Act Your Rage

Album Review

When the 2010s arrived, Richard X. Heyman had the best of both worlds: he was still an accomplished solo artist — not a huge name in the music world, but accomplished nonetheless — and he was having fun playing drums for the reunited Doughboys, who haven't gone out of their way to exploit Heyman's membership in the band by calling themselves "the Doughboys featuring Richard X. Heyman" or anything along those lines. Heyman is listed as Richie Heyman, not Richard X. Heyman, in the credits of Act Your Rage, and he doesn't do any lead singing on this 2009 recording/early 2010 release (he provides drums and background vocals). For that matter, the Doughboys don't bill themselves as "the Doughboys featuring Myke Scavone" or over-exploit the name of the former Ram Jam leader. So it should be stressed that Act Your Rage, like 2007's Is It Now?, is very much a team effort, and the team includes bassist Mike Caruso and guitarists Gar Francis and Willie Kirchofer as well as Heyman and lead singer Scavone. Together, they provide '60s-minded garage rock; the influence of the '60s (especially early Rolling Stones) is all over Act Your Rage. This 21st century edition of the Doughboys is as '60s-obsessed on uptempo rockers like "I'm That Kind of Man," "Sidetracked Again," "I'm Not Your Man," and "Break Out" as it is on the disc's slower, moodier selections (such as "Wishful Thinking" and "Carmalina"). And while the performances aren't groundbreaking, they are certainly inspired and passionate. Act Your Rage is a perfect example of seasoned rockers excelling not by trying to reinvent the wheel, but by sticking with the type of material that excites them the most. Die-hard garage rock enthusiasts who enjoyed Is It Now? will find Act Your Rage to be equally spirited and equally engaging.