I suppose my biggest critique of the new winery dogs could be considered pretty harsh. I’ll go ahead and brace you for it now so it comes as no surprise later but the worst part of this release is that sooner or later it is in fact…over.
This mixed bag of funk rock will simply capture you and your imagination and either take you back to when “funk” was coming into its own as you remember it, or you get to feel what it was like when it was new.
This sound.
While I certainly can’t say it’s a brand new sound, it is different. That in itself is new these days. In their previous release, the winery dogs always kinda did their own thing and you either loved it or you didn’t. that was just them and their style but hey, I was on the “love it” side of things. When I heard “hot streak” was coming, I was anxious. And I don’t get anxious. Hopping on out to itunes I snagged it during a monthly run and brought it into my digital world for me to explore as I had time and thankfully, I had a lot of time on my hands because this is one of those releases where you hit “rewind” a lot.
On the whole hot streak is a pull from the 70s in sound and feel and done as if they warped back to that time, jammed for a weekend in some private cellar with the best of the day, and came back to today with a fresh familiar sound so needed in the world of music today.
I’m not going to get into a history of the band – they have websites with bios (winerydogs – Richie kotzen) and you can see what else the group has done on their own as well as together. Needless to say there is a ton of talent in this band and it shows in every sense of the word.
Far and away the best song on the release is, of course, the one that almost got away. Empire will capture you from the word go and like all classics, takes you on a path that elevates you, calms you down, and just lets you go into your own world better than the song found you. Unless I have the editor fixed so I can include videos, here’s a link to the story itself.
The trip doesn’t end with empire however. Far far from it. Almost as if the producer knew how ready to roll empire would leave you, they follow it up immediately with fire, an introspective song that will have you driving down the highway getting lost in the song and creating a video of sorts of your own memories lost elsewise in your mind. The same voice that powered you forward just a few moments ago is now taking you back down in a 180 of emotions.
The release has so much more to offer but if you were not around in the 70s, here’s your chance to hear what it was all about, but with a twist only today can provide.
Welcome hot streak to the top of my collection.
iceberg
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