Cassette Review: the new 209 rock & soul revue "live @ nelson park" (eoo)

[$5 // Edition of 25 // https://eoomusic.bandcamp.com/album/live-nelson-park]

When you see a name like The New 209 Rock & Soul Revue, I assume it would bring up certain ideas of what it will sound like for you before you even really listen to it.   I mean, it does have the words "rock" and "soul" in the name, so it should be based around that a bit, right?   And now you also can read that this was recorded live at Nelson Park (Which makes me say that Nelson "Haw Haw" out loud every time) which makes me think- before I even listen to it- of The (One) Family and I wonder what they're doing these days and if they're still releasing cassettes I just don't get the Bandcamp emails about for some reason.

From a classic rock band such as Traffic to Casio tones and a generally mellow flow, The New 209 Rock & Soul Revue has a somewhat lo-fi sound to it and the duration of Side A seems to flow as one continuous song.    Really one of my biggest fears going into this cassette, even after pushing play, was that it was going to have that jam band sound to it and I've just never been a fan of jam bands so thankfully it never seemed to take that turn on me.

When listening to the flip side you'll hear some clanky rock but there are also big, dreamy bass lines so it does that take sort of turn away from what I could see going into that jam band sound and instead steers itself towards the more 1950's rock n roll sound almost; but not really Buddy Holly as much as one of the more popular groups from that time.   I wouldn't have thought it on Side A, but Side B makes me think The New 209 Rock & Soul Revue could pull off an impressive cover of that one song that questions "Why must I be a teenager in love?"

Though this doesn't sound live so much as recorded, the name also isn't so much a description of the music to me as it is a statement of the literal.   Does this cassette rock?  Yes.  Does it have soul?  Absolutely.  But do you think of it as that rockin' soul, perhaps something along the lines of R&B?  At times it can be possible, but overall it isn't really true to that idea and it just has a bit more complex of a sound which must be heard to be fully experienced.     You can call it what you want really, but it's damn good.