No doubt Sweden's Captain Crimson were influenced by legendary '70s band Captain Beyond, deciding to name their debut album after the classic track "Dancing Madly Backwards" from that bands self titled debut in 1972. Otherwise though, Dancing Madly Backwards is another great Swedish retro ride, as so many bands from that country are doing a fine job of keeping those '70s sounds alive.
Despite the band name and CD title obviously tipping their hat to Captain Beyond, the lads from Captain Crimson also tap into the vibe of such acts as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster, Mountain, Cactus, UFO, Pentagram, Leaf Hound, Grand Funk Railroad, The Doors, and Humble Pie, as well as fellow Swedish acts Graveyard and Witchcraft. Loads of vintage fuzz-toned guitar riffs and solos abound, especially on the thick & muscular "River", the doomy "Lonely Devils Club", and the heavy blues-rock of "Mountain of Sleep". The band delivers some melancholy hard rock/blues on the poignant "Don't Take Me For a Fool", while "Autumn" brings to mind the early, aggressive garage rock of the MC5 and Grand Funk Railroad, complete with raucous, distorted guitar & bass riffs that scream 1969. "Wizard's Bonnet" is vintage sounding heavy rock complete with blistering lead guitar and meaty riffs, while "Silver Moon" and "True Color" could have easily been leftovers from Deep Purple's In Rock album, minus the Hammond organ. The closing title track has some wonderful Black Sabbath styled power chords over intricate rhythms, and the lead vocals have plenty of attitude, which in fact can be said about the entire album.
Dancing Madly Backwards is a fun filled ride down memory lane, as Captain Crimson bring back images and sounds of so many great hard rock acts of the past, and do so in a convincing manner. You'll be headbanging and playing air guitar to this entire album, I promise you. Another winner from the folks at Transubstand/Record Heaven!
Track Listing
01 Lonely Devils Club
02 Mountain Of Sleep
03 River
04 Don't Take Me For A Fool
05 Autumn
06 Wizard's Bonnet
07 Silver Moon
08 True Color
09 Dancing Madly Backwards
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