Firebird Go Grand, Eat Humble Pie and Take a Zeppelin to Scotland
Firebird guitarist/vocalist Bill Steer probably wasn’t thinking there’s a chain of grocery stores on the east coast of the US called Grand Union when he came up with the title for his band’s fifth album. In all likelihood, he just went with it because it sounded cool and ’70s-ish, which, out of the context of the shopping list, it does. Produce aisle be damned.
Based out of foggy London town, Steer is probably best known as the guitarist for grind gods Carcass, and if Grand Union serves as anything, it’s a reminder of why Steer looked so damn bored on stage when I saw their reunion tour last year. Sure, he ripped through solos and shredded when it was dictated he do so, but, decked in bellbottoms and a white t-shirt, he seemed out of his element and disinterested. By contrast, when Firebird played Roadburn this April, he was excited to the point that he couldn’t stand still.
Though, to be fair, Firebird‘s music is the type of classic ’70s rock that’ll have just about anyone shaking their ass. Certainly the crowd in The Netherlands was into it, and Steer — joined by drummer Ludwig Witt and new bassist Smok Smoczkiewicz — locked onto the energy as the band ran through Grand Union tracks like “Four Day Creep,” “Silent Stranger,” “Wild Honey” and Duster Bennett‘s harmonica-led “Worried Mind.” New songs or old, it was good-time rock and roll, which just so happens to be Firebird‘s specialty.
Grand Union is broken into sides A and B in the grand tradition of doing things the way they were done 35 years ago and offers catchy originals alongside covers of Humble Pie (“Four Day Creep” is from their 1971 live album, Performance Rockin’ the Fillmore) and James Taylor (“Fool for You”). Firebird‘s affection for classic rock is long stated and appreciated at this point, but a song like “Jack the Lad” emits a Clutch-level groove while still managing to stay true to its intention, which, five albums in, is an accomplishment for a band that might otherwise have veered from their mission. Steer‘s guitar is up front where it belongs, sweetly toned and tossing out solos like microwaved free samples at the end of the frozen food section. His craft, as ever with Firebird, is a highlight.
The two sides of Grand Union don’t provide a radical change in sound, but do have structural differences. Side B opens with the rocking “Wild Honey,” and moves quickly into the riffier “Gold Label,” which is a stoner rocker’s dream come true. All groove, nothing wasted, no bullshit. Following “Worried Mind,” “See the Light” takes it down a notch with a smoky blues feel and the aforementioned Humble Pie cover fits in so well Steer could have written it himself. Closer “Caledonia” — which adept Suidakra fans will know was the name the Romans gave to Scotland — deposits Zeppelin tones in a warm, folksy, slide guitar place, bringing the record to a sentimental conclusion in a mere 5:41 (still the longest track).
Whether it’s a flag, torch, joint or whatever, Firebird are carrying it for classic methodology, and Grand Union makes short work of all the retro posturing and fashion-play going on these days while riffing its way into rock timelessness. If you’ve never checked them out, no time like the present.
Tags: Bill Steer, Firebird, Rise Above, UK
