CD REVIEW: STRANGE ON THE SIDE by Hammer Down

STRANGE ON THE SIDE by Hammer Down
(Independent Release)

South Jersey rockers, Hammer Down are back with their latest release, 'Strange On The Side'. Phil Michaels on vocals,guitar/ Joe DeLuca:piano, on Hammond,vocals/ Kevin Cooley on Lead and slide guitar/ Chico Crow on Bass and Joey Lampassi on drums. These lads dish out  a bluesy, classic rock-influenced sound that is raw and raunchy. 'Strange On The Side' is an extremely solid recording. There isn't anything particularly revolutionary included here, certainly no groundbreaking progression down uncharted musical avenues. What you get here is fourteen  perfectly crafted rock and roll gems , not a single one of which would sound out of place on nearly any classic 70's rock n roll album you could care to mention. Each song is explosive yet unique and will be appreciated by all who love good old fashioned rock and roll! From opening, "Crash Boom Bang" to the swagger of ballys rockers like , "Pretty Pretty", "Loaded Gun", "Social Disease" and "Dirty Tattoo", just perfect execution throughout . Real bluesy rock n roll. Fronted by Phil Michael's rock solid vocals with an equally talented rest of the band. Overall, 'Strange On The Side' by Hammer Down is a very strong album, and highly enjoyable. NO filler material on this album. 100% genuine rock and roll music, plain and simple. No hysterical vocals and the whole album is well put together and reasonably good production. You can listen to all the songs without hitting any that make you wonder what somebody was thinking when they left it in. I often do. If, like me, you loved the music of the classic rock period and wonder why everybody seems to have forgotten how to write and play it, you gotta have check out this band now! - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society/ All Access Magazine