Search - Adam West :: Gods Gift to Women

Rocks All Night, But Don't Ask 'Em To Think...

Clark Paull | Murder City | 05/19/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's immediately obvious on "God's Gift To Women" that with Adam West, what you see is what you get. Everything from the cover shot of a power-packed woman's torso clad in a pair of short shorts and a bikini top to song titles like "Trying To Be A Man In A Woman's World," "There's A Bimboo Under My Bed," and "The Floozy" probably make it a cinch these guys will never appear on a National Organization of Women-approved playlist, despite their tongues hovering in very close vicinity to their cheeks. Something tells me they're not losing any sleep over it. As the liner notes proclaim, Adam West is first and foremost a "rock-n-roll band, period." Each and every track is a certified alcoholic slammer, powered by singer Jake Starr's dead-on Glenn Danzig pipes and Dan-o Deckelman's howling, metallic guitar. "Eye To Eye" is simply brutal, a bruising kick in the head, Deckelman's stomping blues-based riffs overpowering everyone else in the band save Starr. Even drummer Ben Brower has to fight to keep his head above the unharnessed wattage. As much as I abhor labels when it comes to music, Adam West veer dangerously close to metal territory here even though they like to think of themselves as some sort of sonic juggernaut comprised of equal parts Stooges, MC5, Black Sabbath, Misfits, Kiss, and AC/DC. Granted, "Hotsy Totsy" could pass for a "Rock And Roll Over"-era Kiss outtake and there's a definite Angus Young flavor to Deckelman's stiff, hard-rock chording on "Gets Me Off," but it's difficult for this scribe to see how two of Detroit's finest fit into the equation. Make no mistake - on "God's Gift To Women," Adam West come to rawk and rawk is what they do. Those looking for a battering, musclebound racket that kills with power need look no further. This is one menacing, wrecking ball of an album, and while it's obvious Starr has fire in his belly, I just can't seem to get past how much he sounds like Danzig. No, you're not imagining things - that is a faint whiff of disappointment you're smelling."