Backdoor Slam: A Comparison

Hello Friends,

Several years ago I randomly discovered a fantastic blues rock group called Back Door Slam (or as they're now called, "Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam"). I'm very discerning when it comes to blues based rock (I find typical blues music repetitive and yawn inducing), but immediately fell in love with this trio. In the last few years the band underwent a dramatic line up change, with a brand new backing band and only lead singer and guitarist Davy Knowles remaining. The bands' sound has changed greatly since the new lineup was introduced, and it is my duty to provide an answer to the great debate of 2010: Was Back Door Slam Better Then or Now? Luckily for the two to three of you readers who have any interest in this whatsoever, I am very familiar with the original group and the new lineup, both on record and in concert. After you finish reading this article, you will finally be able to sleep at night without the constant, haunting whisper in your ear, saying "Back Door Slam... Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam... who I ask WHO IS BETTER!". The caps lock is where I imagine the whisper turns into a blood curdling scream, awaking both your roommates and your neighbors. Um, anyway...

A brief history of the band: Hailing from the Isle of Man (an island between Great Britain and Ireland), Back Door Slam began as a four piece blues rock band in 2003. They later reformed as a trio after the bands' rhythm guitarist died in a car accident. From 2004 until early 2009 the band remained a guitar, bass, and drum trio; releasing the album "Roll Away" and touring extensively. In January 2009, the original lineup split up and Knowles recorded his most recently album "Coming up for Air" with his new group; consisting of a drummer, bassist and keyboard player, with Knowles remaining on guitar and vocals.

I first heard the band at the Montreal jazz festival in 2007 (I think). Every night at the festival there were numerous free outdoor concerts, including three nightly shows on a "blues stage". Back Door Slam was one of these groups, and the show they put on was... fucking incredible. High energy and intense, Knowles booming voice and searing guitar was backed by a rhythm section that was both catchy and forceful. The music demanded your attention; the raw power of the music pulled you in and wouldn't let go until the very last note was played. Knowles' proficiency on guitar was stunning, inciting the crowd with his riffs, then setting them into a frenzy with well placed, frenetic guitar solos. I left the show on a high, ecstatic about the future of a band whose front man was merely 20 years old.

The first album "Roll Away" is much of the same, although obviously without the same energy level as a live show. The songs flow very nicely from one to the other, the musicianship is very tight, the solos retain their torrid live sound even on record, and Knowles deep bluesy voice suits the music perfectly. The band mixes a few slower, softer tracks in with its usual brand of loud blues rock, and in general do this very well. I enjoy nearly every song on this album, and a few of them even have that rare "man I can't stop listening to this song" quality.

Now, the new lineup. This time I listened to the album "Coming Up for Air" before seeing them live. The results were... uneven. I enjoyed the album for the most part, but that's a testament to how good Knowles is, as the backing band does virtually nothing beyond playing vanilla rhythms behind Knowles vocal and musical leadership. I can't recall one song where I found anything besides the singing and guitar work interesting. He throws a few solo acoustic tracks onto this album, which are very pretty and fit in nicely. However, there was no individual song on the album, with the possible exception of Country Girl, that drew me in, or I'd be especially excited to hear when it came on. I wondered if it was a conscious choice by either Knowles or the band's label (Blix Street Records) to move the band into a format that further highlighted the bandleader (at the expense of the overall quality of the music). Upon seeing them perform, I'm almost positive this is the case.

This time around was a totally different story. Gone was any semblance of balance; Knowles guitar drowned out nearly everything else, played at an ear splitting volume ill suited for the small performance space at Highline Ballroom. When the other instruments were audible, they were boring and the group was sloppy. It seemed as though the other members only attended the show to play as a backdrop to the "Davy Knowles Show", a lesson in musical masturbation. The solos went on for too long and with only stock beats behind them, made the entire concert seem like a tired, poorly directed one man improv act.

In conclusion, Back Door Slam were awesome. Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam... not so much. The group sorely needs a new backing band and a movement towards collaboration as opposed to self promotion to get back to the level they reached with "Roll Away". Will Sir Knowles make the necessary changes, or will album number one be the height of his musical prowess? I hope you enjoyed today's unsolved mystery with your host, Daniel Schwartz.