Dame Fortune – Both Sides Of Midnight
DAME FORTUNE
BOTH SIDES OF MIDNIGHT
Released 2004 (Raido Records)
Track List:
01. Intro
02. Both Sides Of Midnight
03. The Calling
04. Ghetto Assed Petal
05. I Ain’t Your P.S.D.
06. The Looney Bin
07. Live Like Kings
08. Luchador
09. Lush
10. I Want A Girl Like Bettie Page
11. What You Need
12. Who Are You Lately?
13. Midnight Radio
14. Outro
Band:
David Blake – guitars and vocals
Mike James – guitars and vocals
Jeff Wire – bass
John Merritt – drums and backing vocals
Additional Musicians:
Christian Marshall – drums (2, 3, 9 & 14)
Kevin Valentine – drums (4, 5, 8, 11 & 12) and percussion
Paul Tuerpe – opening narration
Andrea Meatty – additional vocals (12)
Production:
Produced by David Blake. Engineered by Kevin Valentine.
Mixed by David Blake and Kevin Valentine. Mastered by Brad Vance.
Review:
I realize Ace Frehley consumed massive amounts of drugs and alcohol in his time. Now imagine if during those drug infested days Ace had become eccentric as opposed to reclusive – Dame Fortune is what he may have come up with. The vocals here have that same laid-back, almost nonchalant, attitude that made Ace a household name in the 70s.
Dame Fortune tackles a few different areas musically, and do them all quit well. “Ghetto Assed Petal” for instance is your typical KISS inspired rock anthem, which shouldn’t be surprising considering the drummer on this tune, Kevin Valentine, has recorded with them. Meanwhile “Live Like Kings” is a fast riff heavy number that reminded of something Twisted Sister would have tackled in their early days. But it is straight back to 70s styled hard rock for “Luchadors”, a song dedicated to those masked Mexican wrestlers.
The odd song doesn’t work so well, “Lush” for instance, but the good outweighs the bad on Both Sides Of Midnight. Actually the best material sneaks up near the end of the disc, like the hard rockin’ and struttin’ “What You Need” and the mellow “Who Are You Lately?” Even “Midnight Radio”, the it’s “Wild Thing” riff, kick ass.
The band themselves claim to infuse goth with 80s rock, but luckily I don’t hear much of that. What I do hear is heavily KISS influenced music, complete with killer solos and a steady rhythm section. This is a cool release that offers up a bit of the old with the new, check it out at www.damefortune.net.
Reviewed by Skid for Sleaze Roxx, February 2006.
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