The Amplifires – Gimme Shelter

I seriously love the original Stones version of this song. So I’m always excited to listen to covers of it. This is one of the most original covers I’ve ever heard. While they elected to keep the pacing and melody of the song just about every thing else is just a sconce different. For instance, the guitars are a butt load more grungy and edgy. It was a really good way to modernize the song. The drum line doesn’t sound like it was messed with much, which in my opinion is a good thing. What really makes this cover stand out is the vocal track. I think this is the first version of the song I’ve heard with a female vocalist. It’s an interesting change up from the dusty vocals of Jagger or even the garbled vocal style of Wes Scantlin (Puddle of Mudd).

In this reviewers humble opinion it’s a very creative choice in covers. You need a certain amount of gravitas to really make it work. While I really liked the music track and the variations they went with to make this song their own, I’m not sold on the female vocals. I love her voice, don’t get me wrong. She has an amazing range and a nice clear sound to her voice. But for me the match wasn’t quite there. That being said, I was certainly entertained by the song and because I liked all the elements I am down to listen to more. In fact they list “Hash Pipe” on their reverbnation page. I fully intend to listen to that as soon as I’m done with this review. My suggestion is listen to this song and then check out more of their work on one of the links below.

Who They Are:

The Amplifires history starts in late 2005 when David Brunt bought a guitar case from Steve Rawlinson via Ebay and, after realising that Steve was just a couple of miles away, went to collect it. Steve was looking to form another band as was David so with shared musical interests – two pieces of the jigsaw in place!Meanwhile Steve already knew Sharon and her musical background. An opportunity had arisen earlier to play guitar in Sharon’s presence and memorably the sound of Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ guitar riff was quickly accompanied by Sharon’s voice. Another piece of the jigsaw in place. 3 drummers – Ted, Ruth and Kim -, hundreds of gigs, and a tour of 3 states of America later, and the Amplifires have recently been completed by the arrival of Sandy Mitchell, who is just as excited by original music and a desire to play. The Amplifires’ first album, Fire On The Moon, was released in 2008 and it received major airplay across the world, featuring as CD of the week in such cities as New York, Adelaide, Ottowa and Hamburg, The band remain proud of this achievement. This was followed 18 months later with the release of the album S.W.A.L.K and three other single releases. In September 2009 the band completed a 15 date tour in the NW USA in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, culminating in a great gig in Potsdam. Kim Chester joined us on the drums shortly after our return from the USA, replacing Ruth Dobson, and we continued to gig locally and extend our own repertoire. Kim left us due to work commitments in summer 2013. Sandy joined us as drummer late in 2013 and we’re now looking forward to a great 2014. Sandy brings with him his experience of many years of playing in bands which will add a new dimension to what we do.

The Band is:

Looking for a current band list.

Website: The Amplifiers

Twitter: @TheAmplifires

Youtube: The Amplifires

Where You Can Get It: