Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The sound of a single drum can bring more visual interpretation to mind than that of the pulse of a thousand of its compatriots in full flight, the difference might be in volume, the thousand creating a sense of bulk, of inevitable destruction, but it is to the feel of the two sticks on a snare or medium tom, the kick on the bass, or even the cymbal high above that can bring the depth of fear in its tone, the concern of the repetitive tap quietly playing in the vicinity will bring a greater reveal than almost anything the mind can conjure with.

The mark of the Rose Tattoo might be one that has faded since they first made headlines and gave the audience a new perspective on the growing influence of music from the other side of the world. The mark may have become lighter, but it has by no means diminished in its style, presentation, and the genuine care and affection that the audience, whether of original passions, or of the new fold welcomed in during the interweaving years, hold dear.

The track list on the remastered release from Rose Tattoo’s Beats From A Single Drum would be familiar, but that doesn’t stop it from being heard enthusiastically, and as memories for some resurface, and for many the discovery of the new emboldens, tracks such as the openers Calling and Frightened Kid, the unexpected beauty of Suddenly, the force of Winnie Mandela, Say Goodbye, and the album closer of Michael O’Reilly fill the silence in ways that lightens the load of the listener, the dark days that envelope us in memory, gives way to a pleasure undaunted by time and distance…it is the drama of physical, upbeat satisfaction.

Released originally in a period of a changed line up, Beats From A Single Drum saw the line up of Angry Anderson, Tim Gaze, Andy Cichon, and Scott Johnson merged almost seamlessly as the album took shape, a gift of presence from the new team, a gift of persuasion and grit from the production, and that same gift is one captured further as the remaster release encircles the listener with ease.

In a time when it could be argued that people are looking to different forms of attachment from their listening pleasure, to be whisked back in time to an often more experimental time framed by the beat of the extraordinary, Rose Tattoo still find ways to remind the public of their charisma and authority, and that drum beat, a single thread utilised and created, is one to follow to the ends of the Earth.

Rose Tattoo’s remastered release of Beats From A Single Drum is out now and available from Golden Robot Records.

Ian D. Hall