Faster and Louder: The Beatersband

Back with the third installment in a series that began with 2019's VOL UNO, Italian trio The Beatersband delivers eight more fantastic covers of 1950s and '60s pop and rock and roll standards on the newly released VOL.TRE. The concept is simple yet so perfectly executed: The Beatersband revisits timeless oldies, adding a modern pop-punk touch but never messing with the essence of the original versions. Half the fun is the band's selection of material, which is once again absolutely impeccable. Donatella, Leonardo, and company always choose the classics of the classics. Yet even though you've heard these songs countless times, The Beatersband re-does them in a way that makes you delighted to hear them again. VOL.TRE finds the band tackling the Arthur Alexander/Elvis Presley favorite "Burning Love," the Ronettes' beloved "Be My Baby," Del Shannon's iconic "Runaway," Dusty Springfield's 1963 hit "I Only Want to Be With You" (my favorite song of all-time!), Eddie Cochran's essential rocker "C'mon Everybody," the Wild Ones/Troggs classic "Wild Thing," Conway Twitty's 1958 rock and roll smash "It's Only Make Believe," and Jackie DeShannon's oft-covered masterpiece "When You Walk In The Room." That's an untouchable set of songs, and the success of The Beatersband is in not trying to do too much. What we have here are punched-up yet completely faithful versions of perfect songs. The singing and musicianship are top-notch, and you can feel the love in every note.

I always love pop-punk bands that acknowledge the roots of the genre, and The Beatersband takes that mission very literally. VOL.TRE, like its predecessors, is a true celebration of rock and roll and the timeless songs that have brought joy to several generations. Some listeners will hear these songs and want to seek out the original versions. Others will hear these tunes and have warm recollections of the music they grew up with or were introduced to by their parents or grandparents. It's such a music reviewer cliché to talk about what a marvelous thing rock and roll is, but hearing this album makes me want to shout it from the rooftops anyway. I hope this album series continues for a long time to come!