CD/DVD/Book Reviews

Roadcase Royale “First Things First”

  • By Gus
  • On
  • 0
With Heart on hiatus, Nancy Wilson got the itch to put together a cool project that features former Prince & The New Power Generation singer Liv Warfield. Warfield brought on her guitarist from her solo work in Ryan Waters. Rounding out the rest of Roadcase Royale were integral parts of Heart; Ben Smith on drums, Chris Joyner on keyboards and Dan Rothchild on bass. The band did a few select dates in early 2017 while working on their debut release “First Things First.”
The laid back first single “Get Loud” starts off the album. The even flow of “Not Giving Up” picks up the pace some and Water’s guitar work makes the track one of the edgier ones on the album. Wilson and Smith drive “Hold on to my Hand.” Warfield’s voice shines on this track as she fluctuates between being soulful and powerful throughout.  Joyner’s wonderful keyboard playing is all over the positive track in  “Cover Each Other.” As the line goes, as friends and lovers, we “Cover Each Other,” well said!  Wilson takes lead vocals on “The Dragon.”  This track has nice guitar distortion to it and almost sounds a tad psychedelic. “Insaniac” might be the most complete track on “First Things First.”  This hard rocking blues based song has both Wilson and Waters playing off each other, bringing out the best in Waters.
The band redid two Heart classics on “Even it Up” and “These Dreams” that Wilson handles vocals on. I must say the band did a nice job taking a different approach on each song.  There’s also a live, fun track in “Mind Your Business” and the appropriately titled “Never Say Die.”  Can this be  a hidden message about Heart’s future?  We will see but for now, we have a really great introduction to Roadcase Royale with “First Things First.”

About The Author Gus

My first opportunity to write about music was with Kissunderground, featuring just one band (KISS). In 2006, I started working for another outlet that showcased more musicians. It was a great experience for me at the time. I personally nailed down some great interviews during my time at glam-metal.com (Paul Stanley, Jonathan Davis, Slash and Sully Erna to name a few). In early 2009, I decided to venture out on my own with the idea of creating a website that has all the offerings that a reader would want in a music review website. That's when Backstageaxxess.com began. I’m so proud of what was created here and of our staff that brings it to you. Each one offers a diverse opinion and a creative ability to share it in a unique way. We are so lucky to have them here. When discussing making a list of favorite shows with the staff, I also found it hard to narrow that list down to a select handful of shows. Everyone experiences a concert in their own terms, whether it’s the show itself, maybe it’s the people you met there and the new friendships created, or maybe it was meeting the artist at the show. For my criteria, I tried to stick to just the show itself, but again, it was sometimes hard to do. My first concert was Sammy Hagar’s first tour with Van Halen at the Niagara Falls Convention Center, Niagara Falls, NY, on August 30, 1986. My favorites are as follows: 1. Kiss – Tiger Stadium - Detroit, Michigan 6/28/96 2. SARS (Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, and handful of other bands) - Downsview Park – Toronto, Ontario 7/30/03 3. Paul McCartney (every McCartney show I saw was awesome, but Iwent with my first show) Air Canada Centre -Toronto, Ontario 10/10/05 4. Motley Crue – Memorial Auditorium – Buffalo, NY 12/19/89 5. Kid Rock – Tweeter Center - Camden, New Jersey 3/25/06 The honorable mentions would be any McCartney show (The Joint at the Hard Rock, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 2009 or Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario 8/10/10), Prince (Club 2112) at the Rio Hotel, Las Vegas 12/30/07, Heart (Pulse Lounge * only 200 people) Hilton Hotel, Anaheim, California, January 21,2008, Monsters of Rock (Van Halen, Scorpions, Metallica, Dokken, and Kingdom Come) Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY 6/19/88 and the Rocklahoma Festival (Queensryche, Lita Ford, Triumph, etc.). Also, Cher (with my mom) at the Blue Cross Arena Rochester, NY, November 22, 2004.

Related Posts