Published on Aug 18, 1998
The only time I almost got thrown out of a bar was in 1990, when
“Duke” Williams and I went to go see The Kinsey Report and
interview them for the radio station I was working for. (The reason
we almost made a butt-first exit was because I was 19 and Larry was
17; I had to do a
lot of sweet-talking to the owner to convince her to let us
stay.)
Lead guitarist/vocalist Donald Kinsey and crew blew us away,
covering not only songs from their then-latest release
Midnight Drive but also kicking into a killer version of Bob
Marley’s “Stir It Up”. (Kinsey had once been a member of The
Wailers, so he knew exactly what he was playing.) Sitting right
next to the amplifier, I’m honestly surprised that I can still hear
after that show.
The problem is that after almost nine years,
Midnight Drive has lost a lot of its then-sharp edge. It
also confirms the truth about a lot of bands: they’re better
live.
With the exception of guitarist Ron Prince, The Kinsey Report is
a family affair; besides Donald, brothers Kenneth and Ralph round
out the band on bass and drums, respectively. This could explain a
lot about the band’s musical tightness. The problem is that none of
the instruments seem to want to take the forefront, and when some
of them do, they seem to hop out at inopportune moments.
Lead guitar is often used as an additional vocal for a lot of
Midnight Drive, especially in the title song. While this
technique might work for someone like B.B. King, it tends to get
annoying pretty quickly with The Kinsey Report. It would have been
nice had the rhythm guitar been turned up on occasion, as well as
the bass. It’s not that Donald Kinsey isn’t a capable singer; it’s
just that I’d have liked to hear the other musicians as well.
The songs on
Midnight Drive are a mix of good and indifferent. Tracks
like “Nowhere To Go, Nothing To Lose,” “Can’t Stop Thinking About
You” and the cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “River’s Invitation” all
shine, the latter providing the best sound for the band throughout
the whole album. Other tracks like “Hit Woman” would have
benefitted from a different mix – even something as simple as more
treble or more bass. (To be honest, even the addition of keyboards
would have been nice here.) Still other tracks, like the
autobiographical “Big Time,” come off as self-serving.
The highlight of
Midnight Drive was to have been “Free South Africa,”
blasting the system of apartheid in the pre-Mandela release world.
It’s a nice thought, but lyrically it is lacking a bit of
direction, and the production again doesn’t help matters. (It
should be noted that live, this song was unstoppable – hence my
declaration that some bands are better live.)
Maybe the problem with
Midnight Drive is that it’s damn near impossible to capture
the essence of a band like The Kinsey Report in the studio; the
stage is where their muse visits them, and is where they belong.
Still, when one knows the power a band like this one has, it tends
to magnify any disappointment.
Midnight Drive still has a lot of music that’s worth your
time and money to check out – but don’t accept this as a substitute
for seeing the band live. (To be honest, it’s been a long time
since I heard about The Kinsey Report – here’s hoping they’re still
at it.)