Authority Zero – Rhythm & Booze

I, like many others, found a fondness for Authority Zero with their last release Andiamo. It’s a CD with some great tracks that seem to constantly find its way into my CD player, so when I heard they were releasing a new record, I was excited. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I’d like it. When Rhythm & Booze arrived in my mailbox I was surprised to see that it was a live acoustic CD. So I was surprised, but I still had faith – that was, of course, until I put it on. Then I almost just fell asleep.

Let me first say that this isn’t a straight up live show from Authority Zero. Instead, this was a off one show where they took fifteen tracks from their first two releases and reworked them – making them jazz, dub, ska and straight up acoustic songs. But sadly, while these slight variations were probably a lot of fun for the band to do and for the fans there to hear, on disc, they just don’t transfer. The songs have lost their energy, their punch and their excitement and have instead becoming boring and nearly sleep inducing. The lightning fast Siemper Loco has been stretched out to nearly three times its length and maybe one tenth it’s speed – if that. Songs like Painted Windows, Find Your Way, Broken Dreams and Revolution have all been slowed down to the point where they are two completely different songs. Rhythm & Booze just fails to invoke the excitement normal Authority Zero albums do and it is, simply, a damn boring release.

Nevertheless, I will give Authority Zero credit where credit’s due: Rhythm & Booze is recorded very well. Everything is mixed at the right volume, with the solid vocals leading the way. You can hear the crowd cheer and the banter clearly. Every once in a while the music is a little soft, but as far as live records go, this one was recorded and mixed quite well.

Nevertheless, the album is quite disappointing simply because it doesn’t provide that Authority Zero kick that it should. I’m assuming most fans will do just like me: listen to the CD once or twice and then throw in the back of your CD pile, both forgetting and ignoring the fact that it exists as you patiently wait for the follow up studio album so that the band can redeem themselves – because I know they will.