Taste of Bounty

Having seen this band three or four times, I was maybe expecting a little too much when I went to the Terminus. The band hasn't changed in the time I've known it and I think that any band that relies on original material must keep the momentum going with new songs, and new developments as a performing unit. Frankly, the band looks stale and rather bored - I'm not surprised really, I can remember most of the songs and very little has been added or amended. I get the impression that Taste of Bounty feel they have paid their dues, which they probably did in their four-year stint as Capital City.

However, success in the music world isn't an automatic result of work put in multiplied by desire to be famous - the band obviously wants to grow and be successful but they seem to me to be relying on a sound which they feel is original, but unfortunately is not. Their approach is puzzling in that they used to make great play on the fact that their songs were self-written. I say 'self-written' rather than 'original' because despite the good points of this outfit (great vocal skill, good on-stage band rapport, strong instrumental skills and tightness) the songs don't sound original. I'm no expert on soul, R'n'B or funk but I know I've heard most of their riffs, arrangements and style before. Sure, the songs are new, but they could easily be mistaken for a band like Rufus, if you shut your eyes and just listen. The lyrics and subject matter of the songs are good, but musically the band seemed to tack one hard rock/R'n'B/soul/funk cliche to another as the songs rolled on without change in sound, instrumentation or approach.

Everyone I know loves this band, I'm aware of their good qualities and I respect them, but I can't seriously regard them as a new musical force. For example, several of the numbers end on the same vocal harmony fade-out (eg schoolgirl patrol). This is symptomatic of the band's limitations. They rely on a solid, dependable sound consisting of two guitars (one pyrotechnic lead, and one clean, santana-like rhythm), a bass which occasionally goes into funky phrasing and soul-disco rhythms with the drums. Vocally, the lead singer has a style not unlike Chaka Khan, and with some excellent harmonising from the lead guitarist, bassist and drummer, they manage to achieve the standard funk-disco vocal arrangements, while in the rockier numbers the vocal sound is astonishing similar to Jefferson Starship (Slick, Kantner, Balin etc).