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HOT NEW REVIEWS
LEGACY PILOTS 'HELIX' (KLANGWERK MUSIC
PRODUCTION/GERMANY IMPORT)
LEGACY
PILOTS is a project created by Hamburg, Germany based multi-instrumentalist
FRANK US, who gathered a list of musicians and singers around him to complete a
new album titled Helix. I am not familiar with the earlier work of LEGACY
PILOTS, which is a pity, because I was blown away by the high level of this new
album. It's a concept album, with many different parts, and opener True Spirit
is an incredible melodic progressive rock/prog metal piece like THRESHOLD meets
KINO, while the following The Even Chance is a much smoother piece, even a bit
SEAL alike, with astonishing haunting melodies that could gain them a hit if
played on the radio. However, most of the time it's melodic Neo-Progressive
meets 70s Symphonic Rock at it's very best, and besides JOHN MITCHELL on vocals
on those first 2 songs, there are also several other guest singers throughout
the album, such as the amazing JAKE LIVGREN (nephew of the legendary ex-KANSAS
guitarist/keyboardplayer KERRY LIVGREN) and also guest musicians such as MARILLION
guitarist STEVEN ROTHERY (who does a superb soaring melodic guitarsolo) and
drummer TODD SUCHERMAN (STYX), and quite a lot more.
Jake
absolutely shines on the superb AOR/Pomp ish semi ballad A Little Differently
that touches a bit of classic 80s LE ROUX, TOTO and 80s KANSAS. A few of the
songs are entirely or partly instrumental and 70s sympho rock based (especially
the fantastic 17 minutes counting re-sponse), so I can easily say that this is
in the end a very diverse album that touches as aforementioned most of the time
the neo-prog/sympho department, but I think it will appeal to a lot of other
music fans as well. It's an enjoyable journey that has melody upfront in all
aspects, both vocally and instrumentally speaking. Perhaps this might end up as
one of prog's finest albums of 2023! From start to finish this is top-notch
melodic symnpho/prog the way we want to hear it! More info at: https://legacypilots.bandcamp.com/album/helix
(Points: 8.9 out of 10)
BEN GRANFELT ‘LIVE… BECAUSE WE CAN!’ (BROKEN SILENCE RECORDS/FINLAND IMPORT)
Finland
and Blues Rock seem to be joining forces lately with both ERJA LYYTINEN and BEN
GRANFELT upfront, because both are becoming more and more popular. Ben (60
years of age) has a long history as a musician, because he was part of GRINGOS
LOCOS, GUITAR SLINGERS and LENINGRAD COWBOYS (and even WISHBONE ASH for a
while). However, he also continued a solo band career he started up in 1994,
and he has released quite some material the past few decades. In 2019 he
performed a gig that would later become his last live gig for a while, and
eventually it was released as a live album that I received from him. Basically
we get to hear lovely classic heavy Blues Rock and BEN GRANFELT really lets the
guitar sing just perfectly, especially during the sensational emotional guitar
solo (a la GARY MOORE) driven Faith Hope & Love (incredible song and the
absolute highlight here), Wayward Child and My Soul To You, but also for example
the short and sweet Soul Searching that is followed by another GARY MOORE ish
winner Breathe is a pleasure to listen to. He’s a wonderful performer whom I
hope will come over for a tour here in The Netherlands soon, because his
guitarsolo’s are absolutely beautiful and he definitely belongs to the best
(heavy) blues rock performers at the moment! I love the Layla guitar solo part
towards the end of the concert by the way! More info on him at: http://www.bengranfelt.com/
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
BEN GRANFELT 'GRATITUDE' (TIMEZONE RECORDS/ON STAGE
RECORDS/GERMANY IMPORT)
So live
on stage Ben is incredible with some of his best stuff he wrote in the past 30
years, which you could read in the review of the live CD, but how about his new
solo album Gratitude, which continues his laid-back blues rock style that fits
somewhere between STEVE LUKATHER, GARY MOORE, ROBIN TROWER and WALTER TROUT.
Highlights on the new album are the smooth Life Goes On, the amazing soaring
guitar solo driven instrumental Remember, Never Forget (GARY MOORE style) and
the instrumental Techno Blues. It’s a pity the album only has a short playing
time, because especially compared to the phenomenal lengthy live album, you
definitely want to hear much more from this amazing
guitarist/singer/songwriter. More info can be found at: http://www.bengranfelt.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
LANCE LOPEZ 'TROUBLE IS GOOD' (CLEOPATRA RECORDS/USA
IMPORT)
Besides
being a member of the band SUPERSONIC BLUES MACHINE, the Texas, USA based
guitarist/singer/songwriter LANCE LOPEZ also has a solo career going on, and I
believe his new CD Trouble Is Good is his 11th release so far. Without a doubt,
this man has a powerful big voice that accompanied with his bluesy guitar
playing makes it a pleasure to listen to his music, and his new album is one of
the better heavy blues records of the past few years! The music is close to
melodic heavy bluesy hardrock that even here and there reminds me of THUNDER,
ZZ TOP and the old WHITESNAKE, especially during the fantastic songs Jam With
Me (a rocker), Uncivil War (a semi ballad), Slow Down and the epic concept
closing track Voyager: Sunrise, Voyager, I Am Ra. Here and there Lance does
have a sorta IAN GILLAN (circa 70s DEEP PURPLE) kinda tone in his voice, and as
already mentioned there are a lot of classic rock influences to be found as
well, because URIAH HEEP, RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE similarities are also very
clear sometimes, although Lance will mostly be scheduled under heavy blues
rock. Concluded, Lance is a sensational well gifted musician everyone needs to
check out a.s.a.p. More info at: https://cleopatrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/trouble-is-good
and http://www.lancelopeztx.com/
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
HERBIE HANCOCK ‘CROSSINGS VINYL LP’ (WARNER
MUSIC/SPEAKERS CORNER RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
83
years old, but I managed to see him live in concert in 2022, the legendary
HERBIE HANCOCK, who gave an excellent performance that consisted of music from
his extensive catalogue that goes back to the 1960s and includes many music
genres, just like STANLEY CLARKE recently did on a concert I saw of him at
North Sea Jazz. Anyway, Herbie started his music career under the wings of
MILES DAVIS, but eventually went his own way, and he managed to release many
records during especially the 1970s and 1980s. In the 80s he had his biggest
hitsingle, with a synth dominated tune (Rockit), but in the early 70s he was
slowly discovering new sounds that took him more or less away from the
traditional jazz as we know it from MILES DAVIS. In 1973 Herbie released his 10th album
Crossings that saw him play mellotron, electronic piano and percussion, while
he was assisted by BENNIE MAUPIN (sax, flute, bass clarinet), EDDIE HENDERSON
(trumpet), JULIAN PRIESTER (trombone), PATRICK GLEESON (synths), BUSTER
WILLIAMS (bass) and BILLY HART (drums). Fully remastered on vinyl I received a
test pressing vinyl record of this newly remastered album, and like every
SPEAKERS CORNER RECORDS release, also this one sounds picture perfect. The
music is early 70s orientated when Herbie started to transform his music into a
more modern setting, so it would also be of interest for the fans of 70s
sympho/prog/krautrock actually, although the music was called Jazz-Fusion-Rock
at the time. I think by now you can put it all into the classic vibrant 70s
melting pot of all kinds of styles, and Herbie was one of the best to do that
with a certain kinda vibe that can be heard perfectly on this vinyl LP that
introduced the electronic and funk into Herbie’s music. Side-A saw a 24 minutes
counting composition by Herbie himself called Sleeping Giant, a true
masterpiece of all that we love about 70s instrumental music, while side-B
featured 2 composition by BENNIE MAUPIN (Quasar and Water Torture). All
together an enjoyable adventure 50 years later, and it still doesn’t get boring,
especially on this beautiful sounding high quality vinyl release. The
remastered vinyl album is available through: https://www.jpc.de/?lang=en (Europe)
and http://www.acousticsounds.com (USA).
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
EARTH, WIND & FIRE ‘SPIRIT VINYL LP’ (WARNER
MUSIC/SPEAKERS CORNER RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
If
there’s one band that could be labelled as ‘The finest live party act’ around
in the 1970s it must have been the legendary EARTH, WIND & FIRE. This band
scored a massive amount of hits that musically managed to melt the best of
funk, soul, disco and pop. Spirit was the band’s 7th album, and
by then the guys became very popular, although their absolute biggest
hitsingles (Fantasy, Boogie Wonderland, After The Love Is Gone) would follow on
the albums that were released after Spirit. Spirit saw the band exploring their
drift into something more commercial hit single orientated material (Getaway
and Saturday Nite), yet still keeping their own signature sound and even
experimenting here and there. I received a test pressing vinyl record of this
newly remastered album of Spirit, and like every SPEAKERS CORNER RECORDS
release, also this one sounds picture perfect. I would not call this the
strongest album of the band, but they definitely showed that they belonged to
the best of the best back then. Without a doubt, this vinyl release sounds
better than the original release, and you can truly feel like you’re in the
same room with the guys recording the songs on this album. The remastered vinyl
album is available through: https://www.jpc.de/?lang=en (Europe)
and http://www.acousticsounds.com (USA).
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
HEATWAVES
‘KAPPA’ (APOLLON RECORDS/NORWAY IMPORT)
The band HEATWAVES comes out of Bergen,
Norway, and they make their debut with Kappa. I don’t have that much info on them,
but the bandmembers have played with several other artists and bands in the
past, but now started a band together. The line up consists of Eirik Marinius
Sandvik – guitar, Jonas Særsten – Keys, Pablo Tellez – Bass and Jakob
Hjelmeland – Drums, and the music on this first album sounds really good. It
has a relaxed 70s kinda vibe that fits somewhere between funky groovy
soul/westcoast and laid-back sympho, sorta like TAME IMPALE and KHRUANGBIN, yet
with a slightly more psychedelic 70s symphonic touch and also some memories of
70s HERBIE HANCOCK and 70s STANLEY CLARKE, so a little jazz-fusion is also
notable, and last but not least, 70s krautrock a la TANGERINE DREAM is perhaps
another influence on HEATWAVES’ first record. I have to say that the album sounds
really impressive and especially during the late summer evenings it is an
enjoyable album that is by the way mostly instrumental, but also some vocals
can be heard on a couple of songs (and then it sounds even more relaxed and
quite sensational, such as during the songs Hercule Poirot, Kawako and In
Disguise. This is one of those albums that will definitely be appreciated by a
wide variety of music fans and the press is going to love it for sure. I am
very impressed and I can highly recommend this superb debut album of HEATWAVES!
More info at: https://apollonrecords.8merch.com/product/heatwaves-kappa-lp
and https://heatwavesbergen.bandcamp.com/album/kappa
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
RING
VAN MOBIUS ‘COMMISSIONED WORKS PART 2: SIX DROPS OF POISON’ (APOLLON
RECORDS/NORWAY IMPORT)
Commissioned Works Part 2: Six drops of
Poison is the 3rd album of the Norwegian band RING VAN MOBIUS, and musically we
are once again hearing high quality 70s progressive rock in the style of
E.L.P., KING CRIMSON, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR… It’s a joy to listen to the
album, as the musicianship is really top-notch, with lovely pure prog madness all
over the place, mainly focusing on instrumental parts where the keys and synths
are upfront and taking you into a sorta trace. It’s like we stepped into a time
machine and went straight back to the early 1970s! Well done for sure once
again and a must-have for anyone into the aforementioned acts! More info at: https://ringvanmbius.bandcamp.com/album/commissioned-works-pt-ii-six-drops-of-poison
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
DIRTY
STREETS 'WHO'S GONNA LOVE YOU' (BLUE ELAN RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
The band DIRTY STREETS are coming out of the Memphis/USA area, and
they were founded in 2007 by Justin Toland (Guitar, Vocals), Thomas Storz
(Bass) and Andrew Denham (Drums). Who's Gonna Love You is their 7th album so
far, and it was produced by GRAMMY-award winner Matt Ross-Spang (JASON
ISBELL, MARGO PRICE, JOHN PRINE). Their music is clearly 1970s based, mixing
elements of blues, soul and groovy rock/hardrock, sometimes a bit reminding of
DE WOLFF and THE BLACK CROWES, with a soul touch here (Poison) and a southern
rock influence (the LYNYRD SKYNYRDish Get Out) there. It all sounds really good
from start to finish, especially during songs like the groovy opener Alright
(THE BLACK CROWES meets THUNDER), Poison (relaxing classic soulful bluesy vibe,
close to DE WOLFF), the midtempo groovy classic rocker Blinded (LED ZEPPELIN
with a funky bass), and the big fat groovy classic hardrock tune Bitter End.
Concluded, the band has been going on for quite a while now, and it is about
time that people are gonna love DIRTY STREETS, because they are a damn good
band you need to check out at: https://dirtystreets.bandcamp.com/album/whos-gonna-love-you
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
IVY
GOLD 'BROKEN SILENCE' (GOLDEN IVY RECORDS/A1 RECORDS/BROKEN SILENCE/GERMAN
IMPORT)
IVY GOLD is a band formed around musicians
from different countries (USA, Germany, Spain, UK) whom already were
successfull around the world in different bands, but they decided to join
forces and start up this new band a few years ago, and so far they have already
released a studio album and a live record before this new studio album Broken
Silence. The line up consists of Manou (vocals), Sebastian Eder (AVALON)
(guitar), Anders Olinder (GLENN HUGHES) (keyboards), Tal Bergman (JOE
BONAMASSA, BILLY IDOL) (drums) and Kevin Moore (JENNIFER RUSH)) (bass). The
resulting 2nd studio album Broken Silence is a very strong diverse record that
rocks for sure, but also takes care of some funk, soul and blues elements,
which makes it such an interesting album.
Opener Broken Silence starts very calm,
and is a strong slow bluesy tune that reminds me vocally a lot of MOTHER'S
FINEST thanks to Manou's soulful vocals, while the song itself has a GARY MOORE
'Still Got The Blues' era vibe, yet when the funky midtempo bluesy rocker No
Ordinary Woman follows we are heading into the classic MOTHER'S FINEST sound
all the way! This is sounding really good and combining all the elements of
funk, soul, blues and rock into an exciting own kinda direction. And this funky
but rocking vibe continues throughout the rest of the CD, which has other
highlights the groovy rockers Got What I Need, House Of Cards and the beautiful
soulful bluesy ballad I Am That I Am. Besides the groovy rhythm section, the
cool hammond sound and the soaring bluesy guitarwork, it's Manou's soulful
vocals that are very important to mention here. She gives the band that extra
needed touch to rise above the rest! Most of the songs feature a slightly
catchy melodic rock ish chorus, so in the end this band will appeal to a lot of
people. However, fans of especially MOTHER'S FINEST will go nuts when hearing
this modern new retro funky soul groovy melodic rockband, because this is right
up their alley! More info at: www.ivygold.net
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
MAD PAINTER 'SPLASHED' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
MAD
PAINTER is a new band from the Boston, USA area, and they are formed around
lead singer Alex Gitlin (the songwriter and creator of the concept), drummer Al
Hendry (Bubba Loaf, Tokyo Tramps), bassist Kenne Highland (ex-Gizmos,
Hopelessly Obscure, Johnny & The Jumper Cables, Africa Corps), backing
vocalist Julie Gee and guitarist Alan Naha (Thighscrapers, Kenne Highland
Airforce). Their 2nd album Splashed is a very diverse album
that has a clear 70s melodic pop/rock influence. Overall they sound a bit
quirky, kinda like a British art pubrockband (10CC meets SMALL FACES meets
GODLEY & CRÈME meets MOTT THE HOOPLE and a bit of URIAH HEEP). Opener
Illusion sets the record straight right from the start, because this is
prime-time uptempo URIAH HEEP/LUCIFER’S FRIEND ish classic heavy rock in a pure
1970s style with the Hammond organ and charismatic lead vocals upfront, while
the catchy somewhat poppy melodic chorus and synth vs soaring guitar solo gives
it a sorta AOR/Pomprock touch as well. It sounds like it was recorded in 1973,
but they definitely recorded it very recently, in 2021 and 2022 down at a
studio in the city of Peabody (suburb of Boston) in Massachusetts, USA to be
exact. In total 17 tracks are included, and the rest of the album is a melting
pot of all kinds of (mainly 70s) styles,
because there’s pub rock on a song like Parting Line, fast bluesy soul rock n
roll (River), an URIAH HEEP cover (Stealin’), quite
a few crooner ish ballads, some quirky (British sounding) humoristic 70s pop
stuff (Friend In France reminds me of RANDY NEWMAN for example), some cool
early 70s Theatrical Glam Rock a la MOTT THE HOOPLE (Let Him Go), a rather
catchy SMALL FACES meets GODLEY & CRÈME potential 70s pop hit (San Michel),
strong catchy 70s melodic pop/rock (Love Is Gold) and a whole
lot more. Personally
speaking I would have loved to hear more rockers such as that opening song or
Samurai, but nevertheless MAD PAINTER does a great job sounding nostalgic and
is a must-have for people who want to hear new songs with an old 70s retro
soul. Fans of aforementioned bands definitely need to check out MAD PAINTER
at: https://madpainter.co.uk
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
DELTA WIRES 'IF SOMEBODY TOLD ME’ (MUD SLIDE
RECORDS/DOUG DEUTSCH PUBLICITY/USA IMPORT)
For over
50 years the San Francisco, USA based band DELTA WIRES have been playing,
performing and recording their delta blues with a soul touch. The 7-piece band
consists of ERNIE PINATA- HARMONICA, LEAD VOCALS, TOM GERRITS – BASS GUITAR,
VOCALS, RICHARD HEALY – GUITAR, TONY HUSZAR – DRUMS, CALEB MURRAY – SAXOPHONE,
DAVID BOWMAN – TROMBONE and JOHN CHRISTENSEN – TRUMPET, and I believe If
Somebody Told Me is their 5th official studio album. In between they released
several live albums and also back in 2013 an Anthology CD that consists of
material they recorded in the early 1970s (would love to hear that!). The band
performed as support or on festivals alongside the big names of the past (BUDDY
GUY, DOOBIE BROTHERS, VAN MORRISON, DR. JOHN, BAD COMPANY, etc. etc.
Anyway,
this new album is a typical high class Delta Blues album that is all about the
blues, the blues and the blues. I was fortunate enough to see BUDDY GUY live on
stage recently, and basically this DELTA WIRES is blueswise speaking in the
same direction. Also BB KING and MUDDY WATERS come to mind when listening to
this great new DELTA WIRES album, which has it's absolute highlights during If
Somebody Told Me, Bring Me Up, and Hand Outta My Pocket. This is as close to
pure Blues as you can get, so make sure to grab yourself a copy of this CD.
More info at: https://www.deltawires.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
JOHN P. TAYLOR BAND ‘TO FEEL ALIVE' (MIRAGE MUSIC/UK
IMPORT)
As soon
as the killer vocals of British acoustic guitarist JOHN P. TAYLOR are playing
on the stereo during the first song of his new album To Feel Alive, I am
immediately impressed and certain that this is going to be a great journey.
John is a musician, engineer and producer based in North Yorkshire, and he is
also the owner of Mirage Recording. Besides John other involved musicians on
his new album are drummer DAN HIGGINS, bassist CHRIS RINGER, keyboardplayer
CHRIS ATKINS-GROOM and guitarist GEOFF KEELER. John's voice is amazing, with
the kind of rawness and melodic approach I have only heard when hearing similar
singers like JOHN PARR, ROBERT HART and such. The music is bluesy rock, yet
with a very melodic almost AOR kinda feeling. Right from the start with the
superb titletrack To Feel Alive straight through the following songs Never
Gonna Run, the midtempo BAD COMPANY ish rocker The Wrong Way Home and the
bluesy AOR piece Taste Of Things To Come, there is no looking back here. John
sounds really sensational vocally speaking and the compositions are a joy to
listen to. There's a great balance here that fits somewhere between bluesy rock
and AOR/Melodic Rock, with a clear focus on beautiful melodies that are
perfectly sung by John. Without a doubt this is one of those albums that might
be overlooked, which is really sad, because it is a very good impressive album
that ticks a lot of boxes. A song like the midtempo AOR/Melodic Rocker Lying
Heart is a must to hear if you like for example FM or THUNDER, and how about
the lovely AOR ballad Fairytale (which has a cool keyboardsolo and it surely is
not far removed from JOURNEY!). Make sure to check out more info on this
talented singer/musician/producer at: https://johnptaylor.co.uk/
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
SOUND ON PURPOSE ‘COSMIC TALES’ (INDEPENDENT/GERMANY
IMPORT)
Here we
have a sensational instrumental duo called SOUND ON PURPOSE from Germany. The
duo consists of FRANK TISCHER (Epiano, Synthesizer, Modular System & add.
Electronics) and drummer TOMMY FISCHER, and Cosmic Tales is their debut album.
Frank is also part of the MILLER ANDERSON BAND and SPENCER DAVIS GROUP, with
whom he plays since the mid 2000s. However, with SOUND ON PURPOSE he enters a
classic 70s Berlin school of electronic krautrock that reminds us of the
classic TANGERINE DREAM / KLAUS SCHULZE days, and if it is done well, which
thankfully is the case on this CD, then it is a joy to listen to the mixture of
heavy synths, spacey keys, all played on classic retro instruments, and a real
drummer on this superb instrumental album. Although the album should be seen as
one big highlight, the absolute finest moments can be found during Cosmic 2,
the somewhat jazzy fusion orientated Nacht der Perseiden (a slight HERBIE
HANCOCK touch here), Gate 0 (a rather cool almost synth wave ish piece a la
MAGIC SWORD) and the symphonic MIKE OLDFIELDish Nachtflug. This album is most
of all a must to hear if you’re into classic 70s electronic krautrock, although
there are also other influences to be heard, and that makes this album a true
pleasure to listen to from start to finish! More info can be found at: https://frank-tischer.de/sound-on-purpose/
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
THE PH PROJECT 'SLOW BURN VINYL
RECORD' (SOUL WHISKEY RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Sometime ago I reviewed a CDR of THE PH
PROJECT, a Long Beach, California, USA based project formed around
producers/guitarists/songwriters PAUL KAMINSKI and HUGH VAN DER LINDEN (who
also plays keys by the way), and I told them to put their music out on vinyl
because it sounded really great! And guess what, because they did press it onto
vinyl and kindly sent me a copy of their lovely first vinyl album! All I can
say is WOW!!! It sounds amazing and without a doubt, this is going to be one of
my favorite vinyl albums of 2023! Anyway, THE PH PROJECT consists of many more
musicians besides Paul and Hugh, because also on board are vocalist/bassist
CHRIS PAUL OVERALL, drummers ANTOINE ARVIZU and DREW MCGARITY, guitarists
ROBBIE ALLEN and MIKE GLINESS, bassists MATTHEW JACOVIDES and STEVE MCNEIL and
organist R. SCOTT. Slow Burn is the first official album they have released and
it is definitely one you need to check out, because the included music is of a
very high level. The vinyl record sounds sensational as well, while the
packaging is also really nice, as it is a gatefold LP with all the lyrics and
pictures on the inside. 12 songs are included in total, and opener Slow Burn is
a fantastic slowtempo rocker that combines strong melodies with a great sorta
bluesy groovy guitar riff that also throws in a sorta prog touch (KING'S X
meets LIVING COLOUR!).
As already mentioned in an earlier review
of THE PH PROJECT's music, the lead vocals are truly superb, and they make the
difference here, because Chris Paul has an amazing voice with a relaxing tone
that just give that extra needed soul into the music. The guitarwork is also
phenomenal, and all together the picture is perfect here musically speaking. Also
following track Mountain is a superb (midtempo) melodic rocker with a catchy
chorus and a fantastic guitarsolo. Shine slows things down to a very emotional
level, because this is a lovely powerful AOR ish ballad with once again the
wonderful melodic vocalwork and also some nice dramatic piano parts to give the
song a boost into classic power ballad heaven. Next tune Be With Me takes a
slight turn into classic late 80s uptempo melodic hardrock/hair metal heaven,
including a VAN HALEN guitar riff and a catchy bridge and chorus in the
FIREHOUSE style! As you can see there is a lot of diversity going on here! Next
Time is for example an THE BLACK KEYS meets LED ZEPPELIN kinda groovy retro
bluesy midtempo rocker, and on vinyl it sounds really sensational! Pretty
Little Monster closes side A of the vinyl record, and this is a great slowtempo
KING'S X kinda rocker that will also appeal to the progfans out there I think.
Side B opens with The Hammer, a groovy
bluesy guitar riff dominated rocker that has again the THE BLACK KEYS
similarities, although the chorus is really massive in an almost 80s Metal
kinda direction (DIO/ACCEPT meets I Love Rock N Roll-JOAN JETT), while
following Bacon And Eggs has a cool AC/DC guitar riff, yet the song itself is a
late 60s bluesy rocker that as the song progresses shows again what an amazing
singer Chris is, but also the guitar parts really kick ass! Shake A Little
Something is up next, and this is a really nice 60s inspired uptempo garage/MOD
rocker like early THE WHO and THE KINKS. Fun Gone Bad is a strong catchy
uptempo melodic rocker with a powerpop feeling of the early 80s (THE KNACK/THE
CARS). Secret Place is a groovy modern retro soulful bluesy tune that would
make JOE BONAMASSA, MARCUS KING or KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD very jealous I think,
and finally Detroit Song closes the album in a calmer semi melodic bluesy rock
direction with a killer chorus, and basically this is just another superb tune!
Concluded, we have something really
special here, because there is so much going on this vinyl record. It feels
like a trip down memory lane to all kinda of rock decades, from the 1960s until
now. I can only say to you to get yourself a copy of the record, because you
will NOT be disappointed at all! One of the biggest surprises of 2023! More
info at: https://thephproject.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.9 out of 10)
BIG RED FIRE TRUCK ‘TROUBLE IN PARADISE’ (BIRD’S ROBE
RECORDS/MGM/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Hold
your horses, because here is BIG RED FIRE TRUCK from Sydney, Australia. They
were formed in 2016 by Digby (Guitar and Lead Vocals), who gathered 3 more
musicians around him (Ben Frank (Guitar), Pete Grant (Drums and Vocals) and
Nick Frazier (Bass) to pay homage to their shared love for 80s Hardrock.
Trouble In Paradise is their 2nd EP so far, and I must say I am
quite impressed! They simply blow away the FRONTIERS RECORDS wannabee 80s
productions, because BIG RED FIRE TRUCK sounds more authentic and the 5 (+
intro) songs on this new EP CD are an absolute winner for the fans of modern
80s retro Hardrockacts like CRAZY LIXX, RECKLESS LOVE, H.E.A.T., THE NIGHT
FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, WICKED, etc. etc. but recall even more the days of ICON, KNOW
ILLUSION, SLYBOYZ, DOKKEN, FIREHOUSE, DANGER DANGER, MELIDIAN, VALENTINE, etc.
etc. Digby has a great voice which is perfectly suitable for this kind of rock,
and the melodies of all the songs are very catchy and memorable, while the
guitar riffs, solo’s and licks are all you want to hear in an 80s rock flash
memory, and thankfully the production is top-notch as well. BIRD’S ROBE RECORDS
is their label, and usually we have prog, instrumental complex post-rock or
metal orientated releases on that Australian label, but here we have pure 80s
Hardrock! It al starts with the synthwave intro Neon Sunsets, but when
titletrack Trouble In Paradise kicks in, we are heading straight into classic
lovely uptempo 80s catchy AOR/Melodic Rock at a very high level that even
reminds me of legendary Aussie acts like SAFIRE, BLACK ICE, ICE TOGER, ROXUS,
early AVION, etc. etc. This is exactly the way it needs to be done, including
the important brilliant hooks, catchy choruses, strong vocals and soaring
guitar solos! Nex song Love Bite is a somewhat tougher midtempo melodic hardrock
tune that has the late 80s/early 90s groovy vibe of SOUTHGANG, the very first
SKID ROW and FIREHOUSE. Psychotropic Thunder picks up the catchy uptempo 80s
melodic rocksound again, and this time it is close to the very early HAREM
SCAREM sound, while there is also a cool VAN HALEN guitar riff to be found.
Miami Skies follows in a typical modern Scandi Melodic Rock direction, so a
dead ringer for fans of H.E.A.T. and THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA. Closing the EP
is Hot Summer Nights, a fantastic uptempo melodic rocker with a killer AOR
chorus a la SAFIRE, and just listen to the guitarsound, it is 80s Hair Metal
Heaven! Basically, this EP includes everything you love (or hate) about the
80s. BIG RED FIRE TRUCK brings back the fun and melodies into this world, so go
check them out a.s.a.p. at: https://bigredfiretruck.bandcamp.com/album/trouble-in-paradise
(Points: 9.0 out of 10)
HEMINA ‘ROMANCING THE ETHER’ (BIRD’S ROBE
RECORDS/MGM/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
I was
not familiar with the Australian band HEMINA, but apparently Romancing The
Ether is their 5th album so far. The band is formed around Douglas Skene -
Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Mitch Coull - Guitar, Vocals, Jessica Martin - Bass,
Vocals and Nathan McMahon - Drums, Vocals, and this new EP (only 35 minutes of
playing time) CD is a rarity, because it has an unique sound that should be
described as melodic progressive metal at first sight, but sounding just a bit
different if you listen further. You might put them somewhere between HAKEN and
PAGAN’S MIND. The production and sound is massive, and the band is focused on
mixing instrumental complexity with catchy melodic vocal driven choruses.
Romancing the Ether is actually 1 song, but divided into 6 parts, and the album
has over 100-part choral vocal arrangements, live orchestral strings and
8-string guitars, while the prog metal of HEMINA also contains influences from
neo-soul, world music, ambient, and psytrance, so there is a lot to discover
here, although I feel fans of HAKEN, DEVIN TOWNSEND and such will mostly like
this band. They are doing a great job, and I am definitely going to check out
their earlier releases. Meanwhile you can find all info on them at: https://hemina.bandcamp.com/album/romancing-the-ether
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
TANGLED THOUGHTS OF LEAVING ‘OSCILLATING FOREST’
(BIRD’S ROBE RECORDS/DUNK! RECORDS/MGM/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
TANGLED
THOUGHTS OF LEAVING are an
instrumental band from Perth, Western Australia, and their latest album is
titled Oscillating Forest. The band is formed around Ron Pollard - Piano,
Synth, Gracie Smith - Drums, Trinkets, Paul Briggs - Guitar, Flute, Recorder
and Luke Pollard - Bass., and this new CD starts quite extreme and very heavy
on the instrumental progressive post-rock/metal side of life when listening to
Sudden Peril, but following track Ghost Albatross puts the band into a more
interesting relaxing calmer instrumental post-prog direction that will please
the fans of LONG DISTANCE CALLING. The album has a lot of diversity, although
it is as mentioned an instrumental post-rock based album, but already on the
first 2 songs you can smell that they are eager to do things differently, and
that makes them a recommended band to check out at: https://ttol.bandcamp.com/album/oscillating-forest
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
BUCK 69 'NO MEDICINE LIKE THE BLUES' (INDEPENDENT/USA
IMPORT)
Formed
in 2002, the Toledo, Ohio, USA based BUCK 69 has become a father and son blues
rock band that mixes old and new blues styles with rootsy rock and Americana to
come up with an own original authentic style. The band’s line up consists of
Tom Clawson - singer/songwriter - rhythm guitar, Alex Clawson - rhythm/lead
guitar - bass – vocals, Candice Coleman Lange – vocals, John Sevilla - lead
guitar - bass – vocals, Randy Paredes - lead/rhythm/slide guitar, B.J. Love –
keyboards and David Alan - drums – vocals, and No Medicine Like The Blues is
their 2nd CD, which was released in 2013, so its’s already 10 years old, but
for this kind of blues rock that doesn’t matter, because what they are creating
on the album is timeless music. I have to admit that the bluesy rock sounds
really good, and I am somewhat surprised that it hasn’t been picked up by the
European press yet, and the fact that the band didn’t release a new album new
since then is also a pity, because the album is quite impressive for an
independent release. 16 songs are included in total, and especially towards the
end of the album things become a bit more uptempo Southern Rock orientated
during great songs like Don’t Shave My Beard, My Car and All Night Long, while
most of the rest of the album has the described mix of blues (old and new
style), rootsy rock and Americana, which also sounds really good, but those 3
rockers seem to be working really well, and vocally speaking I am absolutely in
love with the 2 songs (Without My Baby and Carry On) that are sung by Candice,
because she has a fantastic voice. Altogether, this is a very enjoyable band
and advise for the band would be to record a full new album with more of those
shared lead vocals between Tom and Clarence, add some more uptempo southern
fried rockers, and then you basically have a sensational band in the pocket.
The band did record a new song by the way, which is Peace Maker, a lovely
relaxing melodic bluesy rock tune with a fantastic guitar solo (JOE
BONAMASSA/KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD style), so let’s hope they will be able to
record a full album soon. Go check out BUCK 69 at: https://buck69.bandcamp.com/album/no-medicine-like-the-blues and http://www.buck69.net/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
MORGANWAY 'BACK TO ZERO' (INDEPENDENT/UK IMPORT)
Although
the band MORGANWAY has won several awards in the country/Americana scene, their
music is slightly rockier and in fact does have an 80s rock approach on their
new album Back To Zero. The band is formed around the fantastic soulful voice
of lead singer, S.J. (Sarah Jane) Mortimer (who also plays guitar and
tambourine), twin brothers Callum Morgan - lead vocals, bass, acoustic, guitar
& backing vocals and Kieran Morgan - lead guitar & backing vocals, Matt
Brocklehurst - piano, organ, synth & backing vocals, Ed ‘Steady’ Bullinger -
drums, percussion & backing vocals and Nicole J Terry - violin &
backing vocals. The band started somewhere in the mid-2010s, and they played
recently a tour supporting ELLES BAILEY, while Back To Zero is their 3rd album
so far. The album kicks off with a superb song, which is Wait For Me, a catchy
uptempo 80s style Melodic Poprock/AOR rocker (with modern approach) that does
remind me a bit of classic ROMEO’S DAUGHTER, SAHARA, SARAYA, WITNESS, ROBIN
BECK and early PAT BENATAR. Sarah is a truly amazing lead singer, who has a
soul tone in her voice and she literally can sing everything, and actually here
and there she even reminds me of ADELE, but then rocking out big time
thankfully! The midtempo/semi-ballad Come Over follows, and is another great
tune, which this time has a slight bluesy touch a la ALANNAH MYLES, yet with
also memories of LARKIN POE, JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR and BETH HART. I have to make
compliments to the band in general itself as well, because the musicians play
very tight and it all sounds very fresh to my ears besides the lovely
vocalwork, and the sound of the album is by the way also massive for sure!
There’s enough diversity between the songs, while the addition of a violinist
in the line up is making it things quite interesting. Although the first couple
of songs are of a very high level, there are also a few weaker songs to be
found later on the album such as the poppy bombastic World Stopped Running
(ABBA meets COCK ROBIN meets late 80s FLEETWOOD MAC), We Were Going Nowhere and
closing track Brother (an indie ish pop/rocker that features Callum on vocals).
On the other hand, besides those 3 weaker songs you get the first 2 sensational
songs and 4 more great songs, which are Burn Every Page (interesting huge
sounding midtempo slightly progressive rocker a la KARNATAKA and MOSTLY
AUTUMN), The Sweetest Goodbye (nice piano ballad with superstrong vocals), The
Man (lovely uptempo AOR with beautiful melodies, perhaps the best song, a bit
reminding me of FIGHTER, the Christian band of the early 90s crossed with THE
CORRS) and Back To Zero (slightly sweeter uptempo melodic poprock like THE
CORRS meets ABBA). Concluded, the soulful vocals of Sarah are amazing, the
songs are mostly really good fresh sounding melodic rock orientated and the
production is picture perfect, so I can definitely recommend this great British
band! More info
at: https://morganway.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-zero
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
ALWAID 'TWELVE DAEMONS' (VALKYRIE RISING/SONIC
RENDESVOUS)
Twelve
Daemons is the 3rd album of the French band ALWAID. This female
fronted melodic metal band is formed around MARIE PERRIER (vocals), MAX RENARD
(guitars), DENIZ PEKIN (bass) and ROBIN GRABMANN (drums), and they have been
active for over 10 years now. The new album shows their development of the past
5 years, and despite it all might not sound really original, they are doing at
a very high level. Marie is a fantastic high pitched/soprano singer who is
perfect for the kind of music that ALWAID is creating, which is typical
European (or should I say Dutch/Finnish/Nordic) symphonic female fronted
melodic (power) metal that is dangerously close to EPICA, WITHIN TEMPTATION,
AFTER FOREVER, NIGHTWISH, etc. etc. It’s bombastic, massive and quite melodic,
with a few grunts here and there, but the focus is melodies and thanks Marie
ALWAID is lifted above the ground from all those other bands that are active in
this direction. Highlights on their new album are The Rose, The Fox and The
Snake (lovely midtempo piece a la WITHIN TEMPTATION), The Philosopher’s Run
(superb uptempo catchy tune a la EPICA), A Paradox In Red And Black (superb
bombastic Symphonic Melodic Power/Prog) and The Sorrow Of Search (faster like
NIGHTWISH meets AFTER FOREVER). Fans of aforementioned bands can blindly check
out this strong French band at: https://alwaid.bandcamp.com/album/twelve-daemons-limited-edition-digipack
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
IRONBORN 'AFTER THE FLOOD' (INDEPENDENT/BELGIUM
IMPORT)
Originally
formed in 2013, the Belgian Heavy Metal band IRONBORN started as a cover band,
but eventually they started to write their own material, which now results 10
years later in their first official full-length album that has been released
independently. The band is formed around Tom Hugelier (vocals), John Mortelez
(guitar), Jan Versnick (bass), Tom Deblauwe (drums) and Bjorn Coysman (guitar),
and this debut album contains 9 songs in total. The band is clearly playing old
school 80s Melodic Heavy Metal with some 80s Bay Area Thrash Metal influences
and a slight touch of modern (90s) Metal. They sound quite tight, vocally it is
definitely in shape, and this album isn’t bad at all generally speaking. Opener
Bloodbound mixes all the influences perfectly, as this is a classic mix of 80s
Bay Area Thrash Metal and a Melodic Metal chorus, while the guitarwork is also
really impressive. Especially during the instrumental Destiny’s Revenge we can
hear excellent sensational 80s melodic metal in a style that reminds me of
RACER X and CACOPHONY. The band goes further into pure uptempo Melodic Metal a
la DREAM EVIL, HAMMERFALL, MAIDEN all the way during the lovely Prison Grounds,
while After The Flood sets them in a catchy Swedish Melodic Power Metal setting
(a la NOCTURNAL RITES, NOSTRADAMEUS) but as already mentioned the Thrash Metal
influences are present in most of the songs as well and make them sound a bit
like MYSTIC PROPHECY overall. One exception to everything that is mentioned
here is the great epic melodic power ballad 1568 that has even SAVATAGE and
NEVERMORE references. Vocally as mentioned Tom has a good voice, and perhaps
production wise it could all improve on a future record, but in general this
IRONBORN is a band to watch out for. More info at: https://www.facebook.com/IronbornOfficial/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
PRYDIAN 'THE GATES OF ARAMORE' (LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
PRYDIAN
is a band/project created by the American guitarist AUSTIN DIXON, who is a
former guitarist and founding member of the Power Metal band SONIC PROPHECY. He
always had a fascination for big epic projects like AVANTASIA, AYREON’s STAR
ONE, AINA and such European all-star projects, so he created his own, which is
called PRYDIAN that now releases their debut The Gates Of Aramore. Besides
Austin on guitars, there is help of vocalist MIKE LIVAS (TIMO TOLKKI, SILENT
WINTER), Danish keyboardplayer JONAH WEINGARTEN (PRYAMAZE) and
guitarist/bassist BOB KATSIONIS (FIREWIND, he also produced the album), while
there are several guest appearances as well. The music is European based
melodic (Power) Metal, sounding quite bombastic and orchestral, with even some
Folk influences here and there. There are quite a lot comparisons possible to
the aforementioned bands, although RHAPSODY comes to mind most of the time,
especially during the faster songs such as the titletrack The Gates Of Aramore.
It all sounds quite nice overall, but PRYDIAN sounds at their best during the
more midtempo orientated pieces such as Sail The Seas. However, my main concern
is the fact that vocally it is quite a bit over-dramatic sounding, and I think
you really need to be a fan of RHAPSODY kinda Hollywood epic bombastic Power
Metal to appreciate this PRYDIAN. It’s not bad at all, especially since this is
their debut album, but holding back a few times on a future record would be a
recommendation. More info at: www.prydianmetal.com
(Points: 7.5 out of 10)
WONDERS 'BEYOND THE MIRAGE' (LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
Beyond
The Mirage is the 2nd album of the Italian melodic power metal
band WONDERS, and actually this is a spin-off side-project of several EVEN FLOW
members, an Italian progressive metal band that exists since the late 90s. On
this new WONDERS album the line up consists of MARCO PASTORINO (vocals), PIETRO
PAOLO LUNESU (guitars), BOB KATSIONIS (keys), LUCA NEGRO (bass) and GIORGIO
LUNESU (drums), and together they create a classic Italo Power Metal album that
has a lot of lovely melodies and memories of bands like LABYRINTH, SECRET
SPHERE and WONDERLAND. There is a nice mixture of faster uptempo pieces and
more melodic (almost) hard rock orientated songs. This makes it a joy to listen
to the album, and due to the strong high pitched dramatic vocals of Marco it
all sounds very melodic and catchy. I think this might well be one of the
strongest Italo (Power) Melodic Metal releases of the past few years, and as
highlights on their new album I would like to mention songs like One Million
Miles (faster picture-perfect catchy memorable chorus driven Italo
Neo-Classical Melodic Power Metal like early LABYRINTH), Breaking The Chains
(more uptempo melodic hardrock orientated, like FAIR WARNING, PRETTY MAIDS and
DOKKEN), Here I Go Again (cool guitar riffs, amazing guitar solo and a strong
melodic chorus, kinda combines the fast Italo Power Metal with the more smooth
Melodic Hardrock), Coming Home (cool keys at the start), Into The Light (hello
SECRET SPHERE!) and the surprising All My Home (a beautiful calmer AORish
ballad). Concluded, this is a must-have for fans of especially LABYRINTH,
SECRET SPHERE and WONDERLAND! More info at: https://wonders-metal.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-mirage
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
THE MARSHALS ‘LE PIT CHAM SESSION’
(FLOWER COAST/XANGO MUSIC)
I was unfamiliar with the French band
THE MARSHALS, but upon hearing their 4th album I am definitely
going to do a research on them, because this is absolutely sensational
musically speaking! The threesome consists of Laurent Siguret (Harmonica),
Thomas Duchézeau (Drums), Julien Robalo (Guitar, Vocals), and they bring us a
style that fits somewhere between Chicago Blues, Swamp Southern Blues and a
touch of British Blues Rock, and I have to admit they are doing it extremely
well! The new album Le Pit Charm Session starts with the lovely swinging groovy
Americana/country/bluesy mixture rocking Rolling that immediately grabs you and
doesn’t let go! Following Oh MY is a great uptempo piece that puts you back
straight into the late 60s/early 70s, kinda like CANNED HEAT and PAUL BUTTERFIELD
BLUES BAND or even BUDDY GUY/BB KING/MUDDY WATERS! Witches shows what an
incredible lead singer this band has, because Julien has got a perfect voice
for this kind of bluesy rootsy rock/Chicago Blues that has one of its absolute
highlights during the superb Witches. This song sounds like a true blues rock
classic, but is definitely an original THE MARSHALS song. The band also does a
cover of TONY JOE WHITE (Elements And Things), and the only pity might be that
the CD only has 9 (short) songs, because you definitely want to hear much more.
Songs like the midtempo Howl, Troublemaker or the amazing CREAM/JIMI HENDRIX
alike New Dawn sound like future classics, and this CD definitely needs to be
in your collection if you’re a fan of old school late 60s harmonica/vocal
driven Chicago meets British bluesy rock! There is not a single weak moment on
the album, so make sure not to miss this CD. More info at: https://themarshals.bandcamp.com/album/le-ptit-cham-session
(Points: 8.9 out of 10)
PROCHNO ‘P3’
(GUSSTAFF RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
Now this is a very exciting record that
stands on it’s own musically speaking, as it is very experimental. PROCHNO is a
3-piece band from Poland, consisting of Marcel Gawinecki - bass, synths,
vocals, Bartosz Leśniewski - guitar, synths, vocals and Artur Sofiński –
percussion, and their music is quite close to krautrock if you want to label
it, but there is a lot more to discover here, and I have to say it is very
exciting instrumental music that crosses diverse music genres, which are mainly
progressive rock, krautrock, synthwave, world music, jazz and so much more.
Just listen to the superb Spluwa or the haunting closing track Powtarzan to
understand what I’m talking about. It puts you in a sorta trance like what
happened once to yours truly when I heard the song Tusk by FLEETWOOD MAC for
the first time about 40 years ago! This is one of those albums you need to hear
for yourself to check what it’s all about, especially interesting for people
who want to hear something unique and original, then this is definitely a
highly recommended album because there is so much to hear on this CD! More info
at: https://prochno.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
FRA! ‘CHALE WOTE’ (WALBOOMERS
MUSIC/FRA BAND COMPANY/XANGO MUSIC)
Sadly due to some other clashes to see
other performances at the North Sea Jazz festival recently, I only saw a short
part of the live performance of the band FRA!, but thankfully here is the CD
they just released. FRA! is a band from Accra, Ghana which consists of young
people from different backgrounds. The name “Fra” comes from the Akan word
which means “mix” and this is a reference to the elements of fusion which is
found in their music. Chale Wote is their 3rd album so far, and
their music is swinging funky groovy African music that combines different
genres such as World Music, Desert Rock, Jazz and Funk rhythms with
African/Caribbean vocals/melodies, but the band is also open to introduce other
styles (some Reggae, Latin grooves, etc.), and the result is an exciting fun
album to enjoy from start to finish. I absolutely love the perfection of the
catchy Dumsor, Set Me Free and Yeni Abre that also have fantastic soaring
guitarsolos! These guys sure know how to write catchy fun music that indeed
belongs on a festival like NORTH SEA JAZZ. I am quite convinced they will
return someday and then play on a larger stage. Recommended also if you like
for example acts like CYMANDE, CHA WA and of course any fan of funky jazz
African style need to check out FRA! On the other hand a song like the
titletrack Chale Wote even sounds like an African version of SANTANA meets
EARTH, WIND & FIRE, so I guess you can see this will appeal to a lot of
people! More info at: https://thebandfra.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
BHOLOJA ‘IMPHILO’ (ONE WORLDS
MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
Now here we have a very interesting
release from Hhohho, Kingdom of Eswatini (former Swaziland). It is the new
album of singer/songwriter/guitarist BHOLOJA, who is one of the most important
musicians from Eswatini at the moment. His music is called Swazisoul, which is
a mix of African Pop and Western Soul, and I have to admit that he sounds
really good and musically speaking is somewhere between SEAL, JOHN MAYER, STING
and YOUSSOU N'DOUR. 11 songs are included in total, and it all starts very calm
and quite original, a soulful bluesy African kinda version of JOHN MAYER it
seems when listening to the beautiful opener Socalile, and actually all of the
songs are very smooth, relaxed and in a kinda light groovy soulful bluesy
direction. Other highlights are Akukho Fecela Wamfenyana, Don't Worry and
Kwentiwa Yini?, and I am quite convinced that Bholoja could become a popular
musician outside his home country as well, because he has a rather unique
sound/voice that should go down very well at especially a North Sea Jazz
festival. Check out more at: http://www.bholoja.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
MONTY WARREN 'LIFE OF CRIME/FAR OUT CLOSE UP'
(INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
MONTY WARREN comes out of the Raleigh, North Carolina
/ Florida area and he was kind enough to send me a couple of his albums. He
plays guitar and sings all of his self-written tunes that musically speaking
are a mix of a lot of classic late 70s/early 80s powerpop, a bit of garage rock
and some blues (especially on his previous album Far Out Close Up). Here and
there we have a clear TOM PETTY comparison (just listen to Circle The Wagons,
which also has THE BEATLES influences), but also some other similarities come
to mind while listening to his melodic pop/rock. In the past members of THE
GEORGIA SATELLITES, WHISKEYTOWN and THE FACES appeared on his solo albums, but
this time he is joined by Roderick Kohn (guitar, bass, piano), Chris Peet
(drums) and a few other musicians. Opener and titletrack Life Of Crime of his new
solo album is a rather catchy uptempo powerpop piece that sounds like a cross
between TOM PETTY and PHIL SEYMOUR. Although there are sadly not much more of
such uptempo pieces, as the rest of the CD is somewhat slower, there are still
quite some highlights such as Something Happened that changes halfway into a
great epic rocking tune, and the most rockiest tune Dude! And actually all 10
songs are a joy to listen to. Most of the material will be interesting for fans
of TOM PETTY, PHIL SEYMOUR, GRAHAM PARKER, ELVIS COSTELLO and even very early
R.E.M. (especially vocally speaking), although on the other hand you can also
hear that Monty adds his own modern rock signature to most of the songs. If you
want to find out more on this talented musician please go to: https://monty-warren.com/info
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
BIG WOLF BAND 'LIVE & HOWLIN' (INDEPENDENT/MAD
HAT/UK IMPORT)
Formed
in Birmingham in 2014, blues rock outfit BIG WOLF BAND is fronted by acclaimed
guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Jonathan Earp and Mick Jeynes on bass, while
the rest of the line up consists of drummer TIM JONES, guitarist JUSTIN JOHNSON
and keyboardplayer ROBIN FOX. The band plays Blues Rock at a very high level,
and especially the guitarwork of Jonathan is amazing. He lets the guitar sing,
and that is basically the best you can do, but he also sings rather well, both
his singing and his guitarplaying is in a GARY MOORE kinda direction. The band
released 2 studio albums in the past and Live & Howlin’ is a lovely new
live CD that consists of 14 original songs which shows that this band is on
fire live on stage! Opener Heaven’s Got The Blues is a great catchy uptempo
bluesy rocker with a lovely guitarsolo, and actually it continues all the way,
with a lot of cool catchy uptempo blues rockers such as I Don’t Love You, Love
That Hurts, Better Man, Walk In My Shoes and Rolling With Thunder, although
there’s also the calmer moment such as during the beautiful ballads Looking In
Your Eyes, If I Ever Loved Another Woman and Never That Easy (even a bit AORish
with the piano-keys upfront). BIG WOLF BAND is definitely a highly recommended
blues rock band that hopefully will also enter the European scene someday soon!
More info at: https://bigwolfband.com/album/2402297/live-howlin
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
AXTION 'LOOK OUT FOR THE NIGHT' (LOST REALM
RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
In the
1980s there were so many bands active, but only a few really made it big, and
even less survived eventually. AXTION from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was one of
those bands that only managed to release 1 album in 1985, which is a pity,
because especially their guitarist DARREN LAZZARI is very underrated, and his
band AXTION delivered a lovely piece of 80s Metal. LOST REALM RECORDS released
the album onto CD a few years ago, and they included a nice CD booklet that
contains additional info and pictures of a time and period in music history
that should never be forgotten (and will never return!). The band consisted of
Randy Amos – lead vocals, Darren Lazzari – lead/rhythm guitar and vocals,
Michael Weldon – rhythm guitar, Michael Brett – bass guitar and G.T. Mitchell –
drums and percussion. The original 9 songs are included here, as well as 2
bonustracks of different versions of 2 of the AXTION songs. The CD opens with 2
hard hitting pure early 80s uptempo melodic metal pieces in the shape of Road
Runnin’ and Spread The Action that have clear RIOT similarities, while Hold Me
Tight is a more commercial Melodic Hardrocksong with a cool DOKKEN guitar riff.
Basically this is 80s hardrock/metal all the way, because it continues this way
with a lot of pure early 80s melodic hardrock/heavy rock/metal in the RIOT and
Y&T Earthshaker style (just listen to the superb guitarsolo’s of Fury Of
The Tempest, Your Numbers Up and Precious Rock) and here and there a slightly
more commercial 80s Hollywood Hardrock/Hair Metal orientated piece such as the
DOKKEN/ROUGH CUTT/FASTWAYish Shoot For The Stars (which has a phenomenal
guitarsolo by the way!). All together it also reminds me of JACK STARR as well,
while the midtempo DIOish Look Out For The Night and Stand Up! (For What You
Believe In) are also
strong memorable songs, so any fan of 80s Rock/Metal need to check out this CD
in case you never heard about it. This album is an underrated piece for sure,
and just recently it was more or less restarted by the band’s guitarist Darren,
which you can read in the review of his solo CD It Never Comes Easy. More info
at: https://www.facebook.com/darren.lazzari/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
DARREN LAZZARI AXTIAN 'IT NEVER COMES EASY'
(INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Lead
guitarist DARREN LAZZARI of AXTION was kind enough to sent me his new CD It
Never Comes Easy as well besides the earlier reviewed AXTION CD. The difference
with AXTION is that on this new CD he did everything on his own (also the
vocals!), which is quite impressive, because when listening to it, it feels
like we are listening to a real full band like AXTION was. The band is now
called AXTIAN, and operates in a more Christian Hardrock format that is as
mentioned completely formed around Darren alone. Everything was recently
recorded with no computers involved, so the real old school deal, and you can
hear that very clearly in a positive way. The first 4 songs were originally
intended to end up on a 2nd AXTION album that was never
recorded, while the other songs are all brand-new. 9 songs are included, and
opener Lights, Camera, Axtian! is pure classic early 80s midtempo Melodic
Hardrock/Hair Metal with a sorta RATT/KEEL/ICON meets VAN HALEN (especially the
harmonyvocals) approach. Following So What’d You Find Out has a 70s KISS guitar
riff and is a rather cool old school rocker with a superb guitarsolo as if the
80s never left us! Metal Shock! Is pure classic 80s Metal with a Hair Metal
touch like a better version of RATT, MOTLEY CRUE, TEAZE and such. All Nite Long
is a more faster uptempo classic Metal piece like the AXTION debut album, while
The Girl I Go With is one of the ‘new’ songs, which musically speaking is also
quite different. This song is actually an early 80s catchy uptempo melodic
powerpop/rock piece like a mix between CHEAP TRICK, VAN HALEN (a lighter
version) and KISS (70s riff), including a lovely hook and singable hand-clap
chorus, so definitely less hardrock/metal orientated than the AXTION stuff, but
not bad at all.
It
Never Comes Easy is one of the 4 new AXTIAN Christian Rocksongs Darren
recorded, and this is another midtempo VAN HALENish 80s style Melodic Metal
piece (with a perfect guitarsolo like you don’t hear much these days), so it is
quite promising to see that a future full-length AXTIAN album will be very
interesting for the fans of old school 80s Hardrock/Hair Metal! Live &
Learn follows, and this opens with a big fat 80s fists-in-the-air guitar riff,
so another midtempo 80s Metal piece (with a slight early 80S MOTLEY CRUE
approach, although the superb guitarsolo blows away all of the CRUE
similarities). O-We-Are (Soldiers Of God) is in the same direction, while
closing track Walking In The Light is one of the finest songs on the album,
because this is a very strong midtempo melodic hardrock tune that reminds me a
bit of TALAS and FIFTH ANGEL.
Welcome
back after almost 40 years! The only difference is that Darren does everything
on his own nowadays, and the band is now called AXTIAN. I look forward to a
future full-length CD by this interesting one-man’s band! More info at: https://www.facebook.com/darren.lazzari/ and https://www.ebay.com/itm/374576143812
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
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