Stone Rider - Three Legs of Trouble (CD)

All Music Guide

Seems like it's about that time again, time to rock like it's, oh, about 1975 thanks to nostalgic young bands like Atlanta's Stone Rider and their amusingly titled 2008 debut, Three Legs of Trouble. Along with the likes of Black Stone Cherry, Antler, and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, to name but a few, Stone Rider is chiefly influenced by the strippeddown classic rock of the '60s and '70s, so is it time to proclaim the existence of a neoSouthern rock "movement"? Probably not, since, despite its frequent revivals through the years (and let's discount the psych, space, and metalinfused stoner rock bands), rootsy, Southernfried, retrofitted hard rock hasn't actually challenged the mainstream since producing the Black Crowes (and the Four Horsemen, Cry of Love, Raging Slab, Drivin' n' Cryin', etc.) in the early '90s. But Stone Rider would obviously love to give it a shot in the 2000s with their gritty, mostly midpaced hard rockers like "Rush Hour, Baby," "Juice Man," and "Bite My Tongu...e," and one only wonders whether these may not be too earnest, strippeddown, and unassuming for their own good, where the "wow me" generation is concerned. Not that Stone Rider's twinguitar front of Neil Warren and nasally gifted singer Matt Tanner can't shred their fretboards either, (there are repeated sixstring heroics to be found throughout), but they never quite show up the songs' arrangements, nor threaten the inherently laidback vibe that the band has so studiously grafted from the likes of Skynyrd, ZZ Top, and Free. (See the surprisingly civilized cover of Nazareth's normally explosive "Hair of the Dog," for further proof.) So among the CD's highlights, look out for "Ramble Down," which makes good use of the wahwah pedal and a Hendrixian vibe; "Bad Lovin' Never Felt So Good," which pays respects to Bon Scott and AC/DC with its comical doubleentendres; and the more energized sendoff provided by "Shut My Mouth." Frankly, none of these smells like a breakout hit waiting to happen, but they flesh out a very solid foundation for Stone Rider to build upon in years to come, if they stick with their new stylistic calling. - Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide Read more Less