Buckcherry - 15 (2006)

Buckcherry have made some very good rock 'n' roll albums, but in '15' they certainly seem to have reached an equilibrium that not many modern bands will reach. If you like Beautiful Creatures and that swaggering rock 'n' roll with attitude, sleaze and sex, then '15' is essential, and one of the best modern rock albums to hit the shelves, courtesy of a band who've combined the slink of The Black Crowes, and a little bit of AC/DC, Rolling Stones, and everything that was cool about early '90s alternative metal, and boy are the songs big, in reality there should have been a few chart successes here, at least in the U.S.A., but only the throbbing 'Crazy Bitch' made headway after its raunchy video. Buckcherry are fronted by the impeccable Josh Todd who has a voice to match the bravado, and 'So Far' kicks in like a heavy metal version of the Faces, imagine a beefier Rod Stewart swinging his way through the grooves, and 'Next 2 You' is equally infectious, and after three songs you'll be wandering if the band are going to step off the gas or maybe lose tough, but '15' just gets better, 'Out Of Line' begins smoothly but stomps on its AC/DC -esque chorus, the guitars of Stevie D and Nelson are awesome, and its great to hear a US band inspired by music from other countries, and the facts are, the real swagger of rock 'n' roll comes from the likes of the Stones, Faces, T-Rex and not Kiss or Aerosmith, and on '15' there's so much influence from the '70s and '80s rock 'n' roll bands, but it's the more sugary tracks you've just got to hear. 'Everything', 'Carousel' and 'Sorry' make a genius mid-section of a record, varying from scarf waving anthems to almost '80s power rock ballads, real heart-stopping stuff that only ceases when the strains of 'Crazy Bitch' steam in, truly wondrous rock 'n' roll meltdown, and then there's the Love/Hate jig of 'Brooklyn' and three more head pounders for you to take in.

With modern rock attempting to re-create the sounds of yesterday, but also dissipating into commercial fakery, Buckcherry deserve to be in the big league, easily wiping the floor with all contenders. Sure, it probably makes them cooler that they remain on the edge of stardom, but bands like this should live forever in the memory because the songs are so grand.

8.5/10