Moxy - V (Pacemaker) 2001
1. Yucatan Man (4:51)
2. Nitro Love (4:08)
3. Fire Down Below (3:19)
4. Burning In The Night (3:40)
5. Candy Delight (3:49)
6. Walking On The Wildside (4:41)
7. B - 757 (5:47)
8. Not For The Glory, Not For The Gold (5:53)
9. Working Man (5:00)
10. Snakebite (4:30)
11. High Lonely (5:08)
12. Thunder Inc. (4:29)
The cleverly titled "V", or "5" is the fifth album by the Canadian rock band Moxy, Three of the original members of Moxy reunited when Bill Wade (just before his death from cancer on July 27, 2001[3]) got Moxy back into the studio. The album was recorded at Wade's home studio and self-produced in 1999, with Earl Johnson and Buddy Caine after a 20-year absence. The album features new singer Brian Maxim, who sang back-ups with Moxy on tour back in the 1970s and also worked with Buddy Caine in the band Voodoo. The album is packed with fun, hooky, hard rock tracks and Maxim's vocals are perfectly suited for them. The album opens with a super-hooky anthem titled "Yucatan Man" that was apparently written back in the mid-1970's and features heavy guitars and some bluesy harmonica playing. The up-beat rocker "Fire Down Below" also features some fantastic harp playing and has a rockin' Zeppelin vibe. "Burning in the Night" is a slower song but still has the crushing guitar tones and an overall heavy feel. If this song had been released in the 70's during this bands heyday it would have been considered heavy metal, but for 2001 most would put it squarely in the hard rock camp. It almost reminds me of something Fastway might have recorded on their first couple classic albums. I had hopes that "Working Man" might have been a cover of Rush's classic track, but it is not. Instead it is another up-beat hard rocker. The album ends with a funky hard rocker called "Thunder Inc." complete with some clinking cow bell.
My surprise with this reunion album is that they don't seem concerned with trying to write "be relevant", which many bands attempt to do. Instead the band just rocks. This is exactly what Moxy should do. After all, a younger crowd isn't looking for these classic 70s bands to write music for them. Rather, they have written an album that their existing fanbase can enjoy.