The Fluid - Roadmouth

The Fluid – Roadmouth

The Fluid were a Denver quintet and one of the highlights of the 80’s music scene, combining the best of punk and classic rock with a ravin’ live show and lots of big guitars!

Roadmouth is one of my fave records of these cats and of the time, though I would recommend all of their albums – with the possible exception of Purple Metal Flake Music, which was their last recording. It sounded like it was a final record and the band knew it when I first heard it, but I haven’t listened to it in ages, so I’ll have to take another listen at some point.

This one starts off with the incredible “Hooked”, which is damn-well packed with hooks! The opening line “well she just walked right up and stole my heart away” unleashes this riff-rocker and it never lets up! Great, great tune that just about anyone can relate to at one point or another – “it’s a damn good thing that I don’t believe in sin”! Super lyrics, amazing riffs, high energy – one of their best!

The whole album absolutely rocks! The guitars are everywhere – with lots of wah-wah (a friend once noticed that one guitarist was apparently on his wah-wah the entirety of one set in LA), distortion and licks galore! All the songs are memorable – including a cool version of Rare Earth’s (!) “Big Brother” – with lyrics that stick with you (“he was the only son of a drag-queen dope dealer”) and melodies that you can sing along with – though this is far from pop! Just wild punk’n’roll!

Also check out the fantastic “Glue” that includes a terrific cover of the Troggs’ “Our Love Will Be There” along with lots more Fluid originals.