Album Review: Motorjesus - Live Resurrection
Reviewed by Carl Black
"I love Rock ‘n’ Roll, so come a little closer and dance with me…"
We love a bit of rock n roll… don’t we? Some of us like it all the time, some of us like it half the time, some of us like it only when we are intoxicated and are up for a laugh, either way you know what you’re going to get. There is a growing scale and class of rock n roll. Rolling Stones, The Ramones, Motorhead at one end; Band Tango, Shotgun Messiah and Kingdom Come at the other. Where do Motorjesus fit in on this range?
The live album (this is my first encounter with this German rock ‘n roll troop) is always a good starting place if you are new to an established band.
So when it comes to a live album: All the hits should be on here plus some more recent ones too, which is true of this album. All the songs should be recorded in one session, not always the case with a live album but this is true here. Which means you get an honest and true representation of the band at this point in time.
After hearing this album, I felt, even though I have never heard this band before, that I have heard all of these songs previously. I wondered when and where had I heard these songs beforehand? I’ve come to the conclusion very quickly that each country has a Motorjesus. A rock 'n roll band that crawls from the same DNA pool and thrives in the country of origin. They are influenced by the same bands but feed off the nation that houses them. England has The Wildhearts, rock 'n roll tinged with The Beatles; USA has Black Stone Cherry, rock 'n roll with a lick of southern rock; Australia has Airborne, rock 'n roll with... well rock 'n roll but hopefully you get my point. Motorjesus are a rock 'n roll band that come from Germany. And this is where I draw a blank. They are rock 'n roll but they are not influenced by the Scorpions, more Hanoi Rocks, Guns n Roses, but also a smidge of Pantrea and Metallica with a slight southern rock accent.
So you can guess what the songs are like, high octane, fast paced good time anthems that encourage a sing along and a dam good time. The best of this bunch is 'The Howling'. Some of the songs are a bit corny, 'Motor Discipline' being very cringe worthy. But all the songs bounce along and singer Chris (Howling) Brix sings with such fire and enthusiasm that if you’re in attendance with some local brew inside of you and a good wind behind you, you’d find it tough not to join in.
So let’s put another dime in the jukebox and play some rock ’n roll, if your into that sort of thing.
Motorjesus release 'Live Resurrection' on December 20th via Drakkar Entertainment
