Roxx Gang were a band that had a big impact on me back in the day. With a singer I always felt had more than a bit of Paul Stanley about him, a penchant for tight black leather and hair bigger than heaven they certainly stood out, yet somehow their 1988 blues infused hard rock debut ‘Things You’ve Never Done Before’ didn’t seem to be poppy enough for the masses, in truth I felt it was always far cooler.
By 1991 which was way, way too long between drinks, they still hadn’t released another record (Let’s face it Virgin was never a Rock label) and split. It was years after Grunge that second album ‘The Voodoo You Love’ finally hit in 1995 with a practically new line-up except from frontman Kevin Steele and bassist Robby Strine. 2023 sees Perris re-release that album that they originally put out in 1995 (and which was one of their biggest sellers) . It’s a second album that harks back to the band’s pre-major label far more Bluesy sound. Sadly we only get to hear one bonus track though in ‘Magic Carpet Ride’.
I remember loving the album at the time of release: free from the shackles of the majors it just sounded great and the antithesis of that miserable Grunge that the labels were all clamoring for a few years before but now were cooling to that too.
Indeed ‘The Voodoo You Love’ is just fun bluesy rock and roll. Opener ‘Daddy’s Farm’ is hard rocking cool with keys and sax to boot! Whilst ‘Stone Dead Drunk (Again)’ is sheer magic – part Sea Hags, part Junkyard part Faster Pussycat and part Rock City Angels, it’s just a great song.
The remainder of the album isn’t too shabby either. I jest of course – it’s all gold! In fact ‘Time Bomb’ (One of two tracks from the 1993 ‘High Five’ cassette) is just as cool and dirty as anything Alice in Chains ever did, whilst ‘Hot For Love’ really is as dirty and sleazy as anything that crawled from the Sunset Strip. Silver Train’ often gets overlooked but to these ears its a rather cool strummed ballad.
There’s a glorious run mid-album with ‘Can’t Catch Me’ leading the charge – a song that is probably most in tune with that debut and it sounds great here, as does the high energy romp that is ‘What You See’ and the huge-riffed fiery guitar rocker ‘Be Your Man’ which is all that this band should and could do! It’s magic!
Add to that the Faster Pussycat stomp of ‘Shame on Me’, and the swampy strut and voodoo blues of ‘Hot “Lanta’ and you have a minor classic! Honestly I have no idea why this wasn’t huge! (I mean contextually I do but its a cracking album).
The sleazy sing-along of ‘Thick as Thieves’ (the other track from the self-released ‘High Five’) and the foot to the floor roar of ‘Meanwhile Back’ at the Ranch’ take us home in style.
In truth the outtake ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ (Which made the 1998 Mojo Gurus record) adds little. I’d much rather have heard the 10 tracks from the self-released ‘High Five’ cassette and hope that sees the light of day down the line.
An underappreciated classic.
8.5 / 10