Play 90 second soundbite of 'Everybody Pays Cash' @ 'CD quality'
I get the impression that The Rhythm Thieves are just a little bit different from most outfits; musically they obviously do the whole eclectic thing and some!! There's definitely a weird sense of humour in there too judging by some of their lyrics. "...Silly hats.." tells me that The Rhythm Thieves don't always take things too seriously and probably set out to enjoy themselves whilst entertaining others. I guess that sums up what The Rhythm Thieves are about then so, what about this album, 'Everybody Pays Cash'? Well, it's actually very good and some of that humorous 'free spirit' in the band shines through even though the album is a serious musical outing.
Serious, did I just write 'serious'? I did, didn't I!! Well actually the album is a serious piece of work in the musical sense. Ok, some of the tracks do have a comical side and actually made me laugh out loud on several occasions but, The Rhythm Thieves are the genuine article; The Rhythm Thieves prove that you can still create meaningful music and have loads of fun doing it. The word "eccentric" has been used to describe The Rhythm Thieves and I think that just about sums them up.
'Everybody Pays Cash' by The Rhythm Thieves is an interesting and most enjoyable album. It's not the best thing I've ever heard, but it's loads better than a good many albums out there. I think that these 'guys' are more of a 'live' act and that's where they truly excel. And, there's the rub (probably) - it's very difficult to translate that whole live ethos onto a CD and still make it work. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this doesn't work, all I'm saying is that the energy and fun element becomes a bit sanitised when it's taken into a studio.
Anyway, now I'm over the shock, 'Everybody Pays Cash' by The Rhythm Thieves is a great little album firmly in the folk/rock stylee; there's some excellent songs and they're performed extremely well. All that's lacking for me is a little bit of ooomph, energy, clout in the recording! I'm sure The Rhythm Thieves have all those qualities in them but they've not quite managed to transpose them onto hard 'plastic'. That said, I really do like 'Everybody Pays Cash', honestly! It's bright, entertaining and a very pleasant change from the more usual kinda stuff I tend to hear. Keep it up you Rhythm Thieves - keep music live (and fun!)
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