Published on Jul 15, 2004
OK. Let me clarify the obvious question being asked right
now.
Yes. You are reading the band name in this review correctly. Lo
and behold, there is actually a band named the Backstreet Girls
which is comprised of four boys, not to be confused with the four
gir…err, I mean boys that formed the 1990’s pinup pop band
known worldwide as the Backstreet Boys. And guess what – they’ve
been around twenty years, which easily predates their American
siblings. Sparing further confusion between the two bands, it needs
to be noted that it’s Norway’s Backstreet Girls that actually
attempt to rock and not the Boys. Got it?
Well, future clarifications will only get easier as the songs on
Tuff Tuff Tuff won’t confuse anyone as being anything but
tracks derivative of the rock stylings of AC/DC, perfected. It’s
hard to offer up much defense in using such a tired comparison when
describing what a rock band these days sounds like, but rock legend
has it that it was the Backstreet Girls that gave the world a
previous album titled
Hellway to High. Furthermore, the band declares in the
Tuff Tuff Tuff liner notes that “this album is perfect for
parties and should be played at absolute maximum volume!!!” For
writers my age, this declaration means only one thing
and….
…1980 it’s not. Repeated listens of
Tuff Tuff Tuff won’t make you forget
Back in Black or the keggers during that decade which
cemented the Young brothers’ album into legendary status.
Lyrically, the songs on
Tuff Tuff Tuff are equally as simple as the ones of their
Aussie forefathers, but lack any comparable innuendo that AC/DC
littered throughout their albums – sexual or otherwise. And it’s
for that reason, in this writer’s humble opinion, that AC/DC songs
will be remembered and even revered as such cleverness is the
primary reason their albums are owned by the millions. On the flip
side, the lack of creativity is exactly why the Backstreet Girls
songs on Tuff Tuff Tuff are easily forgotten and owned by the
minions.
Harsh criticism, eh? Even when the band steps up and covers the
Rose Tattoo song “Magnum Maid,” the thought hits me that the
vocalist, Bjørn Müller, is severely lacking a chainsaw
as I hear him double the voice of Jackyl’s Jesse James Dupree.
Again, the Backstreet Girls lack the schtick to make such simple
musical arrangements interesting.
A not-so-obvious introduction can only mean an obvious
conclusion to this review. Go see these songs performed at a gig
when the band rolls through town. And don’t forget to drink a lot
of beer first, as
Tuff Tuff Tuff is nothing better than bar band fare.