When I saw the name Rob Mancini mentioned in the press release for “Bluesbound Train”, the debut album from Boneyard Dog, it immediately got my attention. The more I read, the more interested I became and was keen to get a listen to the album, which was released on 25th November via AOR Heaven. “Bluesbound Train” is an excellent blues rock offering from a locally based band that just happens to have an internationally recognised line-up. I played the single “Lonely Road” (that features Marc Lynn of Gotthard) on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 9th December.
Rob Mancini is a German / Italian singer based in Ireland. He formerly fronted German bands Hotwire and Crush and the last time we featured him was on the Scar For Life release “World Entwined” in 2014 (http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/back-stage/music-reviews/1629-ni-rocks-recommends-qworlds-entwinedq-by-scar-for-life.html ). He founded Boneyard Dog in 2015 along with local blues guitarist Davy Kerrigan. Earlier this year they added American drummer Ron Wikso who has worked with artists such as Cher, Richie Sambora, Foreigner, David Lee Roth and Dave Meniketti. Former Rainbow keyboard player Tony Carey was brought on board to help with one track and decided to stay and work on the whole album.
The album was recorded between March and September 2016 in studios in Texas and Donegal, with Rob Mancini looking after production, mixing and mastering.
There are 12 tracks on the album, including a short intro. My favourite track is undoubtedly “Lonely Road” – the band’s proceedings from the single and video go to the Boneyard Foundation that they established to benefit the victims of motorcycle accidents and their families. Other favourites would include "Mother Lode”, “Hundred Guns”, “Paid My Dues”, “Lay Down The Law” and “Heartbreaker”.
Check out the band’s website at http://boneyarddog.com/
About “NI Rocks Recommends”
The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!
My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows on Rock Radio NI.
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