The Country Sect – DOWNLINERS SECT***

If I Could Just Go Back/Rocks In My Bed/Ballad Of The Hounds/Little Play Soldiers/Hard Travellin’/Wait For The Light To Shine/I Got Mine/Waiting In Heaven/Above & Beyond/Bad Storm Coming/Midnight Special/Wolverton Mountain

The second outing from British R & B group Downliners Sect sees them moving in a country direction. However, the music on The Country Sect is more diverse than the title would suggest.

“The Downliners Sect, a normally hard rhythm & blues and rock band consciously went against the current trends of their peers and instead of looking to Bob Dylan, and rhythm & blues like everyone else, they decided to record an entire album inspired by country music. It isn't consistently so, though. There are still a lot of blues songs and even the country numbers come off sounding more like mild rockabilly or hillbilly country, complete with washboard accompaniment.”

“Apparently this album didn't go over so well with their fan base and they were back to rock-by-numbers on their next album. They were about four years too early but this album is average at best.”

“I guess the British R & B group thought they'd try their hand at country rock/pop, but this second outing is still decent rhythm and blues that is simply different to their first and third LPs. Tracks that show you what this five piece is capable of are Rocks In My Bed, the Buffalo Springfield-ish Above & Beyond, the awesome Bad Storming Coming and Lonely & Blue as well as the disc's two well written ballads - Little Play Soldiers and Waiting In Heaven.”

“The second Downliners Sect album has always confused the uninitiated because of its title. At the insistence of their producer, the band played some country music such as Ballad Of The Hounds and Wolverton Mountain, but also branched into the folkier sounds of Hard Travellin’, and even brushed up against protest music on Little Play Soldiers. The big surprise comes with gospel numbers like Wait For The Light To Shine and Waiting In Heaven. The group's primitive nature comes through loud and clear on the loud Bo Diddley-based backbeat I Got Mine and most of the rest here. Generally this album turns into yet another brilliant outing for the band, if not quite the same as the first album.”