"This is quite a good debut album, but the oasis influence is very obvious, so if you like oasis this is for you!Also, I would say that some songs seem a little repetitive but for me the best track of the album is "all things great" followed by "very best friend".Why buy? Because you like to chill to easy strumming rock!"
A new interpretation of classic blues rock
Andy Piper | Farnborough, Hampshire United Kingdom | 07/07/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have to admit, it was the name "Noel Gallagher" which first led me to investigate this new group from Manchester - Proud Mary are signed to Noel's Sour Mash record label, and he contributed with production duties (along with several other members of Oasis). However, to see these guys just as Oasis proteges is far too limiting - for one thing, the sound is very different, and the music definitely stands on its own. It's an interesting endorsement, and nothing more.This is a great album. There are shades of Tom Petty in Proud Mary's folksy, blues rock sound - it's a mellow listening experience. The production is quite simple, which is very appropriate for this kind of sound. For me, the outstanding tracks are definitely "Just For You" and "Very Best Friend", although the more I listen, the more the rest are growing on me, too! Old-style classic rock with a heady shake of American blues - a fantastic combination."
Rock & Roll is here to stay!!
Donny | New York City | 07/23/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've heard about them through an Oasis fan web-site. I went out to buy it and I'm so greaful that i did. The music, the lyrics, everything is just great. It resembles a lot the music of the late 1960's. It's a shame (or maybe not) that people haven't really cought up to them. People aren't into great music anymore and it's sad to say it. English people as well as American people aren't really looking for and/or interested in good music anymore. They are not even giving it a chance. This record to me is a really really good one. Proud Mary, you rock and don't let anybody tell you don't. Long live Rock and Roll!!!!"
SOLID Acoustic Rock
Franco James | Chicago | 01/15/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"SOLID album - If you follow/like Noel Gallagher's career - you will most likely enjoy this band/album - as he played producer. Its a very acoustic guitar driven album with some electric ("Very Best Friend").
Proud Mary is not an Oasis clone, like some reviewers suggest. First, and foremost, they take their name from a CCR song - if you know Oasis, you know that they have very few American influences (least of which, Fogerty).
To listen to the album you would not know the band was English. With that said, they sound a bit Stonesy (but when the Stones were really doing American Blues Rock-i.e.; Beggars Banquet, Exile, etc. They nicely cover "salt of the earth" but they dont reinvent the song.
Overall, one of the easiest albums to just put on and let play through."
Strong and solid debut
C. Buchanan | USA | 06/13/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Proud Mary, the band that derived their name from a Creedence Clearwater Revival song of the same name came into the UK music eye when Noel Gallagher (of Oasis fame) talked them up and signed them to his Sour Mash record label. This album was the only release to come from the short lived Sour Mash.
Playing live support slots for Oasis, Paul Weller and Ocean Colour Scene among a few the band had some good publicity through these said bands/artists plugging them... was it worthwhile?
Well "The Same Old Blues" is their debut album, which was produced by Noel Gallagher with Gem Archer (also of Oasis fame) yet sounds highly unlike anything that Oasis would record, which is very refreshing. The album is a British city bands slice of Americana, you'll even swear the singer isn't from the suburbs of Manchester. Kicking off with "Give A Little Love" the album drones in on an organ note to be brought to life by acoustic rhythm guitars and a country style electric guitar lick, the song itself is strong and has great lyrics to it, the chorus really is a sing-along part.
2nd song "Very Best Friend" was the single that pushed the album, sadly the vocal melody shares a similarity with The Rolling Stones "Salt Of The Earth" which Proud Mary even cover on the album. However this doesn't stop it being one of the albums highlights, a radio friendly tune in any American state indeed.
"Don't It All Look Ugly" begins with countryish harmonica and turns into a rockier sounding country song, it gives off the air of driving in the sunny summer with the window down and the volume up.
"All Good Things" is not to be confused with the Marc Teamaker song of the same name. This particular song is possibly the albums best song, it has brilliant instrumentation and touching lyrics, with a slide guitar solo again heavy in country tones that is simplicity in itself. This is followed by "Somewhere Down The Line" which sticks to the sound that the band have forged on this album. To some this song could be easily forgettable but it does have a lovely country steel guitar break/solo in the middle.
"Time On Our Hands" is one of those "could it have been a single?" songs, it surely would suit American radio stations without looking out of places. It has some great harmony vocals that lie underneath the whole song and just has this immense feel if achievement when you listen to it, you can't help but smile and tap your foot at this up-beat and feel good song. The steel guitar embellishments throughout also make it feel that much better too, and a great electric guitar solo too.
"Just For You" is not necessarily a love song, more a song of positive wishes upon somebody who you know. It could be for a lover who is leaving, or even a daughter. The song itself is more focused on lyrical content than anything else and is the albums most positive feeling song. Proud Mary's take on The Rolling Stones' "Salt Of The Earth" does not do the original any injustice at all, in fact it (to me) is much better than the Stones version... which is unusual. It is delivered with meaning that makes the listener think of it as a Proud Mary original.
"Same Old Blues" is the albums final song and simply acoustic guitars and sparse percussion with touches of steel guitar hiding underneath. A great way to end an album and a very good song that could have been written by any of Americas greatest. Makes you think if the band are REALLY English.
A great album that will go down as a lost classic, the band soon lost 2 of it's members and signed to a new label, leaving Sour Mash behind."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1
