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Born to be lions and roar as such.
This is one of the few undeniable certainties we can cling to at first encounter with Danko Jones' music. For everything else, appearances can be deceiving. You read the name on the cover and think of yet another Yankee blues-man from some unknown town along the Mississippi delta: wrong idea!
Although Danko Jones is indeed the first and last name of the frontman, the trio decidedly calls themselves a band, insisting on the article “the” whenever they are mentioned.
Forget about sun, rafts, and straw hats. Our guys are Canadian, and they have to travel too many kilometers from Toronto to find milder climates.
“Born A Lion” is the group's second album, more mature than their debut yet still characterized by energetic and sincere rock blues. Unreachable icons like Hendrix and B.B. King are inspirations from the past, John Spencer the references of the present.
Jones' unmistakable raspy and booze-laden voice becomes a crucial element for its ability to perfectly adapt to the powerful rhythm made by distorted guitar and bass riffs.
The opening track “Play The Blues” drives away those who thought they were listening to the Canadian answer to the Strokes, and “Lovercall” alone is enough to recognize Danko's vocal qualities. The echoes of AC/DC are strong in “Sound Of Love,” while tracks like “Papa” and “Love Is Unkind” capture the incisiveness of this dirty, instinctive rock with noble influences more than the others.
If you think today's rock can only come from some smoky club in the Big Apple or that to convey energy and be credible in doing so you have to dress up as the antichrist and narrate murders, listen to “Born A Lion”—it might be the right chance to get in touch with the less commercial side of American rock.
[Editor's Note: We obtained the sample by cutting and degrading the quality of a freely downloadable track from the Danko Jones' website, downloads section.]
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Lovercall (02:52)
I love it when it goes like...BOOM!
Now I might not be the flashiest dresser in the room
And I might not know how to look a girl in the eye
I might not have the right pick-up lines
But I'll tell you what I got
You see when I was growing up
I got the inside scoop
I used to watch all the older fellows work down the block
That's right when they used to work I used to watch and when I watched I'd learn the Lovercall
If you wanna do it do it right
Up and down side to side
Baby we can do it for a night
Don't hold me back
Now you gotta look sharp fellows
And you gotta act right
No woman in her right mind is gonna waste her time
If you ain't on time
Let's not talk about how I know that
I'm just here to pass down what I know to you.
You see when I was growing up I got the inside scoop
I used to watch all the older fellas work down the block
That's right, when they used to work I used to watch and when I watched I'd learn the Lovercall
If you wanna do it do it right
Lick it up side to side
Baby we can do it for a night
Don't hold me back
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