Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 1, 1992 TAG: 9202010397
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE TENNIS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
NEW RECORDINGS
RockA theme runs through the debut album of Blacksburg band The Rhinoz: a sense of surprise.
On "The Adventures of Troutman" (Misha), The Rhinoz sound much like one of their idols, The Eagles. The sound most prevalent in the group's willingness to approach different musical styles.
The music ranges from grungy guitar blues reminiscent of early ZZ Top on "Wasted Time" to rambling, bluegrass-style banjo-picking on "Foggy Mountain Breakdown."
With a little less rocking, a well-arranged love ballad called "Love Falls Down" could be an easy country hit. Elsewhere, the band captures a live feel on its smokin' cover of Bad Company's "Rock and Roll Fantasy," while a punchy piece called "Take Me Back" could pass for the fiery guitar flare of Neil Young's recent work.
Only one dud, "The Light," halts the LP's flow. The song is a predictable albeit catchy piece of mush.
Closing the set is "Frogmanaut," which the label calls "a bedtime story." This subtle, humorous narrative sounds like an outtake from the old "Project U.F.O." television show, with a hick confessing his feelings about a giant piece of ice crashing through the ceiling of his living room.
The LP's name comes from a tiny spot on a North Carolina highway called "Troutman" - a place with a name the band found so funny they had to immortalize it with an album title, according to band manager Joe Steffen.