It took
Taylor Hawkins nearly a decade to record his third album with
the Coattail Riders but, to be fair, his main gig as the drummer of
the Foo Fighters kept him busy in the nine years separating 2010's
Red Light Fever from 2019's
Get the Money. To his credit,
Hawkins essentially picks up where he left off with
Red Light Fever, creating a retro-rock fantasia out of his favorite parts from his favorite old LPs.
Queen remains his main touchstone: "Don't Look at Me That Way" is puffed up with layers of harmonies, "C U in Hell" slyly salutes
Queen's tendency to write mini-suites, and
Roger Taylor himself stops by to lend vocals to an album-closing "Shapes of Things,"
the Yardbirds psych-standard that's performed in the style of
Jeff Beck's 1968 cover.
Taylor isn't the only superstar guest, nor is
Queen the only band consciously evoked.
Joe Walsh plays guitar and
Chrissie Hynde sings on "Get the Money," a mock-reggae number that takes a detour into spacy
Pink Floyd territory,
Nancy Wilson and
LeAnn Rimes both stop by the studio, as do
Duff McKagan,
Perry Farrell, and
Steve Jones, not to mention
Dave Grohl. Of this cast of characters,
Grohl's signature is the most evident -- "You're No Good at Life No More" could easily slide onto a
Foo Fighters album -- but the fun of
Get the Money is how
Hawkins spins through a number of different sounds and styles from the classic rock era. The elements are familiar, but
Hawkins assembles fuzz guitars, glam beats, New Wave synths, and operatic harmonies with flair and wit, turning
Get the Money into a giddy journey to the past that's remarkably devoid of nostalgia. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine