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September/October 1999 |
|
Cover CD track
Track 10 - Round
& Round
January 2000
Beats Working - Calm
Swamp Records (1999) UK
I was quite surprised to see that CALM was this bands sixth album. After all, I've
never heard of them. I'm sure most of you would say the same. Beats Working is a
mainstream melodic rock band with some progressive sylings thrown in for
a bit of flair. CALM is a perfect title for this...
... In listening to the album, I spent a great deal of time trying to compare this band to a
better-known group, which I found to be a difficult task. The band seems to be influenced by
several 80's UK pop bands just as much as some progressive outfits.
"Pathway to your Heart" has a similar groove to some Dire Straits material, but
"Need to Cry" is a vocal mixture of Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran) and Barry Gibb.
The album opener, "Round & Round"," is melodic rock at its best, featuring some
soaring guitar work and a catchy chorus.
"One Man" is heavy on keyboards and sounds like something from an 80s pop-
act like "The Outfield". The band displays its chops on "Circles," a chugging
symphonic instrumental.
John Hardman's 70s guitar sound is just excellent, and this track should be
something that pushes them to write more powerful songs with vocals.
3/5 - Chris Dugan
2 J.R. Court, Cornwall, NY 12518 U.S.A.
e-mail: MTLDREAMS@aol.com
WONDEROUS STORIES
April 1999 - Page 29
Band: Beats Working
Title: Calm
Swamp Records WAM004CD
Society member Darren Lyth of Bracknell sent this CD to us for review, for which my thanks
are well deserved Darren as this is a great album. 'Beats Working' are a guitar based rock band,
probably more melodic than progressive, and quite similar to the wonderful "Primitive Instinct'.
The band is made up of John Hardman on lead guitar, keyboards and vocals with
Dave Rea on rythm guitar and vocals, Chris Glover on drums and Lynn Sheppard onbass and vocals.
The multi-talented John Hardman also writes most of the material as well as providing production
and what a guitar player he is too. This is their sixth CD and given the quality contained on this release it
really is surprising that we have not come across them before. The band truly are a tight outfit and
John Hardman has a talent for writing clever and direct catchy songs that really do deserve to be
heard by a wider audience.
This is as good an album as I have heard in a long time and I would urge you all to
check out this outstanding melodic rock band.
Terry Craven,
The Journal of the Classic Rock Society
http://www.birwood.demon.co.uk/crs.html
©1999 All rights reserved
The MIX - Issue 64 - Midsummer 1999
Fabulously recorded guitars and strings, sounding a bit similar to REM
circa 'Automatic For The People'... there are some great songwriting, arrangement
and production techniques going on. I can envisage this working well live, too,
and this may be Beats Working's forté...
More from Tristan +44 (0)1344 750909
Nick Serre, The MIX
June/July 1999
Isn't it strange how music can hit you?
I normally shy away from the very polished, smooth, overproduced end
of the melodic rock scene as most of it strikes me as damp and unsatisfying.
Yet there is something about 'Calm'
that really struck a chord with me, particularly the first two tracks. Even
on my first listen to the album the effect was electrifying, with the classic
guitar playing and super smooth vocals inducing a rare tingle-down-the-spine
sensation. It took me by by surprise, I can tell you. At times, such as on
track three, 'Way Down The Line', Beats Working really remind me of Dakota,
helped by the fact that the vocals are very reminiscent of a certain Jerry Hludzik.
Much of the rest of the material is pitched somewhere in between the
softer end of melodic rock and the rockier end of the pop scene and,
as such, may not be of interest to many of our
readers, but those who do like to dabble in the world of pop music will find
plenty to enjoy here. The songs are varied in style and well produced
throughout. In fact, for such a low key release, the sound quality is extremely good.
Oh, one final thing - a mention has to be made about the sleeve artwork, which is
very slick, but unfortunately does not reproduce well here in monochrome.
Mark Hoaksey
© Powerplay Magazine
August 1999
All artwork and programming © Tristan Greatrex
Tristan Greatrex - Illustration, Graphic Design and Photo-retouching
WEBSITE - www.beatsworking.tv/greatrex/design.html
©1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
