Search - Bonham :: Mad Hatter

Evolution

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 06/20/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"1992's Mad Hatter was the second album from Bonham, the band formed by Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Naturally, given Jason Bonham's personal history, there is a significant Led Zeppelin influence to Bonham's sound. That influence is further reinforced by Daniel McMaster's (RIP) Robert Plant style vocals.



Bonham's 1989 debut The Disregard of Timekeeping was a melodic rock album on par with Loverboy and Foreigner, but with Mad Hatter the band takes their sound in a different direction. For one thing, the album is not as pop-oriented as its predecessor. The songs are longer, the instrumental elements are more technical (there is a lot of guitar "noodling", but I wouldn't go so far as to call this a prog album), McMaster's vocals are a bit grittier, and the album as a whole just seems a lot heavier. The Zeppelin influence is still there, but Mad Hatter sounds more like a later day Tesla album than anything else.



Mad Hatter is a better overall album than The Disregard of Timekeeping, though it's not quite as much fun to listen to. They're both good albums though, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to any fan of late 80's/early 90's hard rock.



Though Jason Bonham continued to be very active in the music scene, this was the final Bonham release. The grunge and alternative rock scene that exploded in the early 90's made it all but impossible for a band like Bonham to survive.



NOTE: SPV reissued Mad Hatter in 2009. The reissue does not include any bonus material, but it has been digitally remastered.

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