Just in case you didn’t know, Fastway were formed back in 1983 by Fast Eddie Clarke (Motörhead) and Pete Way (UFO) – not that Pete Way stuck around for long. Anyway, after some early success with albums like Fastway, All Fired Up and Waiting For The Roar the band ground to a halt in 1991. The popped up again in 1997 for a reworked version of their ’88 album On Target but quickly faded from view again.
Fast forward to 2007 and a new Fastway line-up was announced. Joining Eddie were vocalist Toby Jepson (Little Angels), bassist John McManus (Mama’s Boys) and drummer Steve Strange. Now, after another four years of silence, McManus and Strange have gone, Jepson has added bass duties to his vocal role and Matt Eldrige is behind the kit. More importantly we finally have the first all new Fastway studio album since 1990’s Bad Bad Girls. Entitled Eat Dog Eat this is probably the finest album to bear the Fastway moniker since those heady days of the early to mid ‘80s.
Jepson proves himself a far better vocalist than I’ve ever given him credit for; his smoky, melodious tones perfectly suiting this collection of immaculately crafted bluesy rockers. Fast Eddie is also in fine form and he’s lost none of his six string prowess. The slinky opening riff of ‘Sick As A Dog’ even sounds like it could have graced Motörhead’s Bomber. The production is superb, walking just the right line between gutsy and raw and clear and polished and the songs themselves hit the spot with unrelenting accuracy. Nobody’s trying to reinvent the wheel here but if you want to kick back, crack open a beer and immerse yourself in some top class, blues infused heavy rock then Fastway are the perfect band.
http://www.myspace.com/fastwaymusic
Chris Kee
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