The Blushing Brides - Unveiled (2026) Hi Res

Before Creedence Clearwater Revisited decided to clone the work of their former bandmate John Fogerty, the Blushing Brides reigned supreme as the ultimate tribute band. Their specialty was the Rolling Stones, and rumor had it singer Maurice Raymond actually had surgery to look like Mick Jagger. "Sweet Sister" is some weird combo of the Stones' "Sweet Virginia" and "Star Star"; "Foreign Supplement" is, you guessed it, "Star Star." The band had wanted Jimmy Miller to produce them, and that would have been a brilliant pairing Miller would have brought out all the elements this band had but don't display on this very studied release. The cover of "Fortunate Son," the Creedence Clearwater tune, is superfluous and also the best track on the record. The Blushing Brides were a great cover act in the 1980s, and quite formidable on stage but their live intensity is missing from this major label debut. When one thinks about the concept, it makes perfect sense for a major label to sign an act touring the country to packed houses, even if it is a tribute band. The problem is that the original compositions are totally derivative and don't stand on their own. The opener, "What You Talkin' 'Bout?," is a far cry from the hits that would leap off the first track of a Rolling Stones record. The production values are below the standard of the day, and singer Raymond has a tendency to sound like John Cougar on the originals rather than Jagger, especially on "Run and Hide." The image is also run-of-the-mill when they could have adopted a New York Dolls approach to the cover. In performance they actually looked like the Rolling Stones, but here they resemble an ordinary rock group. "Won't Be Found," the J. Geils-ish "Got to Like Yourself" (and the J. Geils Band, after all, emulated not copied as this band does the Rolling Stones better than anyone), and "Can't Come Back" are listenable, adequate performances. One has to give these guys credit for putting together a better disc than the Spiders From Mars, the Billion Dollar Babies, and ex-members of the Guess Who, but where Creedence Clearwater Revisited put all the Fogerty hits on their double-CD debut, this genuine cover band failed to give the world the thing they did best.