{"id":47810,"date":"2015-01-23T01:02:12","date_gmt":"2015-01-23T06:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=47810"},"modified":"2015-01-23T01:02:12","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T06:02:12","slug":"randall-zwarte-band-lucky-number-13-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/randall-zwarte-band-lucky-number-13-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Randall Zwarte Band | Lucky Number 13<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Derric Miller<\/span>
\n– Managing Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"lucky_number_13_250\"Back in the \u201880s, the band Zwarte was one of the biggest bands around the Midwest. They are probably known for their greatest hit \u201cSturgis,\u201d an ode to the largest bike rally in the world, in Sturgis, S.D. All these years later, the main songwriter, guitarist and singer Randall Zwart released his thirteenth studio album\u2014either as Zwarte or the Randall Zwarte Band\u2014and it\u2019s called \u2026 well \u2026 Lucky Number 13<\/em>. <\/p>\n

When you hear the opening riffs to \u201cCome Along,\u201d you just get a sense that this is real American rock \u2018n roll. It\u2019s warm, it\u2019s uplifting, it has a groove you can dance or guzzle booze to. A comparison would be to a fast-paced Tom Petty hit. Yes, it\u2019s THAT kind of good. Zwarte has a deep, gritty but welcoming voice, with a real storytelling delivery. <\/p>\n

Here comes the blues on \u201cMurder in the Badlands.\u201d Although the band no longer calls South Dakota home, you can see the ties that bind are still alive. While the first song was warm, this one is all gloom, dark, sinister and cool as hell. The refrain \u201cSo I reach for my gun, and I make the call. One hand rises and one man falls,\u201d you can figure out the kind of wild frontier justice story this song embraces. <\/p>\n

Now, if you hear \u201cThat Girl\u201d and don\u2019t just immediately want to jump to your feet and celebrate somehow, you ain\u2019t alive. It\u2019s like ZZ Top and Todd Snider decided to write a song together. Again, the groove is immense, the lyrical rhythms are so easy to catch you\u2019ll be singing along after one listen. It\u2019s also funny, with lines like \u201cI used to date his daughter, she\u2019s way too skinny for me,\u201d or \u201cDid shots with the hangman, drank it from a Dixie cup.\u201d It is by far the catchiest song on the Lucky Number 13<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Catchy is one thing, but Zwart goes back to his \u201880s hard rock roots on the seething \u201cI\u2019m in Trouble.\u201d This is heavy, as close to Metal as you\u2019ll get on the release. Again, his ability to write simple choruses that find root in your mind and won\u2019t ever leave is highlighted by \u201cI\u2019m in trouble, I\u2019m in so much trouble, I\u2019m in trouble again \u2026 I fell in love again.\u201d It\u2019s tough to say it\u2019s the best song on the album because there\u2019s so much quality here, but it might be a three-way tie. <\/p>\n

The band\u2019s current single is \u201cAmerican Roads,\u201d a great choice for a single but \u2026 it has SUMMER written all over it. It\u2019s an anthem, like some kind of magic Bryan Adams found with \u201cSummer of \u201969.\u201d Again, it sounds like a single but might have resonated better a few months down the road. No worries\u2014it\u2019ll still be a great song then. If this is your first taste of the Randall Zwarte Band, you\u2019ll want to hear more, without a doubt. <\/p>\n

It all wraps up on an acoustic-led, brooding composition \u201cWhen You\u2019re Strong.\u201d Like most of Zwart\u2019s themes, it\u2019s about life, really an \u201ceveryman\u201d theme. \u201cI think you\u2019ve had enough, it\u2019s time I lay you down. From your first steps to your last, look how fast the time went past,\u201d he sings. Yes, it\u2019s a song about growing old and dying. It ends with the narrator coming full circle and singing about laying himself down. Kind of a sad way to fade an album out, and yet, it shows another facet to Zwart\u2019s songwriting ability. <\/p>\n

Lucky Number 13<\/em> is a stellar rock release. It is uncomplicated, straight-ahead American rock. The gents are going to be playing Sturgis this summer to bring back their biggest hit and have a new slew of songs to sling at the concert goers. The Randall Zwarte Band has released an album with no skip-worthy songs (although \u201cGrandma\u2019s Got a Tattoo\u201d is goofy) and whether it\u2019s \u201cAmerican Roads\u201d or another single that brings them the attention they deserve, it\u2019s hard to see them being a \u201cbest kept secret\u201d for long. <\/p>\n

Genre: Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nRandall Zwart-vocals, guitars
\nBaub Eis-guitars
\nMike Mesey-drums
\nJoshua Blasingame-bass<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n 1. Come Along
\n 2. Murder In The Badlands
\n 3. That Girl
\n 4. All In A Dream
\n 5. There Goes The Preacher
\n 6. I’m In Trouble
\n 7. Good Deal Bad Man
\n 8. American Roads
\n 9. Open Your Eyes
\n10. Grandma’s Got A Tattoo
\n11. When You’re Strong<\/p>\n

Online: www.zwarte.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.4\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Derric Miller – Managing Editor — Back in the \u201880s, the band Zwarte was one of the biggest bands around the Midwest. They are probably known for their greatest hit \u201cSturgis,\u201d an ode to […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":47811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12394],"tags":[2317,10588,10587,2387],"class_list":{"0":"post-47810","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2015","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-lucky-number-13","10":"tag-randall-zwarte-band","11":"tag-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}