Thunder road

Strikes - Thundermug (1972)

I was looking at a children's book yesterday. It featured paintings of various weather patterns and, to teach the children what is what, had the corresponding word emblazoned underneath. Sun, rain, all the major stuff was there. But then, under the picture of a big lightning bolt was the word "Thunder!"

Sigh.

Anyways, I just came across this album a couple of months back and it made a great first impression. It hits like lightning -- heavy and you never see it coming -- but sounds like thunder. The songs are monsters -- big guitars, big bass, big drums -- like Mountain or some of the heavier Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Like BTO, Thundermug is Canadian-made, hailing from London, Ontario.

The only song I knew previously was the album opener, "Africa", (82/100). It begins the album with the propulsive energy, great riffing and frenetic bass that characterize Strikes as a whole. I had heard the song occasionally on classic-rock radio, always liked it and was surprised that the album only gets better from here.

"Page 125/What Would You Do?/ Help Father Sun Suite", (88) is a three-part epic, part raging guitars, part bizarre sha-la-la harmonies, part teasing ballad. Ten minutes is ample time to touch a lot of ground, but even in the relatively quieter moments, somehow the heavy guitars are always hanging around in the background, just waiting for the chance (and usually not very patiently) to make their impressive presence felt.

"And They Danced", (94), (http://www.mediafire.com/?kfm5184n93slx5k), follows up shortly on its heels, almost as if part four of the suite. "Now go sing this song to your friends," it says, purporting, "there's good in the message it sends." Whether or not that's accurate, the blistering guitars exquisitely erupt, romping unabated from 1:18 until 3:31. I'll dance to that, while whole cities are leveled in its wake.

This is followed by a straightforward, though ultra-heavy cover of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me", (77), before "Fortune's Umbrella", (84), cuts back the pace a couple notches. If nothing else, it shows Thundermug can do more than just high-octane. Deceptively mellow, the guitars again simmer until they finally boil over in the "lalala" bridge.

The relatively peaceful oasis is short-lived as the guitars are cranked up again for "Jane J. James", (88). The bass is positively elastic, while the guitar solo from 1:14 to 1:28 is a great example of how much a talented guitarist can do with even just a few bars. "Will They Ever", (85), is another flash of harmonic hard rock with a regal sounding solo in the middle.

Strikes ends, perhaps appropriately, with the biggest rocker on the whole album, "Where Am I?", (93), (http://www.mediafire.com/?zjasi0k8bgbn4bo). What begins as clap-happy singalong soon detonates into six-string fury. The guitars sound like sonic steroids, while the vocals soar and incite. We get another extended musical interlude, fuzzy and fried, replete with rhythmic rumblings and cool little drum fills.

The album was released on Axe Records in 1972, although Epic repackaged it for the USA a year later. Though having the same title and cover art, the US version actually only includes four tracks from this album, along with seven from Thundermug's sophomore release, Orbit.

It's good to remember when an album could be short, sweet and still pack more than its share of punch.

Strikes (album): 86/100.