Shake Appeal- You're Too Rich (1995)

Recuerdo que una de las primeras veces que navegué por los mares de internet, me encontré con una banda que me llamó instantáneamente la atención. Se trataba de un trío que facturaba un power pop con cierto regusto setentero, una banda que tomaba su nombre de una canción de Iggy & The Stooges, que en la portada de su disco emulaba a The Who, y cuyo sonido recordaba a los primeros Cheap Trick, así fue como descubrí a Shake Appeal. Enseguida me enganché a las dos o tres canciones que pude descargar de una página cuyo nombre he olvidado, y comenzó mi búsqueda desesperada de su disco "You're Too Rich", que finalmente encontré, aunque también he olvidado dónde y cómo. Lo importante es que no he querido faltar a mi cita semanal y lo hago con este disco que para mí es muy especial, imagino que tendrá algún que otro detractor, ya que el sonido de esta magnífica banda no responde al r'n'r de alto voltaje que habitualmente ofrecemos en Trashsistors, sino que se trata de una formación preocupada fundamentalmente por las melodías; mi consejo es que aparquéis vuestros prejuicios y les deis una oportunidad, seguro que a más de uno os sorprenden.

Lamentablemente no hay mucha información sobre Shake Appeal en la web, que yo sepa "You're Too Rich" es un disco editado por Go Kart Records en el año 1995, y hasta la fecha es el primer y único trabajo de esta banda. El disco está considerado como uno de los mejores referentes del power pop de los 90's, una de esas gemas ocultas que con el paso del tiempo se va destapando y va cobrando notoriedad. En su sonido hay quien detecta la presencia de los ya citados Cheap Trick, pero también de The Beat, el joven Elvis Costello y los Kiss más melódicos, pero lo mejor será, como siempre, que lo juzguéis vosotros mismos. Os dejo con una crítica del disco que he encontrado en la página In Music We Trust, está en lengua bárbara, pero sin duda es el texto más extenso sobre Shake Appeal de cuantos vais a encontrar en la red:

"Shake Appeal looks like your stereotypical 80's rockers, with their leather jacket and everything. But once you pop the disc into your CD player, you won't hear or feel any 80's connections here. This is modern rock for the modern rock fan. A touch of punk, a touch of pop, and a lot of attitude are what you will find and connect with.

The CD starts out with the title track. Right from the beginning they throw a quick hook at you, just to prepare you for the many more coming. The vocals have a touch of a foreign accent to them, but it adds flavor to the music. The drums sound like a group of men marching down a field together at times, and other times its raining cymbals throughout the music. Crash and bang, the click of the cymbals rings out through the music. The bass is present, and does a great job of keeping everything in line, playing in its own world and not over powering anything else. The guitar is the leader of the pack, jumping through soft hooks and fast melodies turn hooks. "My Danger" is a great rock n' roll track sure to please. It lets you rock and have a good time, but also calms down to just vocals and the guitar climbing through the song, giving it a great emotional feel. A pleasant trip away from the noise, right before it turns right back in and lets you have more good times. "Gun Shy" starts off soft, with the vocals the dominant thing in the picture. Then the pace picks up, as they start to rock and throw some powerful hooks your way. Add some more hooks, some vocal harmonies, and your addicted. The song rings throughout your head, as you sing along and have a grand 'ol time. The guitar is chunky, but not rough, adding a lot of emotions to the words. The bass adds a lot of depth to the song, and also helps to structure all the emotions in the song. And of course, the drums beat ferociously, keeping everything rocking and interesting. "Take Me" is another powerful rock tune. The guitar is fuzzy and loud, while the bass packs the punch needed to kick the song into full gear. The drums are tight and hard pounding, and everything works great together. "1976" starts out with rock 'n roll reminiscent of the time period of the title. But then the vocals enter, while the guitar takes the wheel. The pace quickly turns to 90's beats, and then the music will quickly take you by the hand and show you a good time. The hooks are still plentiful, keeping you interested. Never boring, they always find a way to add more power if you seem to be slipping into a deep sleep (which isn't possible with loud rock like this). "The Ballad of Marcelo" has a few good moments, but for the most part, it's just another bar rock song trying to make its way to the radio. They still put their seal on it, which gives its a nice kick, but they always seem to go back to the bar rock type crap right after gaining momentum with a nice hook.

A really good CD that will let you have fun and rock. Although, it does seem to sound all the same for a while, you need to get into it to start tracking the differences. But after you listen to it for awhile and start getting a feel for it, you not only will start to fall in love with it, but you will start to laugh at others who claim the tracks sound the same. A B+ job from this up and coming band!"

Lo dicho tunantes, yo, en vuestro lugar, no me perdería a esta banda injustamente desconocida, Trashsistors os da la oportunidad de que saldéis una deuda histórica con Shake Appeal, no la desaprovechéis. Por cierto, quería dar las gracias a Johnny, Lobok75 y Limburg (también a nuestro colaborador en la sombra, Pep) por la eficiencia y el humor con que han aceptado el reto que les lancé hace unos días; la campaña "un disco a la semana" ha sido un éxito, y eso ha sido posible gracias a vosotros, ¡¡¡sois los más grandes!!! Espero que os guste este disco. Un saludo.


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