Grandmasters of bad timing, UK blues rockers The Quireboys changed their name from The Queerboys and stepped into the upper reaches of the album charts with their 1990 debut A Bit Of What You Fancy just as the grunge juggernaut turned bandana rock to roadkill.
For much of the 90s it seemed The Quireboys would be remembered as the birthplace of Ginger Wildheart, but a 2002 reunion has coasted on the enduring fondness for Black Crowes bar-rock.
Though singer Spike’s voice sounds virtually rotted through these days, their ninth album St Cecelia… is a fine, if stoically unevolved, example – Gracie B and Out Of Your Mind are all whiskey-sodden piano and slide guitar, while Land Of My Father and St Cecilia strut with prime Stones sass and Adaline does a convincing E Street shuffle. A throwback, but confidently pitched./o:p
