THUNDER-Rip It Up

EAR Music/Edel

New material from Thunder is always something to look forward to in my humble opinion. The band around guitarist/producer/song writer Luke Morley and charismatic singer Daniel Bowes made a second comeback a few years ago with the album ‘Wonder Days’ and followed that up with ‘All You Can Eat’, a captivating 3 CD/DVD with a live rehearsal and show plus some other extra’s. ‘Rip It Up’ is the eleventh studio effort. Are there any spectacular things happening? Well, the band is nowadays more than an oiled machine so the overall performance is yet again stunning. Morley writes accessible songs, perfectly suited for Bowes’ voice and reach, so we can say that in a way as far as Thunder is concerned it is business as usual. Rockers like ,,No One Gets Out Alive’’, ,,The Enemy Inside’’ or ,,Rip It Up’’ , the great ballad ,,Right From The Start’’ (with a scorching solo at the end), more laid back tunes like ,,In Another Life’’; it is all quality that we are used to getting from the band. I have the feeling that on several tracks like ,,The Chosen One’’ the input from keyboardist/guitarist Ben Matthews (luckily recovered from cancer which sidelined him for a while) is a bit bigger than normal. A tiny bit more keyboards here and there for some extra colour. Above all ‘Rip It Up’ is a solid band effort, with not one song that is bleak but on the other hand also not too many songs that have it in them to become a Thunder classic like ,,Love Walked In’’ or ,,Dirty Love’’.  ‘Rip It Up’ is as solid as can be, a good and more than satisfying record of the best band that Great Britain has produced in the last three decades. I think the general fan of Thunder will lap this record up and so he or she should. In March and April Thunder will be on the road in Australia (for the first time in their career including a show in my hometown Perth, so guess who’s ugly face will be in the front row), The UK and Europe. Be there or be square!