There’s nobody doing it like the Dead Daisies, who have for almost a decade now been pumping out some of the hardest, most streamlined classic rock with zero focus on the bells and whistles. With their latest LP dropping this year under the title Radiance, each single attached has been better than the last, and the (as of right now) final single for the album, “Born To Fly,” blows the other singles out of the water. Written by bandleader and guitarist David Lowy about his love of flying (as a champion aerobatic pilot), there’s a distinct personal flair to the track that gives fans a look into the world of The Dead Daisies — the single is accompanied by a red-hot music video that actually features footage of Lowy in various planes and jets, as well as footage of a young kid looking up at the sky dreaming of his future days as a pilot. It’s an impressive release, altogether, and the personal touches really give the song an extra leg to stand on.
Of the song’s origins, Lowy says “Doug & I got together in New York earlier in the year and worked on a riff that I had written previously. Doug had a chorus that just fitted, we messed around with the melody and came up with the name ‘Born To Fly’. This is a straight-up rock song. For me it’s literal, I was born to fly. However, we’re all born to fly in our own way.”
There is plenty of that soulful 70s and 80s rock exploding from “Born To Fly” that fans have come to expect from The Dead Daisies, and it’s even arguable that the work done on Radiance is some of their best yet. Working as a quartet with Lowy, The Dead Daises are vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes, whose semi-recent 2019 addition to the band has been a major positive change, lead guitarist Doug Aldrich, and drummer Brian Tichy this go around — they feel like a band that has been playing together for fifty years, though, as their riffs and the matched rhythm section deliver on every level.
The Dead Daises seem to be fully hitting their stride in a sense of a major sweep that has been happening for years — allowing themselves the time and space to have an album out as great and tightly made as Radiance is impressive, and taking the album on tour not only in America but in Europe is a major feat! There are not many acts out there today delivering music as rip-roaring and guitar-shredding as The Dead Daisies, and they know it; hearing “Born To Fly” live must only make the song that much more impressive, so consider that a new goal on my 2023 bucket list! In the meantime, I’ll be spending plenty of time with The Dead Daisies back catalog, and streaming Radiance wherever albums can be found! If you still can’t get enough of The Dead Daisies, check out their immersive first-person-shooter app that they created while in lockdown, and watch the attached narrative music videos. This band just doesn’t stop!
