Rhino’s Revenge: Rhino’s Revenge II

Horn to be wild.

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Fifteen years is a long time between albums, but Quo bassist John ‘Rhino’ Edwards returns with what is very much a family effort, his sons Max (drums) and Freddie (guitars) and daughter Mae (backing vocals) all chipping in to create a no-frills, high-energy blast of rock’n’roll with an emphasis on variety, and more than a few barbed lyrics.

The uninitiated might expect endless Quo-esque boogie-thons, but the only major forays are the excellent pub rock of Cougar and self-explanatory One Note Blues.

Elsewhere the emphasis is on diverse songwriting, resulting in some unequivocal highlights – the witty Famous, thrashing Black Widows and propulsive Tomorrow Is Today – and the less-than-great All The Girls Love A Bastard and Powerplay: Edwards is not a born singer and he is most definitely not a rapper.

These latter two howlers aside, though, what you get is cheerfully, cheekily honest and infectiously catchy.

Essi Berelian

Whether it’s magazines, books or online, Essi has been writing about rock ’n’ metal for around thirty years. He has been reviews editor for Classic Rock and Metal Hammer, rock reviews editor for lads mag Front and worked for Kerrang!. He has also written the Rough Guide to Heavy Metal and contributed to the Rough Guide to Rock and Rough Guide Book of Playlists, and the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles (13th edition). Most fun interview? Tenacious D – Jack Black and Kyle Gass – for The Pick of Destiny movie book. An avid record/CD/tape collector, he’s amassed more music than he could ever possibly listen to, which annoys his wife no end.