Album Review: The Dead Daisies – Holy Ground  (Spitfire Music)

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Holy Ground is all about the culture and tradition of Rock music, and this album is a grand celebration of all its fine elements and ingredients. The continuing progression of White Revivalist Pentecostal and American Black Baptist Church music. Holy ground absolutely.

The Dead Daisies has been an on-going collaboration project of a huge revolving cast of musicians. Members of Kiss, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Ozzy Osborne and Rolling Stones amongst many.

This current project was completed mostly before the world-wide lockdown of early 2020. Along with David Lowy on rhythm guitar is Doug Aldrich lead guitar, Glenn Hughes voice and Deen Castronovo drums.

Holy Ground, the song, opens the album and immediately shows us their credentials as Classic Rock. Hughes is in great voice throughout. Ex Deep Purple vocalist. A powerful tenor with the passion of an Eddie Vedder and the soulfulness of Ozzy in his classic Black Sabbath days. The songs are propelled by monster rhythm guitar riffs throughout, with the lead guitar laying down brief solos which detonate. Gospel Rock.

Like No Other (Bassline) is brutal rhythms tempered by some melodic lead riffs. Operatic Rock singing. The bassline comes in the second half, a loose and limber John Entwistle-style solo.

Come Alive starts with a similar bass guitar bottom. Rhythm rules, and from that ocean of sound lead riffs briefly break the surface and dive down again.

Bustle and Flow has a swagger and strut similar to Aerosmith’s Walk This Way. There is an R’n’B feel to the singing on this one. Simple rhythm but well executed and the judicious and almost Scottish miserly use of lead guitar blasts which remind me of Angus Young.

The Daisies have been seen here supporting the tours of Aerosmith and ZZ Top.

My Fate. It’s not all loud. After some crunching rhythm there is an acoustic sounding guitar passage leading to the voice coming forward. Hughes has a big voice which he can use with subtlety and nuance. There is a connection which goes back to the classic Blues Shouters of the Forties and Fifties in America like Big Joe Turner and Wynonie Harris. And of course, Little Richard, which takes us to the birth of Rock.

Unspoken is a ballad in this context. A slow build which leads to a simple but infectious song. Which then boils over the pot with jagged riffs leaping out.

30 Days in the Hole sounds classic AC-DC but actually it’s a tribute to Steve Marriott and Humble Pie as the song was originally recorded by them back in 1972.

Righteous Days is a similar workout.

Far and Away. Lo and behold a Zepper! A pastoral ballad full of acoustic Folk elements. Out of Physical Graffiti. The band get to stretch out over seven minutes plus. Complete with Bonham style drum accents.

This really is Classic Rock and one to kick out the jams to. Air guitars out and heads swinging. Also, a little hip-shaking.

Rev Orange Peel.   

Watch Marty Duda’s MusicTalk with The DeadDaisies HERE.

Marty Duda
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