Search - Lizards :: Lizards

Interesting debut but not very special, alas

J. Talsma | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 05/17/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After buying the Lizards second album "Rule" I was astonished. This is a very rare record indeed, excellent. It has everything and more. First of all very strong songs, everyone of them. With a surprise in the final song "Kingdome Come", taken from the eponous first album of Sir Lord Baltimore, some 35 years (!) ago now, from which is John Garner the leadsinger, as on the first Lizards album and aforementioned "Rule". No complaints! So I was curious about their first album but alas, even after repeated listening it has not much on offer. Not only they have a different drummer, which means a lot (on "Rule" plays the old soldier Bobby Rondinelly with tremendous effect) but not in one song they share the excellence of "Rule". The sound is easyly recognisable though, the gruff vocals of Garner, the fine guitarplaying, underlying whether soloing, of Patrick Klein (keep an eye of him, he is great!), the not so outspoken basslines of Randy Pratt, even his mouthharpplaying is far lesser than on "Rule". But it is not there, they could not have made it on this album alone. It is not bad but doesn't satisfy if your first encounter with The Lizards is with the far more better or superiour "Rule". At least they share the same songstructure, for example listen to track 3 "Under the City", which is a blueprint for no. 9 on "Rule", "The Rats and Us", with spoken vocals and cool guitarplay but alas less exciting. On this album track 7 is a better one, "Suicide" but mainly for the outstanding guitarsolo. It is hard to define this album but it cannot stand in the shadow of "Rule", strange as it may be that the same band within a few years can make so different albums, from the point of quality that is. As I wrote this doesn't make the first one a bad one but where "Rule" let you speechless, wanted to be played another time immediately, I can put "The Lizards" away, not to be played for a long time. The songs on "Rule" nestle in your head and haunt you afterwards, which is not the matter on "The Lizards", not even one song, even after repeated listening. It is far more monotone, or onedimensional, than the sophomore album (which is far from that). So I cannot recommend this album on its own force, you can give it a try yourself.

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