Earl Parker and the Ravens “Show Me The Money“ (Independent, 2007)

And not a Jerry Maguire quote to be seen anywhere.

This album isn’t going to set the world on fire, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.

Parker is also a novelist and has released two novels to date (as George Parker) with a semblance of a teenage theme happening. I’ve never read his books so can’t comment on what they’re like. But I can pass judgement on this album.

CD opener ‘I Wanna Be A Superhero’ is reminiscent of Dick Philpot in his early days. Regular readers of my reviews will remember Dick from my recent Nigel Clothier review. We used to work together and thanks to that review we’re now back in touch, and as a result I’ve found out that he’s given up the corporate rat race and is devoting himself to following his dream of being a songwriter. As he says he hasn’t got a pot to piss in but he’s the coolest man on his street; and good on him is what I say. But I digress.

Parker and the Ravens have released an album that will appeal to the Americana fan who prefers a harder edge to their music. ‘Show Me The Money’ rocks along in a gentle way with some solid guitar playing, although some people will just dismiss it as a regular standard rock’n’roll song whilst ‘Monkey Dance’ introduces some ‘reggaecana’ vibes which funnily enough work.

‘Clint Eastwood’ eschews the virtues of being a mysterious film star and would be perfect for members of the spaghetti western stars fan club. A strange subject for a song though.

Raven can do light and shade. ‘Anywhere You Touch Me’ is a love song of sorts although it’s probably more to do with lust rather than romance. Whereas ‘Leather Whip’ is about the extremes that some people bring into their love lives. Each to their own.

‘Try A Change’ introduces some humour outlining that life doesn’t always quite work out the way we’d always like, despite our best endeavours, whilst ‘Pieces of You’ evokes the pain associated with lost loves. We’ve all been there. Some more than others; me especially.

Raven doesn’t have the strongest voice in the world, but his songs encapsulate themes we’re all used to. Love, lust, humour, loss and the usual Americana themes and those things that happen to us when we aren’t watching. But that’s ok. It really is.

Date review added:  Sunday, April 13, 2008
Reviewer:  Phil Edwards
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  Earl Parker and the Ravens website