Posted on: April 4, 2017 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 1

Jay Clark Band’s Cocked & Loaded begins with Get Wild,a powerful track that soars on the backs of intense drums, passionate vocals, and a hard rock sound that mixes and matches the strongest elements of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and more contemporary approaches. Hell or High Water takes up the standards of Every Mother’s Nightmare and Warrant, with taut instrumentation and a gritty, weathered set of vocals that fit right in alongside Bret Michaels and Klaus Meine (The Scorpions). 
Leave It All Behind slows down the tempo a bit to whip in a hint of country rock (Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special). The additional vocals included during this single keeps things fresh and listeners firmly planted on the edges of their seats.  Won’t Be Pushed Around is the high-water mark for Cocked & Loaded. The breakneck speed of the track includes keys, which make this track resound loudly with listeners long after the effort (and the full CD) ceases to play. The River features Adam Cunningham, and the resulting track is able to touch upon the narrative style of a Bob Seger or Ted Nugent. The later strains of Cocked & Loaded, including Freight Train, Another Love Song, and the titular track have enough twists and turns to keep interest high as one moves into the final one-two punch of
Whatcha Doin’ To Me and Shakedown. Whatcha Doin’ To Me is a fun track in the same realm as Poison’s “Flesh & Blood”, with a chorus so catchy that fans will be singing along on subsequent spins. Shakedown ends Cocked & Loaded with as much flame and fury as it began; hints of Alice Cooper can be heard in the vocals as the instruments take up mid-1980s Ramones and Motley Crue.

Top Tracks: Hell or High Water, Won’t Be Pushed Around

Rating: 8.3/10

Jay Clark Band “Cocked & Loaded” / 2017 / https://jayclark1.bandcamp.com/ / http://Jayclarkband.com

1 people reacted on this

  1. James, thanks for the thorough review. I put a lot of thought into which songs to record and what order to put them in on the LP to keep it interesting for the listener from start to finish. I really appreciate you reviewing each track and the kind words overall. JC

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