Hackensack: The Final Shunt

Picture yourself walking into a bar on a Friday/Saturday night, and a bunch of guys are up playing some classic rock. You sit down, have a couple beers, relax and enjoy the tunes. Band is not bad, and they are playing songs you know, all is well. Then, the singer lets you know they are going to play some original tunes, what happens next? You know the drill, head to the bar or bathroom, start playing pool or darts, and wait until you hear the next song you recognize. I’m the guy who usually stays and listens while the rest scatter, I usually enjoy hearing something different and seeing what the band has to offer. Sometimes, you are pleasantly surprised, most of the time not so much.

Hackensack holds no such surprises. The Full Shunt unfortunately is a collection of clichéd riffs and chord changes that we have all heard many times before. There is nothing new or exciting in this collection. The lead singer has a very limited range, and has a penchant for annoying screams and reaching but not quite hitting an occasional high note, which is rather distracting and off putting. The guitarist puts some tasty licks together, but after a few listens, it is a lot of the same riffs over and over. The CD includes covers of Bad Company’s “Movin’ On�, and a painfully drawn out “Heartbreak Hotel�. According to the bands liner notes, they were signed and released a single under Island Records in 1972, and then switched to Polydor for one full length album “Up The Hardway�. They toured with Mott the Hoople’s Rock’n’Roll Circus and later Free. I have no doubt they are probably a fun bar band, but these originals just don’t measure up to the 70’s bluesy hard rock the band are trying to emulate.

Track Listing

1. Rock and Roll Woman
2. Tomorrow
3. Black Witch Woman
4. River Boat
5. Front Page News
6. Play Dirty
7. The Hustler
8. Movin’ On
9. Heartbreak Hotel
10. Bonus tracks:
11. Angels Theme
12. River Boat (Alt. Version)
13. Boneman

Added: May 29th 2021
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 646
Language: english

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