By: David Schultz

After a memorable stint with The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page formed a new version of the group in order to play a harder-edged, electrified form of the blues. The band Page formed to accomplish this goal failed miserably in bringing that vision to life. However, in veering from their original mission, Led Zeppelin became a cornerstone in the temple of rock and roll, creating a bluesy-psychedelic hybrid that ultimately begat heavy metal and inspired numerous others to follow in their footsteps.

In their hometown of Sydney, Australia, Wolfmother grew up worshipping at this altar and on their self-titled debut album, they show that they have taken their devotion quite seriously. With pseudo-hippie lyrics drenched with medieval imagery, guitarist and lead singer Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboard player Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett, have created a monument to Seventies era rock that sizzles in its deliciously retro juices.

Even before their self-titled Wolfmother's release, an insane amount of buzz surrounded the trio, including a selection as one of Rolling Stone's Bands To Watch. With their highly anticipated debut, which incorporates ¾ of their earlier EP Dimension, Wolfmother's acclaim has not lessened. The album contains a multitude of groovy guitar riffs that echo the mighty Seventies, blues soaked, monster guitar style. All that seems to be missing is a hirsute hippie projecting gelatin globules on the band with an overhead projector or a video making excessive use of extreme close-ups to make the picture complete.

The Australian power trio's debut contains enough clichéd images and trappings that you will wonder if the band has sat through one too many showings of The Song Remains The Same. In a voice that derives from the Robert Plant/Ozzy Osbourne school of rock, Stockdale sings about colossal landscapes, paper temples in the desert, rainbows tinted with gold, unicorns, finding the mind's eye and telling you everything he knows about being free. While Wolfmother made sure to include the fantasy imagery inherent in any song entitled "White Unicorn," they omitted their Tolkienesque-titled "Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes" from the U.S. edition of the album. Musically, they insert a flute solo into "Witchcraft" and Doors-worthy chimes haunt the background of "White Unicorn." The clichés that imbue Wolfmother do nothing to lessen its visceral impact as this Aussie trio brings some of the freshest sounding "classic" rock anyone has delivered in years.

Not everything about Wolfmother is swords and sorcerers. The already ubiquitous "Love Train," containing wonderful "Moby Dick" style interplay between Ross and Heskett, grooves with a swagger worthy of the day-glo silhouette treatment Apple has given it in its latest iPOD ad. They also deliver another nifty bit of cock-rock with "Woman." Wolfmother's love of Seventies era power rock overlaps with Jack White's fascination with the same period and "Colossal" aims for the same type of lofty, bombastic heights reached by some of The White Stripes heavier "Ball And Biscuit" style material. Stockdale's high-pitched scream comes closest to White's unique vocal style on "Apple Tree" and with Heskett ratcheting back on his drumming, the track could easily be mistaken for a White Stripes tune.

Wolfmother borrows from the past in the same proportion and with the same success as Lenny Kravitz. However, not all of Wolfmother's derivations remain interpretive. In singing of the "purple haze in the sky," it's impossible not to reflect upon the same colored fog that once afflicted Jimi Hendrix' brain. Similarly, when Stockdale wants to tell the story about "The Joker And The Thief," it feels as if we've met these two fellows before in a different song.

Wolfmother succeeds in putting the power back into the "power trio." In handling both keyboard and bass duties, Chris Ross manages to economically embody both Keith Emerson and Greg Lake. Inserting organ fills with the proficiency of Rick Wakeman, Ross gives a rich, epochal, if not regal, scope to songs like "Mind's Eye," turning Wolfmother's sound into a prog-rock feast. When combined with Stockdale's Zeppelin inspired vocals and guitar and Heskett's wild drumming, a brilliant bluesy, psychedelic orgy results.

Wolfmother's mix of progressive rock and early-era heavy metal rock will resonate strongly amongst those with classic rock/hard rock leanings. Hair metal bands and industrial acts that have traveled this path before have met with mixed results. Some have found enduring success, while others have become sheepishly enjoyed guilty pleasures. In creating a wonderfully explosive mélange of retro-rock, Wolfmother seems headed to the former category rather than the disappointing latter. With Wolfmother, the Australian trio has set the baseline by which all their future endeavors will be measured. Regardless of whether they exceed the high bar they've set or remain content to regenerate a proven formula, they seem ready to rock arenas for quite some time.

Labels: Wolfmother