Ded Ringer — Ded Ahead
((Not on label) no#, 2006, CD)
by Peter Thelen,
Published 2007-03-01

Life in the past lane. Call it retro, but rock music like this just
isn't made anymore. On their fifth full-length disc this Bay Area trio
dishes it up with enough credibility and authenticity to make you
believe you're really there again. I'm talking classic rock, of course,
from that wonderful slice of time between the late 70s and around 1982,
that which emanated from your car radio as you whiled away your misspent
youth and searched the world for a greater truth. This is one to crank
up as loud as it'll go, one that'll make your foot connect with the
accelerator, and one that'll make your body move, but we ain't talking
"dance" or "new wave" music here, folks. Consider this: They would be
right at home on a bill opening for Bad Company, Foreigner, Foghat,
Utopia, or ZZ in the pre-video age. Chief instigator and ringleader
is guitarist, lead vocalist and main songwriter Bob Maddoux, the grand
architect of all this retro-madness who capably incorporates a synthesis
of all the better days of album rock radio into his adroit compositions,
replete with a command of the melody, rhythms and hooks that made that
music so enduring. And did I mention some great guitar playing? The
potent rhythm section of Steve Lafond and Julio Garcia, playing drums
and bass respectively, constructs the framework for it all, with both
providing supporting lead and harmony vocals. All said, Ded Ringer is
a mirror of classic rock's finest hour.
Filed under: New releases, Issue 34, 2006 releases
Related artist(s): Ded Ringer