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CD Reviews archive - L
Review of:
Lust Under Virgo's
"Both Sides
Of The Dime" (2008)
Reviewed by Tawny Khat on May 28, 2009
Logo and cover production by Izzy Lust
Logo design by Luisella Caielli
Cover photography by Andrea WeichBrodt
Cover artwork and GraphFX by Stefano De Filippi
Provided courtesy of Lust Under Virgo.
Tracks:
1. Move Your Body
2. From Venus to Mars
3. We Wanna Dance with somebody
4. The Look
5. I Won't Stop The Fire if you don't stop the fuel
6. American Gigolo
7. L.U.V. Oversize Me
8. Cult of L.U.V.
9. Down to Earth
10. I'm doing that !
11. 20th Century Boy
12. Don't Stop Rock and Roll tonight
13. S.O.S. Planet Earth
14. Cult of L.U.V. - Acoustic
Both Sides of the Dime
This is an album that is most definitely influenced by the glitter rock of the 70s, the era of T. Rex and Ziggy Stardust, and even a little bit of punk a la The Ramones. However, it also has a completely unique and modern bent to it, very hard to plug into any current genre. While there's plenty of distorted guitar riffs to be found, the album also has lots of synthesizer in it, maybe a little too much for my taste. The guitar work is the biggest highlight on the album, as far as I'm concerned.
This is a concept album that comes from the imagination of Italian rocker Izzy Lust. He calls his concept Glam Street Rock. Although he sites many influences, from current rock bands like Vains of Jenna and Hardcore Superstar to classic rock groups such as KISS and Alice Cooper, his music sounds nothing like those influences. As I said earlier, it's more akin to 70s glam. In reading his press kit it becomes clear that he is a dreamer with great imagination, but also depth of thought and soul. I am impressed that he put together the entire album himself, playing all the instruments with the exception of the drums, played by David Casaril, the guitar on "I Won't Stop The Fire", played by Nikky Bidin, and the cello on "Cult of L.U.V. - Acoustic", played by Daniele Bianchi. He does all of the vocals, as well, including background vocals.
Izzy has put together a band for live shows, however, which includes himself, David Under and Joy Virgo.
I'll do a rundown of the tracks on the album. The first track, "Move Your Body", has that 70s glam feel I mentioned earlier with some nice guitar riffs and a great beat. Next comes a strange spaced out tune, "From Venus to Mars". The song that follows that one is "We Wanna Dance with somebody". I like this track. It's a fun, 70s glam rocker that kicks off with some killer distorted guitar.
"The Look" comes next. This is a cover of the Roxette song from the 80s. This version is faster paced than the original and has a pretty cool guitar solo, but all in all I prefer the original version. The track that comes after "The Look", "I Won't Stop The Fire if you don't stop the fuel", is hip shaker with some great guitar licks. Next is "American Gigolo", a catchy, fun song, followed by the mid-tempo "L.U.V. Oversize Me".
I also like the song that follows those, "Cult of L.U.V.", which is the heaviest song on the album, although some of the guitar riffs remind me of "Fire Woman" from The Cult. Maybe that's why I like it, since I love The Cult. The next couple of songs are pretty cool, too. "Down to Earth" has an awesome beat, and "I'm doing that !" has more of that 70s glitter rock sound with a little Ramones style punk thrown in for good measure.
After those tunes comes a cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy". Izzy does a pretty good job at covering the 70s rock classic. Then there's "Don't Stop Rock and Roll tonight", another song I like, which continues the 70s glitter rock theme and is really fun with a catchy beat and another nice guitar solo.
The most metal song on the album comes next, "S.O.S. Planet Earth", followed by the final track, an acoustic version of "Cult of L.U.V." where the cello gives it a kind of haunting quality.
This album may not appeal to everyone's taste, but if you like the glitter rock 'n roll of the 70s then you should give Lust Under Virgo a listen. You can visit their MySpace page for more info.
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