Ever seen a movie called "Almost Famous"? No? Well, it was basically a coming of age movie set in the heyday of rock (that's the seventies, by the way) and this album by New Yorkers Wiser Time reminded me of that very movie. The protagonist of that movie followed the fate of band on the way up and that's precisely what I thought of this band and their potential.
Of course, retro is always in these days - even if you have to wonder about what anyone could musically exhume from the eighties - and "Beggars and Thieves" bounces back to all those bands that made up the hierarchy of rock in the seventies with Carmen Sclafani's vocals having that laidback feel that is entirely appropriate to the music (even if he sounds remarkably like New Jersey funkster Ernie DeLuise).
So, to the music… "Love and Devotion" is guitar driven rock that goes way back past the Black Crowes to the Allman Brothers. "Take Me Back Home" comes over all mellow like a softer Derek and the Dominoes track. "Revolution 09" adds some bluesy social commentary and "Keep It On" even brings comparisons to Lowell George to mind. Throwing in a cover of Bad Company's "Seagull" seems entirely appropriate given the circumstances.
"Beggars and Thieves", to an extent, hides its light under a bushel. You hear the influences throughout and you think "just another rock retread" but then you realise that you've just listened to the entire album and enjoyed it. Whilst it might not break new ground, this is an album that sounds - for want of a better word - natural. So, if you wear cowboy boots but would never wear a cowboy hat then this could well be the album you've been waiting for.