Monday 15 December 2008

Bonham - The Disregard Of Timekeeping (1989)


A wonderful record, certainly not the type of opus I would've thought about buying back in the '80s when my ears were being brutalised by the likes of Slayer and Voivod, but Bonham comes swaggering out of the stables, brash, bold and breezy, pumped full of Zeppelin soundscapes, and vocally in Jason MacMaster a heir to the throne of Robert Plant maybe ? It's an understated record in the sense you just don't expect such sensuality and wholesome coolness to emerge from the blackness of the disc, but once in full flow, and that doesn't take long, the shimmy of 'Wait For You' just filters through the soul, blessed imaginings and Zeppish human kindness. Hell, 'Bringing Me Down' IS Zeppelin, but so what, it's boldness enables it to conquer over the funky horns whilst 'Guilty' plays it slower, a sexual big bad groove from the dirt. Beautifully crafted, this is a crackin' rock record, a Zeppelin for the modern day, with wondrous guitar work and Bonham's more than classy drum skills. Somehow unpredictable in its nature, 'Just Another Day' drifts into Saigon Kick lushness, leaving you to wonder just how this record crept through the racks reasonably unnoticed. Fat, boisterous and moving, 'A Disregard...' is a mini-classic waiting to be discovered time and time again.


8/10

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