Before I review this music work there is an interesting story I was told behind its creation. The band themselves are very influenced by the Smiths and Morrissey and as such they tracked down Boz Boorer via My Space. For those who aren’t up to scratch with all things Morrissey or the Smiths, Boz Boorer was Morrissey’s guitarist and producer. On finding his email address the band continuously contacted him until there was a response. Within this response was an invitation to go to his home studio in none other than Portugal where the name of this musical work originated. Even more exciting for the band was the equipment they used there to record was the same equipment Morrissey had used to record some of his works that included some of the bands all time favour tracks by him. Add to this personal contribution from Boorer himself on the tracks in the form of saxophone and you had a “dream come true” trip for the band that other could only dream of.
Latest tracks by Johnny Reb
Throughout the record you can hear the heavy influence of the smiths and Morrissey within every element of the tracks. From the vocals right down to the guitar and cymbal beats, if you are not a fan Brit indie rock then this is definitely not your musical cup of tea. On the other hand if you love the strong vocals of Morrissey and such then this record is for you and will delight your love for the genre.
The record is made up of ten solid tracks all with the upbeat tone you would expect from this genre of music. It opens with the very raw sounding “Nine On The Line”, which is one of my personal favourite tracks Within the first twenty seconds the raw sound of the guitar caught my attention completely and from then on it was kept through the whole record. The record then goes through a musical journey with strong lyrical writing behind each song and the mix of different song tempos. This mix of tempos keeps the attention of the listener making every song stand out from the last. The record completes its journey with the musical finale “Crumbs” featuring none other but Boz Boorer. Now achieving what the band had by getting a record recorded by this man not only in his home studio but then getting him to attribute to it by playing one of the tracks is outstanding and shows what bands can achieve when they put their minds to it. The track itself is very impressive indeed, the mix of distorted vocals at the start and the saxophone complement each other very well giving the track a very unique sound.
Overall “The Portugal Sessions” is an excellent example of strong writing and music passion. I would also say that it is a tribute to what can be achieved when you do not give up on your dreams. Johnny Reb are defiantly a band to look out for in the future if the standard of this recording is anything to go by.
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