The Cruel Sea "The Honeymoon Is Over" 1993

From the title track to the beautifully multilayered "Better Than Love" to the layed back cover of Tony Joe White's "Woman With Soul" and all the killer instrumentals inbetween, this disc just kicks royal butt. I can't say enough about them. If you like your RNR with a little soul instead of just the 3 chord bang your head type this is the band for you. Not to say that they don't rock it up, They do, but every song has excellent instrumentation to it and theres a wide variety of musical influences to make the whole thing thoroughly enjoyable!! - from amazonThe Honeymoon Is Over by the Australian five-piece band the Cruel Sea blends organic, rootsy instrumentation with clever, well-written lyrics to produce an album that is a joy from start to finish. Produced by the band with Tony Cohen lending a hand, the record hails its entrance with the instrumental "Orleans Stomp," a Cajun-influenced cut complete with bluesy organ and xylophone. Lead singer Tex Perkins finally unleashes his vocals on the title track. His deep, weathered baritone is the perfect delivery for this kiss-off song including the wry lyric, "Gonna send you back from wherever the hell it was you came, then I'm gonna get this tattoo changed to another girl's name." The remainder of the album mixes more loose-groove instrumentals with other standout cuts like "Delivery Man," a bracing slab of double entendre blues-rock and "Let's Lay Down Here & Make Love" with a slight reggae lilt that makes the song playful. It is impossible not to sway your hips to the Cruel Sea's infectious grooves and equally as difficult not to chuckle aloud at the wry lyrical observations of their lyrics. A true delight. - i-tunestrax:

01 Orleans Stomp 02 The Honeymoon Is Over 03 Delivery Man 04 The Right Time 05 Black Stick 06 Sly Din 07 Naked Flame 08 Woman with Soul 09 Seems Twice 10 Better Than Love 11 X-N-Pop 12 Let's Lay Down Here and Make Love 13 Blame It on the Moon