Drake Bell’s Ready Steady Go! Album Review!

Drake Bell has had some ups and downs in life, but when it comes to music, the former Drake and Josh co-star has come a long way since Find A Way. His new album under Surfdog Records is set to drop April
22, but the sound is far from what would be expected based off current musical trends; within the first few notes of the first song, Sunny Afternoon, it feels like you hopped into a time machine straight back
to the era of Grease Lightning.

The second track, Bull, has an old-school country rock vibe, and is one of the best on the album. The metaphor of a bull and a china shop is very visually striking, and the style works well. This is followed by one of the two ballads on the album, I Won’t Stand In Your Way, which sounds like it was taken straight out of Across the Universe.

The lead single of the album, Bitchcraft, is next and the song itself fits well with the laugh-inducing title – complete with mentions of voodoo, magic, and a lot of minor chords. His Found A Way voice comes out the most in Makes Me Happy, which is another of the album’s highlights. It’s a bouncy, upbeat song ending with a jazzy piano solo. Other catchy tracks on the album include Melina and Back Of My Hand.

The last song featured on the album, Give Me A Little More Time, is my least favorite song on the album; it is both the slowest and the least interesting. It falls strongly into the category of ballad, and does have
some interesting harmonies but it just kind of stumbles along. It might fit better if put somewhere in the middle of the album – last impressions are just as important as first. It does have the redeemable quality of growing on you after hearing it a few times, though.

The album also features covers of Billy Joel’s It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me as well as Elvis Presley’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love (also notably covered by Queen). Overall, the album gives off a heavy vibe from the 1950s and 1960s, reminiscent of The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Buddy Holly just to name a few. It is characterized by upbeat and dance-worthy tracks with heavy rhythm guitar, and his voice works surprisingly well with the style. It’s worth a listen.