The Throbs had a brief but well-hyped career as New York's answer to Guns N' Roses…not quite. 1991's The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds which was produced by Bob Ezrin (KISS, Alice Cooper) on Geffen Records should have by all means, made these guys stars. Were they the next Guns N’ Roses? Probably not, but this album is displaying a definite glam influence direct from the ultimate source, the New York Dolls. The songs on this disc are nothing short of fantastic. Big guitars and great piano work saturate. In fact, the keyboards on this disc are handled by Bob Ezrin, with the exception of a couple of guest stars. Little Richard plays the piano on the song, “Ecstasy” and Freddy Mandel (Alice Cooper) handles the keyboards on It’s Not the End of the World” and “Rip It Up”.
Singer Ronnie Sweetheart has a gritty vocal that reminds me a lot of David Johansen. His vocals take a little bit of time to get used to; Sweetheart’s vocals are quite a bit different from most of the bands from the early nineties. The music dabbles with some hints of post Appetite Guns N’ Roses with some guitar sounds that bring KISS to mind, but believe me The Throbs might look like an early 90’s hair metal act, they are not a hair metal band.
Finally, even though The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds abuses the most clichéd descending rock riff in existence, Come Down Sister is explosive and ultimately infectious.
