Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The unannounced Shakedown, the spontaneous, without warning release, is for some who have been unceremoniously locked in a cage and the key removed from their sight, the moment when hope arises; for in that surprise visitation from beyond their vision, comes the source of their salvation, the basis of their belief for the next chapter in their lives.

The key to any success arguably stands in the form of adaption, the ability to move with the tide and time, and place trust in, if not reinvention, then re-emergence, for in that shakedown you are afforded the significance of being the focus of attention, of having a captive audience, and one who will no doubt be entertained by your next move.

For Geoff Carne, as well as his fans, his time with Mick Hatz will always be looked upon with overwhelming joy for what they created together, but in reinvention or re-emergence comes the continuation of another quest, however, in this particular shakedown comes an arrangement, a whispered word of warning of what was too come in the previous recording, and in Geoff Carne & The Raw Rox Band’s latest release, Shakedown, that sense of utter beguilement and craft becomes overwhelmingly cool and elegant.

Through tracks such as the enticing opener of Break The Rules, and onwards passionately through Down By The River, My Good Friend, Victim Of Love, Don’t Be So and Heart On Fire, the band create energy that only becomes unstoppable when they decree it is so, it is not for the listener to instruct the force of nature that is Geoff Carne & The Raw Rox Band; after all you cannot lay down the law on a tornado, you cannot command a whirlwind with lectures on safety management, you just have to allow the ride to take you where it will, and then enjoy every heartbeat in your chest as it happens.

Moving on from their previous exploration of Big Town was always going to be a substantial ask, but in Shakedown, those you suspect had come to raid your cell, have instead come to take you out into the wide-open world and show you can once more re-emerge into the storm with your head held high. Excellent and brooding, enticing and enlightening, Geoff Carne & The Raw Rox Band have produced a hurricane of an album that leaves the listener alive and content.

Ian D. Hall