Rough Cutt are another band that are more famous for the people that passed through, than the actual tunes they played. Jake E Lee, Craig Goldy, Parramore McCarty, and Jimmy Crespo to name but a few, but it was Paul Shortino’s voice that was the strong point here.
This album was released in ’85, the perfect time as rock was king in ’85. They had everything going in their favour, yet they never quite clicked. Could it be the tunes?
Well, the first track Take Her was co-written with Ronnie Dio, and is a killer opening to the record, laying down a cool heavy blues groove. Next, is a cover of Piece Of My Heart made famous by Janis Joplin, and it’s okay, but the vibe is quickly extinguished after the killer opening. Never Gonna Die sees the band diving in to aor territory with a soft melodic rocker, perfect for radio of the time. It’s power ballad time next with Dreamin’ Again and well, it’s just another ballad really, until the middle section when the twin guitars of Amir Derakh and Chris Hager let loose. Side 1 closes out with Cutt Your Heart Out, this is my favourite track. It’s a great uptempo rocker and they really are a different band when they put the pedal to the metal and just let those guitars loose.
Black Widow opens up Side 2 with a very awesome and dramatic intro that keeps going into a slow heavy groove. Ballad time again with You Keep Breaking My Heart. Kids Will Rock is a weird little track and takes a while to get into the main groove and the sing-a-long hook and chorus. Dressed To Kill is a standard LA strip glam rocker and so is the last track, She’s So Hot.
It’s a solid album, but it’s just missing that track to lift it.
7.5/10 from The Grooveman.
