Tangier - Four Winds

Details:

• Year of Release : 1989
• Label : Atco 791 251-2
• Review Format : CD

One of the forgotten bands of the late 80s, Tangier released just two albums on the Atlantic subsidery label Atco before disappearing into the ‘where are they now’ file for ever. No way near commericial enough, flash enough or as outlandishly dressed to receive the MTV attention necessary to break it big they nevertheless made a bit of a name for themselves with mentions quite often popping up on various forums. Four Winds was their debut album for Atco (an indie released 1985 album apparently exists although I’ve never seen or heard it) and to be honest completely bypassed my radar until a workmate introduced me to them in the mid 90s.

The opening track Ripcord is an excellent mid tempo bluesy rocker with a good, catchy chorus which very definately will stick in your head. A decent solo and a song that clearly defines Tangier as sitting somewhere between Bad Company and Lynyrd Skynyrd soundwise. If the first track merely hints at Bad Co. then track two Mississippi should have Paul Rodgers singing on it! A smouldering slab of blues fuelled rock once again sees Bill Mattson producing an excellent vocal performance. On The Line is another mid tempo number and again the catchy chorus stands out whilst all the time similarites to then label mates Bad Company abound. In fact at this point the album isn’t too far away from the sound of Holy Water which Co. released the following year. In Time rocks a little harder and surprises me a little as it’s suddenly similar in vein to another band I’ve reviewed here recently; Blackfooot. That brew of southern fried rock delivered in a no-nonsense, un-flashy style.

Title track Four Winds drifts in with some excellent slide guitar on the introduction that’s not far off the sound Cinderella would gain some success with later on with their Heartbreak Station era. Never breaking out of a trot the song just grooves until a short but sweet solo caps it off nicely. Fever For Gold is quicker and harder with a sharp guitar tone, big chorus and excellent gold rush storyline. The solo on this track scorches as well, not entirely unlike Jeff Beck’s moment on Jon Bon Jovi’s Blaze Of Glory in feel. The southern rock sound returns, unsurprisingly given the next tracks titled Southbound Train, although the band take a more commercial route here by adopting a Springsteen style chorus and some female backing becomes evident for the first time. Contrasting heavily to the blues rock of most of the earlier tracks Sweet Surrender is full on southern rock that would sit nicely on a Skynyrd album, in terms of quality as well as sound. Bad Girl returns quickly to boogie fuelled blues and is very similiar to the original Whitesnake sound. Lyrically it’s not far away from Coverdale’s favourite subject matter either! Good Lovin’ is a clear nod to the sounds successful at the time and is full on 80s ‘hair’ metal. Think Vai-era Whitesnake’s Cheap N Nasty crossed with DLRs Knucklebones and you’re on the money; add the albums flashiest solo and a return of the girls on backing vocals and my guess this is that although, like every other track, it’s from the pen of guitarist Doug Gorden, this is the one written to satisfy the record companies ‘but where’s the single’ question as its slighty out of style with the rest of the album.

Summary : I found this such an enjoyable album and a lot of fun to listen to. The fact that I’d not listened for years and then really got into it pleased me no end. I think the problem Tangier may have had is that for all its quality and feel the tracks, although solid, are not quite memorable enough and commercially this may have been their downfall. One or two track veer away from their chosen style and put some inconsistency into the album as well. Whatever the reasons for their obscurity there’s always a place in my collection for stuff like this and if your into Bad Company, Skynyrd, Blackfoot or even the likes of early Whitesnake, Great White and Cinderella then this is well worth a listen.

If You Listen To One Track Listen To : Mississippi

Score : 3.5/5

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Sounds : Mississippi, Ripcord and Southbound Train can all be heard here at a fans ‘myspace’ page.

Addition : A interview at this Sleaze Roxx page with Tangier main-man Doug Gordon mentions some writing he’s done recently with Cinderella’s Tom Keifer for a TK solo album. Dated Feb 6th 2006 it certainly peaked my interest and some new material from Keifer whether solo or under the Cinderella banner will definately be welcomed here!

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