Spitfire
5073
2000
Hair of the Dog is, appropriately, a Spitfire band who understandably believes the history of rock begins with Aerosmith and ends with Zeppelin. Such adherence to barbeque boogie seems refreshing, but the natural questions rear: Does HOD possess tunes worthy of its influences, and can the quartet rise above being a Saturday kegger attraction (Not that there's anything wrong with that.). The good news is this record rolls out super-sized rock. The lyrics are predictably enjoyable: barnyard liaisons, monster truck dalliances and party-right fighting. Dealer-ode "Cadillac Jack" won HOD a recording contract, and "Stomp" features some Mega-scraping. The violent "Whisky Tango" quotes Steven Tyler quoting Frank Zappa. And thankfully, not a single bawling ballad exists. The playing comes off tight and fast enough to avoid blooze plodding, these riotous boys just need to stumble across a rifforama or turn-of-phrase as gargantuan as those slung by Nugent or even Skid Row. Hair of the Dog speeds down the right road though, and it's a fun ride.
-STONE, Cheap Trash NYC
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