This is a review of "Summer Fruit" recorded by Beeker. The review was written by Sam Saunders in 2003.

This CD looks pretty enough, with a visual clash of romantic guitar in woodland, gurning space alien baby and splodgy studio snaps of the artists at work. The songs have significantly vacuous titles. "Vision", "Searching" and "Destiny" set themselves up against the daringly concrete "Lighter times".

Behind it all, 5 piece Beeker are a cheerfully straightforward covers band. Their 4 track CD of original material is strangely old fashioned. It sounds like the local bands I remember from the 1960s and 70s. The standard issue guitar, bass, drums and voice(s) build up to whole choruses of guitar solos that reveal no more than below average command of standard scales. Song writing is reduced to very basic chord sequences. Familiar rhythmic patterns are played with unsteady command.

No, it’s not very good. I tried to like it and be positive. My ultimate test is to ask if it’s worse than the recordings I used to make? In Beeker’s case, I’m afraid it is. These songs might be sneaked through one at a time in the lunchtime covers set, but as a collection of tunes in their own right they are a bit toe curling.