Review

"Waterfront View" - Tom Coerver (IM1002)

Wow! Having opened the package from FedEx and put it into my CD player I was amazed at what a great album this is

Who is Tom Coerver? Well, Tom is a native of Baton Rouge, a fact which becomes obvious in his marvellously swampy slide playing which absolutely drips from the CD.  Tom spent many years gigging around the circuit before coming to attention when he played with China Sky, which also included current Molly Hatchet guitarist Bobby Ingram

Anyway - the music....I popped this into my cd player, perhaps expecting to hear a Molly Hatchet style Southern Rock album. What I got was not like that, but included many styles and textures which certainly kept my interest in the album alive from beginning to end.

The album roars into life with three out and out rockers - "Down South Mama", "Hear that Train" and "Whatever it  Takes" - you can see a very distinct Allman Brothers influence obviously pervades Tom's approach to his music and the great thing is that he obviously has the chops to do it justice. Perhaps less obvious, but something which struck me on occasion was a similarity to that Billy Gibbons style of playing - perhaps something Tom picked up during his time living in Houston, Texas - home of the Rev Billy.

The album settles down into a back-porch feel with a really nice, lowdown version of the Howlin Wolf blues classic "Sittin on Top of the World" with Tom crooning a la Gregg Allman

Just when you expect a return to fiery swamp-rock, Tom takes the album off in an unexpected direction with the marvellously latin tinged "Spanish Town" followed up by a beautifully mellow instrumental called "Decisions"

The album continues to offer interesting music in the form of "So Much for That" and "Keeping the Faith" until Tom decides its time to crank that Gibson Firebird up again on "Parade of Lost Souls" - a song I'm sure that must go over really well as a live "sing-a-long"

The next few numbers really bring Toms great slide playing to the fore, culminating with probably the most Allmanesque song on the album "One Hundred Pounds of Trouble". complete with swirling Hammond organ in the the background, and Tom firing off quick fire slide playing at every opportunity.

Follow all this great music with the strutting "Can't Stay Away from You" and a really well-executed cover of Neil Youngs "Don't Let it Bring You Down"

Ready to put the album away yet??  DON'T !! Its certainly not over yet, as Tom  gets a slow groove going on "Can't Feel A Thing", before firing his album off to an incendiary conclusion with "Sing a mean tune kid / A Hit by Varese", before running a storming album out with the rollicking "Give it Some Time

Holy Taters!! - what a great great record, and one you really ought to get yourself. As a taster, Tom has provided me with a really fabulous version his band did of "Dreams I'll Never See" (the Molly Hatchet version) - no less a man than Riff West (Molly Hatchet bassist from 1981 - 1990) emailed Tom personally on a great version of a great song - if you would like a copy of it on mp3 as a taster, email me and I'll be happy to provide....but do your and your Cd collection a big favour - get out and buy a copy of Waterfront View"

To buy "Waterfront View" click here

To visit Tom Coerver online click here

Kieran Keegan, April 2005