Ducks Deluxe: Ducks Deluxe

DUCKS DELUXE is the first of the Americanophilic British bands (including Bees Make Honey, Gypsy, the defunct Help Yourself, and the ever-delightful Brinsley Schwarz) to have a serious shot at cracking the American market. While its cousin bands have made a number of fine albums, most were too understated to draw attention, even from their record companies (if they had American labels in the first place). But Ducks Deluxe sure isn't understated – it's a loud, crackling, cantankerous, often hilarious litany of American rock & roll elements pulled together by the spirit and imagination of this exceptional band into that rare item: the rock & roll tour de force. The last group to attempt an undertaking of such calculatedness was Mott the Hoople, on their magnificent first album. Ducks Deluxe are dealing with a greater amount of source material than did Mott, and this material is almost wholly American, ranging from the Byrds, Sir Douglas, and Creedence through the Velvets and Dolls right on out to J.J. Cale and Martha and the Vandellas.