Mad Rollers - Get Mad

 

There has been a real concentration on the sound of the 70s over the last couple of years and although the decade covers a whole lot from Prog to Punk, Classic Rock to New Wave and much more, that focus has been particularly on the Flares and Butterfly Collars years of Chinn and Chapman.

As you'd expect, that has meant albums that fall into good, bad and ugly categories. Pastiche to serious. Handclaps to THAT Drum sound with a large dollop of Call and Response. Fortunately, Mad Rollers fall into the Good category, perhaps even category. 

The five piece from Rome remind me a lot of fellow Italians, Giuda who initially trod a similar road in both sound and feel. They also do a great cover of Jook's Bish Bosh Bash and my love of Jook knows no bounds. Mad Rollers could be Jook for the iphone generation.

Red Light has a hint of The Boomtown Rat's first album, although not as shouty as Geldof. Motherkilla sounds like gritty UK New Wave, maybe even a little Canvey Island or Rich Kids. I Trust Nobody could be something from the Chiswick label.

Ukraine Girl, which has become very relevant, closes the album and is a real 77 Punk Anthem. But it is the Glam Rock that rings out most.  Keep Me Away and Rome Sweet Home are very Glitter Band, Good Time is very Bolan mixed with a bit of early 10CC.

All through the album your thoughts turn to Sweet, Slade and the RAK label. But Get Mad is performed with such verve and love that it is far more than just about the accurate sound of the era. The album is great fun and we need all the fun we can get at the moment.

You can buy the album on Vinyl here and here. You can listen to the album on your preferred streaming site.

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