Okay just to warn people I personally think Goodbye Mr MacKenzie are Scotland’s greatest band so maybe biased, but I am correct. Review 111 (https://www.albumsin200words.co.uk/post/111-goodbye-mr-mackenzie-good-deeds-and-dirty-rags) we had the debut album by Goodbye Mr Mackenzie which was a marvellous debut that should have made the band household names.
This is their third record (their second will be reviewed) but Five has just come back out on vinyl and CD so if one person buys the record on the back of this review then I’ll be happy.
The band had difficulties with record companies who are meant to assist bands but the more you read the more you think they are there to mess bands about than to help. Keyboardist Rona Scobie had left the band but is credited on this record and has a co-write. She is back with the band performing now and I will advise anyone to catch them when they play as they are at the top of their game. (No Shirley obviously but Tippi Hedron is an able replacement and a shout to Jim Brady assisting on guitar)
A decision was made to release the record on their own label, Blockshok records, and lead singer Martin Metcalfe had been listening to a lot of The Pixies. This was a new harder sounding MacKenzies.
There are twelve tracks here as Finn’s bass takes us in and Martin almost shouts Hard. The guitars are my sort of guitars, all harsh and fast with a guitar solo to die for but if you have a guitarist of John Duncan’s reputation why not use him. If this were a band’s debut single people would rave but sadly the dye was cast and the single didn’t chart, Bam Bam is another heavy moment with an explosion of a chorus as we hear Ms Manson make an appearance.
Jim’s Killer is a change of pace, and we can appreciate Martin’s voice, it’s not praised enough, but his phrasing and pitch are perfect,
Niagara, Rona’s co-write with others in the band, is a single riff before all the band come in on the chorus, its majestic here and I hope people go and hear it live.
Day of Storms and Bugdive you can hear the nod to The Pixies, no terrible thing, and no Mackenzie song can be faulted when Shirley is there with backing vocals.
However, on this record it’s not just backing vocals as she takes the lead on Normal Boy before Martin comes in, they play off each other perfectly and you see the progression towards Angelfish and why she has led Garbage for so long.
The album ends with Titanic and after a fairly manic thirty odd minutes this is a beautiful way to end an album, this is big sounding and thoughtful and shows exactly why once you fall for this band, they are in your life forever.
9/10
TO PURCHASE: the record is not on Apple/Spotify but has just been re-mastered and re-released with three additional tracks. For the Playlist on the site, I am choosing Hard which you can watch on YouTube and then maybe order yourself a copy from Last Night From Glasgow should you enjoy, I am sure you will.
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