly 80's guitar rock on fourth album from RTX, the band that Jennifer Herrema formed out of the ashes of Royal Trux

Review

RTX, the band Jennifer Herrema dragged out of the ashes of Royal Trux, has been carrying the torch from her earlier band’s post Virgin output: ‘Veterans of Disorder’, ‘Pound for Pound’ and most particularly ‘Accelerator’. This is a band which takes the excess of late-70's/early 80's guitar rock and adds some more excess on top of it, and it all rocks like a monster. They’ve taken the vocalizer effects employed to ... er ... great effect by Peter Frampton and turned them into a distorted groan on the all-attitude ‘You Should Shut Up!’, which ushers the album in with the repeated synths of late era Queen and the effects-laden guitar of late 1970s rock (think Ween for a more contemporary reference point). Is there cowbell? But of course! The charging ‘How’d You Do It’ is certainly the snarling descendant of Accelerator’s ‘Yes I’m Ready’, and the whole album reeks of L.A. car fumes and Whiskey-a-Go-Go hair metal, with perhaps a bit off ‘Exterminator’-era ZZ Top thrown into the production mixer.. The band keeps up its tradition of select covers, but the version of the Barbarians’ ‘Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl’ on ‘JJ Got Live’ isn’t really up to the standard of Western Xterminator’s ‘Money Will Roll Right In’, originally by Fang, but otherwise ‘JJ Got Live RatX’ improves on the already high mark set by its predecessor with snarling freak rock. At 36 minutes ‘JJ Got Live’ is an explosion of rock power that should please fans of everyone ranging from Ratt to High Rise.

Track Listing:-

1 You Should Shut Up
2 How'd You Do It?
3 Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?
4 Cheap Wine Time
5 Virginia Creeper
6 Rainbow High
7 Mr. Wall
8 Hash
9 Birthday Song
10 Too Badd