MONGREL: "Reclamation"

Rating: RR
Label: ThomHazert/HeadFirstEntertainment 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Mongrel, underground metal-punks aka local heroes from Boston, Massachusetts and according to the press-release one of the East Coast's strongest independent act. They've been touring up and down the coast for nearly a decade now, sharing stages with diverse acts such as The Misfits, Korn, GWAR, Prong, Fu Manchu, Fear, The Exploited, etc, etc.

"Reclamation" - their latest rage and power fueled effort, finally up for release after four year, five band members, two studios, two labels, and countless hours getting the songs recorded and released. It's a rather basic and very energetic album with just as much punk as metal influence. After replacing their previous male singer with Jessica Sierra from the band Affliction, they now have a very capable as well as flexible vocalist upfront. Truth be told, she's the best thing about this record.

Lyrically, we are not impressed. In fact, we are rather "Bored To Death" (opening track off Reclamation). Wearing four-letter words on their sleeves like it's some kind of badge of honor? Seriously, what's the real message behind the lyric if every other word is either f**k or s**t? Sure, it's anarchy, intriguing to the pre-teen living in the states? Are they or are they not segregated by church and state? (free speech - U.S. media vs. politic vs. religion? etc, etc). Nontheless, it's juvenile and dare I say idiotic? Metal, punk, sludge, and rap ingredients, it's frankly not enough to save this from status below average.
www.mongrelband.com

MY JERUSALEM: "Preachers"

Rating: RRR
Label: The End Records 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Preachers, the sophomore release from Austin's My Jerusalem has the rather dark and sinister theme going on in the background. Founder and singer Jeff Klein (ex-Gutter Twins, The Twilight Singers) describes it as the Post-Modern Southern Gothic Soul album surrounded by beautiful, comforting, darkness. It's real, not selfish, according to the mad hatter and Klein's baritone vocals are ever so moody and emotionally black.

Now, I haven't been listening to their debut (only to some of Klein's solo material), but it's supposedly a much lighter and easier going effort. Here, the opening title track literally reeks of big drama, grand piano, avant-garde, a special nod to religion or rather the lack of religious beliefs? as the lyric tells about blood, sin, and lines such as 'this preacher ain't no pacifist'.

Klein and company have basically decided to remove hard drives and laptops to make way for old school analog tape machines and vintage keyboards. Making this more into and about expression and in the vein of the complex music of The Mission and The Velvet Underground? You need to spin this several times and really spend quality time to get the full picture. Not exactly 'easy listening' and My Jerusalem are definitely nocturnal creatures with a soft spot for the macabre. I do however miss the important change of pace and tempo and the choruses are not always razor sharp.

Preachers - moments of clarity followed by layers of smoothing (slow/mid tempo) darkness that abruptly shifts into modern lounge music for the broken hearted? Yep... nailed it !
www.thisismyjerusalem.com

T&N: "Slave To The Empire"

Rating: RRRr
Label: earMusic/Edel 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The Don's last stand, "Broken Bones", came out the other month and we could witness the end of the Dokken era/empire? The former band members (Jeff Pilson - vocals/bass, George Lynch - guitars, Mick Brown - drums) are however still under the influence of the evil emperor? Well, at least according to their new album title, "Slave To the Empire". Not to mention that T&N stands for Tooth & Nail (the Dokken album) and that 5 out of 12 tracks are Dokken re-recordings with special guests on lead vocals. The new stuff feature Brian Tiachy on drums while Mick Brown handles the oldies.

The new stuff first. The CD kicks off with the smoking title track that will instantly remind you of the good old days. Flashy guitar work by Lynch and Pilson sings his heart out. The strong presence of tracks such as "Sweet Unknown" and "Rhythm Of The Soul" are indeed at the heart of the meta(l)morphosis that at first will have you thinking about Led Zep, while the latter is just a nice throw-back to the mid/slow tempo tracks. "When Eagles Die" -again, the mixture of Page-ish licks and Dokken. Unfortunately, "Jesus Train", as well as "Access Denied", are somewhat disjointed with the obvious lack of proper hooks. Overall, not too shabby and slightly better than Don's work.

The old stuff. I find it a bit weird to listen to some of the re-recordings and I'm not exactly sold on ex-Judas Priest's Ripper Owens singing "Kiss Of Death". Very metal, over-the-top, and frankly annoying, due to Ripper's constant need to express himself as the bad-ass vocalist with little or no finess. Lynch hates (Dokken) power ballads, that's what he says in each and every interview. Thus why, "Alone Again", certainly is the surprise with Seb Bach (Skid Row) on lead vocals. Doug Pinnick (King's X) sings "Tooth and Nail" and no surprise here, it sounds like King's X performing Dokken. Lynch Mob, Warrant vocalist Robert Mason (It's Not Love) and Jeff Pilson (Into the Fire) are both close to the originals and you'll notice exactly how much Pilson contributed to vocal melodies/harmonies in the past.

Final verdict: The originals are still the best and do not expect to find anything remotely similar to "It's Not Love" amongst the brand new tracks. Not bad though, not bad at all.

FANTASY RAINBOW: "Bos Taurus"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Heist Records 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

19 year old Indie Rock kid from Manchester records debut album in Nashville?? Bloody'ell, it's like reading one of those awful headlines by The Sun. Completely unbelivable and utterly false? But no, the pale slacker kid brought up on deep fried mars-bars, bangers and mash, chips, and pudding, gets invited to record in Nashville, Tennessee, US of A, in Sputnik Sound Studios run by Grammy Award winning producer, Vance Powell (Jack White etc).

North East U.K. footie gone country U.S. soccer? Well, Fantasy Rainbow (dodgy monicker?) is in fact the project of Oliver Catt, and no, we don't know if he's sporting a blue or red jersey. Last year, however, the eighteen year old, recorded four songs with the help of friend Coddington, a collaboration which led to a demo which would generate a large amount of buzz in the north east music scene.

Over the next nine months Fantasy Rainbow would go on to release three releases in the shape of the 'Teens' EP, the 'No Hope. Not Ever' EP and the 'Healthy Lung, Dirty Lung' cassette. Really? the old cassette? Yeah, simply get in touch with the Catt and he'll soon hook you up with the old skool tape and he'll hand draw the cover too?! Just in case anyone was wondering, it's hardly the Oasis or Joy Division based material. However, to really simplify things, there are fragments and tiny bits and pieces of the mellow work of Beck, Daniel Johnston, and old skool George Harrison (the hare khrisna days/daze).

Anti-social, perhaps even off-beat? The point of calling your debut album something like 'Bos Taurus' is clearly to project the listener with an image of alternative music and experimental ideas? Signed to Heist Or Hit Records and with a bag of quirky fun tracks (Soda Scream, Condominium, Ear Wax, Porta, O Weirdo, Golf World, etc), Fantasy Rainbow deliver a charming debut with strong material and dodgy monicker.
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ANDRE MATOS: "The Turn Of The Lights"

Rating: RRR
Label: earMusic/Edel 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Oh happy, happy, joy, joy? It's the former Angra vocalist Andre Matos' and his third solo album "The Turn Of The Lights". But in reality, it's more of the standard band effort. The vast majority of the songs on the album is written and performed in collaboration with his backing band... and especially the two lead guitarists Andre Zaza Hernandes (also ex-Angra), Hugo Mariutti (Viper), and bassist Bruno Ladislau. Hence why it's also a stronger effort than previous attempts at the "happy" metal.

Actually, the material is slightly moodier and darker than before and it's not all about galloping power metal 'ala Helloween. It's apparent that the sound is more varied and based upon splashes of different rock colours rather than merely just happy metal. To tout Andre Matos and co. as the traditional eighties power metal act is to do them an injustice. From time to time, intentional or not, you may actually pick up the occasional Goth and Midge Ure influence. Not to mention that the Edel/ear-music Euro edition comes with the Radiohead bonus cover track (Fake Plastic Trees).

Indeed, the material is overall pretty solid. Thumping melodic-metal with plenty of harmony leads and orchestral arrangements. Still not completely sold on his singing accent at times and there's still room for improvements.
www.andrematos.net

Jimi JAMISON: "Never Too Late"

Rating: RRRRR
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

There were doubts. Would Erik Martensson still have enough energy to provide another album full of great songs after all the work he's done lately? Would Jimi Jamison connect with Erik's songs and could he still deliver a top notch performance? Would this sound too much like Eclipse or W.E.T. or would it be just a second-rate Survivor copy? Well, the answers would be yes, yes and no, no!

As if Eclipse's great new album wasn't enough, songwriter/producer has been responsible for creating yet another contemporary melodic rock classic this year, and it's this album. Immaculately produced, played and written, these 11 songs should appeal to anyone into classic AOR á la Survivor or Journey, yet they sound like they were recorded in 2012, not 1982. There's not a weak song in sight, only good or even better ones, and on top of it all, Jimi Jamison, one of the legendary voices of AOR, sounds great. Maybe there's a bit more rasp in his voice and some of the high notes aren't reached as effortlessly as back then, but those little things only add character and make this AOR God sound almost mortal...

Martensson has given this album a nice, hard rockin' edge when it comes to arrangements and sound, yet we're clearly talking about an AOR album with truckloads of majestic melodies. To pick a favourite song is almost impossible, but at the moment my favourites include "Never Too Late", "I Can't Turn Back", "Street Survivor" and "Bullet In The Gun". I should also mention the superb ballads "The Air That I Breathe" and "Heaven Call Your Name", just listen to Jimi's vocals... this guy really shows the young pretenders how it's done.

As for the album sounding like Erik Martensson's other work, no such worries. There may be a couple of moments which might sound familiar for those familiar with Erik's work, but nothing stands out as blatant self-plagiarism. The most familiar moments remind me of other artists' work, namely "Not Tonight" which bears some resemblance to Heart's "Never" and "Heaven Call Your Name", which has a chorus that's quite similar to Giant's "I'll See You In My Dreams". Not that those bother me at all, both songs have enough identity of their own.

There you have it, my first RRRRR review since the change to this rating format.

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NINE BELOW ZERO: "Live At The Marquee" CD/DVD

Rating: Live
Label: Universal/perscription 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Nine Below Zero (NBZ from now on) are an U.K. (South London) R&B band that came through the post-punk scene in the late seventies. The ballsy London club gigs attracted at first the young mods aka vespa kids, and several EP's were recorded before their 1980 debut album, "Live At The Marquee". It's certainly a bit strange to have a live effort as your first LP release, but NBZ were basically the traditional working-class blues cover band playing the oldies with the occasional original tune.

It's just as strange to think of NBZ in the terms of one of the most popular club attractions in London in the year of 1980. You know, considering that you had all those new acts playing Synth, New Wave Romance, and not to mention New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. However, keep in mind that The Blues Brothers Movie did extremely well at the time and there was a small period (1981-82) when NBZ were on British TV almost weekly. They appeared on The Chris Tarrant Show, South Bank Show, the Old Grey Whistle Test, and the very first episode of the cult comedy series, The Young Ones.

Vinyl had it's limitations and that is why the 1980 release of "Live At The Marquee" only contained 14 tracks. It's now been re-released and remastered by Universal, with 7 bonus tracks which they had to leave out from the original release. Add to this a decent DVD with 8 songs captured on 16 mm film off the Marquee show with the same line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Dennis Greaves, vocalist and harmonica player Mark Feltham, bassist Peter Clark, and drummer Stix Burkey.

It's a great atmospheric recording which clearly display the proper vibes and high-energy of the band. Expect a lot of harmonica, typical gritty U.K. accent vocals by Greaves and soaring dito by Feltham, and covers such as "I Can't Help Myself", "Can I Get A Witness", "Homework", "Hootchie Cootchie Coo" and "Wooly Bully", etc. It's sort of the UK version of Dr. Feelgood and The Blues Brothers, only with the cheeky attitude of The Jam and various mods. Don't get me wrong, it's proper blues, but the vocals are so typical of its UK era, you can't help thinking about all those other acts and genres. I knew only of a couple of NBZ tracks prior to this, but their fun fast tempo had me instantly hooked. Recommended.
www.ninebelowzero.com

MANOWAR: "The Lord Of Steel"

Rating: RRR
Label: Magic Circle/Playground 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

What's your definition of kitsch? They are probably not aware of this but Manowar could indeed be the very definition of it? Well, at least when it comes to metal. None of us would ever proclaim their music and lyric to be the gospel of truth since it's always been sort of tacky and at times utterly dreadful (do they even think of women as their fans and equals?). However, they've recorded some all-time classic metal albums in my book (Hail To England, Kings of Metal) and these platters always end up on my play list of pure Heavy Metal favorites.

I never really enjoyed the pompous work of "Gods Of War" and thus why "The Lord Of Steel" is a tiny step in the right direction. It's stipped down to basic arrangements and Eric Adams sings in a middle range throughout the entire album. It's clearly not his overall best performance on record though and it makes you wonder if he's past his prime? I don't mind the fuzzy (distorted) bass-lines by DeMaio because it's something new and different from the same old. The boring, repetitive drumming is however a different story, it's clearly not as impressive as the work by the late and great Scott Columbus (R.I.P.). Original drummer Donnie Hamzik (from their debut album) supposedly responsible, but it almost sounds like the work of a programmer?

Several tracks are clearly inspired by Judas Priest and the opening title track gets the blood boiling without ever hitting the correct nerve. You have the worst Manowar song ever in, "Hail Kill And Die", which is basically an insult to the fans with its dull refrain and cut and paste lyric from previous songs and albums. For Odin's sake, any seven year old kid would come up with better stuff. The slower tracks saves this from being a complete let down. The ballads "Righteous Glory", "Touch The Sky" and "The Kingdom Of Steel" are easily the best moments along with "El Gringo" (the titletrack off the Christian Slater movie) and "Black List". The latter kicks off with a long bass intro done in a fuzzy style previously never used by DeMaio. It's a grower album though and it gets better with each spin, up to a certain point of course.

I'll also have to include this funny quote from this other bloke (I won't mention his name or site) here goes, "First off, this album has not 1 high note scream that passes the 3 second mark in length. In fact, I hear maybe 2 screams on the whole CD. It is nearly void of one of the key elements that make Manowar who they are and gave them some identity. This alone cuts the final rating down by 25%", end quote. Really? He actually rates music by the length of screams? That's funny and scary at the same time. But yeah, do not expect to find any scream that passes the 3 second mark on this record. lol :)
www.manowar.com

JACKYL: "Best In Show"

Rating: R
Label: Mighty Loud 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Tacky rears its ugly head again!! The return of U.S. Georgia's Jackyl surely must be every music fans nightmare? Blimey, we're still trying to erase the horrible memory of "The Lumberjack" outta' our head (no doubt one of the worst moments in metal?). That darn chainsaw -still at work on "Best In Show" and it's the kind of rock 'n roll that could possible only please your White Trash neighbors that have never read a book or been sober in their entire life. It's the same reason why some people only eat at McDonalds, it's fast, cheap, and full of sh***y ingredients???

Ehem, that's a bit harsh and elit-ish? since we certainly do enjoy a burger every now and then. But c'mon, the lyrics are worse than Manowar's and the songs are the leftover from the utter dull albums by Ted Nugent (If you can't lick 'em, etc) and any third rate biker/sleaze act of the past. Here's a bumper sticker for your car: You know you are White Trash if you're a Jackyl fan! But hey, don't let my grumpy opinion stop you from making your own mind up. And just for the record, white trash - not the same as working class or blue collar.

ODIUM: "Burning The Bridges To Nowhere"

Rating: RRR
Label: YearOfTheSun 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

"Heavy harmonies. Melodic and brutal. Growls vs. clean vocals". Let's face it, it's the standard metal concept as of lately and this band will hardly surprise anyone with their sophomore release. 'Burning The Bridges To Nowhere' almost sounds like if they're trying to hard to please both camps? they're literally standing with one leg on each side of the fence. Old school death or contemporary metal? let's do both and end up with ten tracks of schizo metal?

Odium play a rather powerful set of standard numbers though, the title track is a sprawling epic full of chaos, disorder, saw-edged guitars, and the memorable power-pop metal hook. With its groovy guitar riff and upbeat tempo, it steamrollers its way through your loudspeakers. Indeed, they get off to a storming start and it's perhaps not all wrong to mix growls with teenage-like clean vocals? It's just very confusing and it may not be to everybodys liking. Nicely produced by Greg Dawson (The End, Choke, Moneen) and the Canadian musicians are all very professional.

Odium are not going to disappoint anyone for that matter, however, "Burning The Bridges To Nowhere" is a very safe record and we've heard it all before. Very uncool, commercial, contemporary metal? Similar acts are setting the new standard of the Swedish Eurovision Contest for christ's sake (Dead By April). Final verdict: Try this if you can't get enough of acts such as As I Lay Dying, Bullet For My Valentine, Dead By April.
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NIGHT RANGER: "24 Strings And A Drummer"

Rating: N/A
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Can You Still Rock In America? The Night Ranger group: Jack Blades (Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass), Kelly Keagy (Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion), Brad Gillis (Lead Guitars, Background Vocals), Joel Hoekstra (Lead Guitars, 12 String Guitar, Background Vocals) and Eric Levy (Keyboards, Background Vocals) have recently done the eighteen months long U.S. tour which included sold out dates and plenty of feel-good moments. Average European - hardly aware of their excistence and not likely to rush for tickets in a desperate attempt to catch them live?

The Secret Of Their Success? Indeed, they've always been the true, red, white, and blue American band with little or none success on the other side of the pond. It's a shame really since they have plenty of feel-good songs and the musicians are better than most other bozos out there. "24 Strings & A Drummer" - their "MTV Unplugged" album if you so like. Live in an intimate all-acoustic setting, with a select number of fans at The Studio D Recording in Sausalito, CA in May 2012. The band perform laidback renditions of the band's classic eighties hits with new, refreshing arrangement.

Night Ranger - the 80's AOR/Melodic Rock version of The Eagles and thus why it makes perfect sense to cover Don Henley's 80's hit 'Boys Of Summer'. It's otherwise the standard, but oh-so-fine set list, nearly just as interesting unplugged as in their original versions. Track Listing: This Boy Needs To Rock, When You Close Your Eyes, Sing Me Away, Growin' Up In California, The Secret Of My Success, Sentimental Street, Four In The Morning, Let Him Run / Goodbye, Forever All Over Again, Don't Tell Me You Love Me, Sister Christian, (You Can Still) Rock In America, Boys Of Summer (Bonus Track).
www.nightranger.com

ISSA: "Can't Stop"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Norwegian AOR Queen Issa Oversveen returns with her third album, but instead of recording a a selection of newly written songs, she has done a covers album. The songs for this album are neatly chosen though, instead of the big AOR hits you'll get a dozen cult AOR classics. Those new to the genre might just as well think that these songs were especially written for Issa. They weren't, they were actually all but one originally sung by male singers, so that's another twist in the plot...

I like Issa's voice and several of these tracks are old favourites of mine, so it's not surprising that I like this album. When it comes to the song material only, it would have deserved the full rating, but there's more to it than just the songs. Issa's vocals are fine and Alessandro Del Vecchio's classy arrangements add some nice new nuances to the songs while staying faithful enough to the originals. But anyway... the original versions are hard to improve upon, and to do that the album would have needed an immaculate sound. Now I'm afraid the production isn't as crystal clear and powerful as it should have been to make this an instant modern-day AOR classic. Still, Issa's track record remains excellent, this is another fine release for her and a pretty safe purchase for any AOR fan.

Just in case you were wondering, here's the tracklisting and the original artists: Can't Stop (Aviator); Power Over Me (Atlantic); Wherever I Run (Regatta); Just A Wish (21 Guns); If You Ever Fall (Tone Norum, Mystic Healer); Do You Ever Think Of Me (Message, Unruly Child); Dream On (BLVD); Stranded (Tangier); Heat Of The Night (Worrall); I Won't Surrender (Tower City, Steelhouse Lane); State Of Love (Mark Free); These Eyes (21 Guns). That's some list, huh?

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REDLINE: "Victory"

Rating: RRR
Label: Escape Music 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Uk's Redline may be signed to a label that's mostly known for its' more melodic output, but don't mistake them for an AOR band. Nope, their sound is closer to heavy metal, maybe not by today's standards but in 1985 they would have been called a Heavy Metal band.

After listening the first few songs, I wasn't particulary impressed. Tracks like "Battle Cry" and "King Of The Mountain" are what I'd call "basic hard rock", competently played and sung but uninteresting with not much in the way of melodies. One has to wait until track four to hear any backing vocals, which makes the first tracks sound a bit dry.

A cool riff kicks off track number five, "Twisting The Knife", and it feels like I had put on another album! There's backing vocals, there's melodies and hooks! Not to mention a very appealing "mid-eighties US metal" vibe - I'm thinking of such bands as Icon, King Kobra, Dokken...

The dramatic semi-ballad "Cold Silence" benefits of the string arrangement created by one Jimmy Lea of Slade fame and gets "a thumbs up", even though I still think it could've used a stronger chorus hook. The 80'ies them continues with "High Price To Pay" which has the kind of sequencer effect that ZZ Top favoured on their mega-albums back then. Kinda cool, but the chorus is a bit of letdown again.

The album's standout for me is definitely "Edge Of Falling", which beats the current Dokken line-up in their own game - cool guitars, great hook, fine vocal performance. This song sounds more like vintage Dokken than anything that Don Dokken has released lately, yet it doesn't rip off any of their songs directly. Well, that "Why Baby Why" line does sound familiar, but let's call it a tribute!

"Some Kinda Mean" is a good song too with sharp riffing from the axe duo of A.D. and Steve Petty, while the band's potential live anthem "We Came To Rock" closes the album on a positive note.

After the not-so-good start this album turned out to be a decent one after all. A special mention must go to the production team, the album sounds great, even though backing vocals are used way too sparingly on the first few songs. Speaking of vocals, Kez Taylor must be mentioned as well, his solid performance elevates the weaker tracks to a higher level. And now that I've started to name the band members, Mark Biddiscombe (drums) and Steve Hill (bass) is the rhythm section, solid as a rock...

For the next album, I hope that the band cherishes their melodic side and writes some killer chorus hooks. But still, this is a decent start.

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KISS: "Monster"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Universal/perscription 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The indestructible KISS "Monster" is back on the loose and chewing up tarmac as well as innocent bystanders along its road of destruction. The big KISS 40 anniversary coming up next (2013) and they've been throwing around all shades of rock (classic, disco, AOR, and grunge) ever since Wicked Lester decided to give it a rest. What kind of "Monster" to expect in twenty twelve? Well, the CD sticker reads "No filler. No ballads. Just full-throttle rock'n roll" and Rolling Stone magazine thinks it's, "A full-on aural assualt", end quote. Ehem, keep in mind the same mag originally thought they were shite along with the rest of the hard rock acts (Black Sabbath, AC/DC, etc, etc.)

"Monster" is however chock-full of that particular sort of creatures who only seems to come out at night (pun intended if you're familar with their back catalogue). I'm not saying it's just as good or very similar but it's definitely their heaviest effort ever since Gene decided to have a cheeky sing-a-long in the style of "I Love It Loud". Announced to be the back-to-basic album in the seventies style, it's clearly not the entire truth. The production by Paul Stanley doesn't exactly reek of nostalgia and the same goes with the majority of tracks.

"All For The Love Of Rock & Roll", no doubt the song that will remind you the most of the 70's era. It's the Nothin' To Lose number with Substitute-Cat behind the mic. Otherwise and overall like the continuation of Sonic Boom but in reality more towards Revenge and the hint of Hot In The Shade. Gene is dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking (rich?) evil and as soon as he rip into tracks such as "Wall Of Sound", "Back To The Stone Age", "Eat Your Heart Out" or "The Devil Is Me", the demon make this album his very own agenda, proving that not only did he graduate with honours from the school of hard knocks, but that simplicity always works the best. It's hardly rocket science and his part is indeed the dull metal monster with no time for softies. Rumbling chunky bass-lines and he sings better than ever on these tracks.

'Hell or Hallelujah no matter what you do I'm runnin' through ya', Paul sings on the opening track and single. His songs are frankly not quite as catchy nowadays (or like his solo material) since it's more about power, energy, and groove. However, I like them all perhaps with the exception of "Last Chance". The variety of styles from the fore-mentioned number to some of his other tracks makes it both interesting and slightly confusing. Jumping from the darker almost grungy rock of "Freak" to the pure party anthem of "Show Mercy" will leave the listener with a big grin and question mark on their face. It's clearly not the poppy side of Paul and it's more about metal this time around. Substitute-Ace is "Outta This World" with his best KISS song and nope, not a single ballad to be found. I still believe they could have included a couple of more sing-a-long anthems such as the Gene/Paul duet "Take Me Down Below", but it's a strong album effort and not really the "hits" of the 80's era.
www.kissonline.com

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION: "Afterglow"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Mascot Records/Border 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Glenn Hughes aka The Voice of Rock? He's got one of those voices you either love or hate? Or at least that's what people keep telling me? I never quite understood their point of view(s) and especially not the haters? Anyone with a tiny bit of sense would surely appreciate the vibrato and close to perfect (soul) phrasing of absolutely everything he's ever done. Then again, not that strange all considering that some folks do not even appreciate female vocalists in metal or elsewhere for that matter... and they surely must be completely bonkers.

Not always blessed with excellent material though and the former singer of Deep Purple, Trapeze, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, Hughes/Thrall, Phenomena, etc. hardly my all-time favorite crooner. However, the "Afterglow" performance must go down as one of the best happenings of the year? Sheer and utter top notch quality from the opening words of "Big Train" to the closing dito of "Crawl". The third Black Country Communion album has been rumored to cause the verbal outburst (to say the least) between Hughes and guitarist Joe Bonamassa and you can almost feel the tension within the compositions. They huff, puff, howl, rip, and shred at each other and thus why they also ended up with the best BCC album so far?

I've been told that Hughes wrote the majority of tunes and it's clearly a different formula than previous attempts at world domination. It's ever so slightly more towards Deep Purple, Hughes/Thrall, and overall, definitely more of Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater). Perhaps not quite as much "metal" but just as much of the blues and Zeppelin vibes as usual and Bonamassa rides hard on wah-wah's and Page-like licks. I find it hard to pick favorite tracks as this is very much the band album effort like in the good old days? Crises what crisis? They've never sounded more alive and on their toes. Highly recommended.
www.bccommunion.com

ANGRA: "Best Reached Horizons"

Rating: N/A
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The best of both words? Indeed, if you're looking for the ultimate Angra compilation look no further since this is probably it? "Best Reached Horizons" sums up the two different faces and ages of the Brazilian band. Disc one covers the era of original vocalist Andre Matos (1993-1999) while disc two handles the years of Edu Falaschi (2000 and forward). Sadly not remastered though? and it's a shame really since the early stuff could most certainly do with an face-lift.

You'll quickly noticed how they've changed throughout history and time as the first disc material leans a lot more towards progressive metal than later work. Both era have its particular charm and selling points but some of their better songs (in my humble opinion) are the more recent ones. Several different compilations and live albums are out there already but this one holds tracks such as "Freedom Call" taken from the EP as well as the cover of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir. Liner notes by guitarist Rafael Bittencourt and the twenty tracks were all hand chosen by their other guitarist Kiko Loureiro.
www.angra.net

PAUL GILBERT: "Vibrato"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Music Theories 2012
Review by Alan Holloway

Japan’s favourite guitar player is back with his 12th solo album, once again proving what a busy chap he is and taking advantage of every spare minute to make more music. Although known primarily as a shredder from his Racer X days, Gilbert uses his solo output to show just how varied a player he can be, and “Vibrato” is no exception.

What you get here is 7 brand new Gilbert compositions, eschewing out and out rock in favour of funk, blues and jazz, albeit with a healthy dose of guitar. Gilbert does some singing as well as playing guitar, thankfully with a perfectly acceptable voice, but the tracks are usually at their best when the guitar is allowed to roam free. As an album it’s pretty laid back, really, with a vibe that is more suited to the 70s than today. That said, many of the tracks really are pretty special. As well as the 7 original compositions, we also have a very, very cool version of the old jazz standard “Blue Rondo A La Turk”, a piano and guitar led piece that I keep playing over and over, as it’s five and a half minutes of pure fun and energy. Then, at the end of the album, there are three tracks from the 2010 “Fuzz Universe” tour, and these are also pretty special. There’s covers of Yes’s “Roundabout”, the blues classic “I Want To Be Loved” and an eight minute workout of AC/DC’s “Go Down” that contains a great guitar workout in the middle.

All in all “Vibrato” is a good, varied album, mixing instrumental and vocal tracks to great effect, veering away from being a widdle fest, regardless of what the shredheads may want. If you’re a fan of guitar music this would be ideally picked up with Neal Schon’s newie, as between them they really do make a wonderful playlist.
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KOTIPELTO & LIIMATAINEN: "Blackoustic"

Rating: RR
Label: earMusic/Edel 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Pardon my ignorence but I honestly thought this would be the acoustic album consisting of covers only? Sure enough, they do cover Gary Moore's "Out In The Fields", The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes", and Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers". So naturally anyone would at first draw the conclusion that, "Black Diamond", "Coming Home", and "Hunting High And Low", should be the tunes originally performed by KISS and A-HA?

Obviously not, since this is the rather dodgy pub-project by Stratovarius singer Timo Kotipelto and Jani Liimatainen from Sonata Arctica. Unfortunately one of these projects that seems good on paper but doesn't always turn out quite as great on record. The semi original idea of bringing the low-key concept to the public is not all too bad actually. I can totally understand average female/male would/could most certainly enjoy the night out with food, beer, and the acoustic duo on stage.

However, it's one thing as the fun night out at your local pub and a completely different animal in the studio. It's clearly not the lions rather than lambs at play here, not a single version comperable to the superial standard of the originals. A lot of the Stratovarious (and Sonata Arctica) material is based on arena rock, loud guitars, thundering drums, and on top of this soaring vocals by Kotipelto. He's frankly not as impressive nor interesting as the stripped down singer/songwriter and the same goes for the material. Highlights, Behind Blue Eyes, followed by Perfect Strangers. They've been performing their acoustic set all across Finland and they'll be heading out on the roads again this month. Catch them live on stage instead as this is strickly intended for/to the mad collector of everything connected to Kotipelto/Liimatainen.

KAMIKAZE KINGS: "The Law"

Rating: RR
Label: limited Access 2012
Review by Alan Holloway

Arriving on a wave of PR bullshit, Germany’s Kamikaze Kings are ready to take the world by the scruff of the neck and shake it until it screams “Uncle”. Well, if they were any good, but sadly these lads are destined for the bargain bins of Europe rather than the palaces.

This “long expected” debut has been hiding in my inbox for a few weeks, and I suspect my brain had an idea that it wouldn’t be up to much. It’s not terrible, really, it’s just very straightforward chest beating old school hard rock that takes the worst bits of Manowar, Saxon and Judas Priest and wraps them up in a studded nappy. Glam rock meets Wrestlemania it may be, but whilst there’s a few tracks that genuinely kick some ass, such as “Burn Baby Burn” and the single “Boys ‘n’ Men”, there’s so many more that just meander about like a goat with it’s eyes poked out. “Bible Black”, for example, is the worst track I’ve heard this year, a doomy dirge that drags and drags, not helped by the poor vocals of Elmo Kamikaze (yeah, they‘re one of those bands), which just don‘t work on a slow song. Elsewhere, he gets quite a godo RickY Warwick vibe going, just not here. The band are certainly better when they are rocking out with their cocks out, but even so this is a very uneven album.

Although they’re probably fun if they come to a pub near you, Kamikaze Kings just haven’t got enough good songs to get an y real recommendation from me. When they’re good, they’re pretty good, but it doesn’t happen often enough.
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GEOFF TATE: "Kings & Thieves"

Rating: RRR
Label: Inside Out 2012
Review by Alan Holloway

Now this was bound to be a tricky one. Geoff Tate and Queensryche get on about as well as a creationist and Richard Dawkins these days, but to be honest Queensryche have been pretty poor for a while anyway, case in point the dire “American Soldier” album. So although I used to be pretty fond of the band, I was genuinely expecting an album full of Geoff Tate with his head up his own arse singing “La la la la…. I can’t hear the criticism”. This was not, thankfully, the case.

“Kings & Thieves” (guess which one Geoff is…) is an album that serves as a bridge between the classic Queensryche sound and the more plodding modern day stuff. Whilst Tate isn’t afraid to bang on about his own genius (“The Way That I Roll”), there’s also some good stuff here as well, such as the dark, sexual “Say U Love It”, which could have been a Mindcrime bonus track, with Tate showing the talent he has for menace as well as melody. Elsewhere, there some good, powerful songs, but as an album it never really gets going, never injects the spark that will keep you coming back for more. The tracks come at you at walking speed, and a bigger, chest beating production would have improved things, whereas what we have is merely adequate.

There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with “Kings & Thieves”, but whilst I have enjoyed listening to it I doubt it will be calling me back anytime soon. Tate is in fine voice, full of the usual expression, and the music is strong and well played, but there’s nothing here that offers anything to get too excited about. Far from bad, as many were expecting, this is above average but nothing more.
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ELO: "Mr. Blue Sky The Very Best Of"

Rating: N/A
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Are you fed up reading the (Frontiers) press-releases which include big words such as "legendary" and "classic" in regard to each and every obscure act of the past? Well, hold on to your hats (really? hats?) since the write-up actually makes sense for once. The Electric Light Orchestra and the legendary Jeff Lynne. What's possibly left to type down about this sheer genius in the year of twenty twelve anyhow? It's all been written in stone and I seriously doubt that I can come up with anything remotely fresh or interesting to say about ELO and Lynne?

Here's a couple of notes though. I never ever expected to find ELO/Lynne at Frontiers Records (kudos). Bands such as Cheap Trick, Supertramp, The Cars (the list goes on and on), based their entire career on taking various bits and pieces from ELO. Not to forget the "Jims" from Survivor and Meat Loaf fame, etc, etc. Lynne on the other hand, obviously inspired by Beatles, Orbison, and Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' as he turned it into perfect rock/pop music for the seventies.

"Mr. Blue Sky", not just another compilation though since Lynne revisited and re-recorded the songs, and according to the man, "When I listen to the old versions they don't sound the way I thought they did when I first wrote and recorded them. I wanted to use the experience I've gained producing records ever since and have a completely new try at them", end quote. Not quite sure if the old fans agrees? Music is so deeply rooted and connected to memories and certain places that no re-recording will ever replace the first, original, and lasting memory. But these versions are actually not-too-shabby all considering and you'll get the previously unreleased "Point Of No Return" as bonus track. And it's frankly just a fun ELO tune and Lynne's as good as always when it comes to vocals and instruments.

I've only been enjoying the music of ELO for a very short period of time and they are still a rather fresh and new experience to my ears. Perfectly suited to please the beginner fan? and what's not to like about the sheer quality of these songs? It all comes down to if you're buying the concept of re-recordings or not? Track Listing: Mr. Blue Sky, Evil Woman, Strange Magic, Don't Bring Me Down, Turn to Stone, Showdown, Telephone Line, Livin' Thing, Do Ya, Can't Get It Out of My Head, 10538 Overture, Point of No Return.
www.elo.biz

JEFF LYNNE: "Long Wave"

Rating: N/A
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Jeff Lynne's "Long Wave" (Goodbye?) his first new solo album in ages and a tribute slash homage to the songs that at first inspired him as the Birmingham kid infront of the radio and eventually also formed him as an songwriter. It's the laid-back cover album consisting of eleven songs originally performed by various crooners and ultra soft pre-rockers of the 1950's and early 60's.

It's stripped down melancholia and I couldn't stand listening to these sort of melodies in the past... but now I find some of them to be strangely decent? It's certainly not my first choice as the fun party album. I'd rather like to think of this as your well deserved pause from the alarming as well as constant noise/sounds which surround us on daily bases.

I definitely perfer the true-blue crooner music of "She" (Charles Aznavour), "If I Loved You", (Rodgers and Hammerstein), "Running Scared" (Roy Orbison), "Beyond the Sea" (Bobby Darin), the superb, "So Sad", etc. The old and very basic rock of, "Let It Rock", doesn't rock at all to be frank. The Rolling Stones cover of "Mercy Mercy" and Charlie Chaplin's "Smile", are okay but hardly favorite tracks. Etta James' "At Last" is however excellent but ever so wimpy and the same goes for "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing".

Lynne on lead vocals, background vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, piano, bass, drums, keyboards, vibes, production, and the whole she-bang. It's less than 30 minutes of music as well as the perfect gift to grandpa/ma?
www.elo.biz

NEAL SCHON: "The Calling"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by Alan Holloway

Whatever you think of Journey, there’s no denying that guitarist/songwriter Neal Schon has been a hard worker over the years. He’s guested on dozens of albums as well as being involved with the likes of Hardline and Bad English, and whilst not a prolific songwriter with these projects his fingerprints are there in all the right places. I have to be honest and admit that I haven’t heard any of his seven solo albums, so was intrigued to hear what he could do without a vocalist.

Instrumental albums can be a tricky thing to review, as there’s not usually any nice catchy choruses to latch on to, and obviously there’s no soaring vocals to lift a song to new heights. The most important thing, for me, is a bit of variety, as who wants to listen to ten variations of the same theme. In fairness, Neal Schon seems to be doing his very best to mix it up on “The Calling”, throwing in plenty of intricate, delicate guitarwork along with some truly impressive rockier stuff.

Although there’s no breakneck fret sessions here, Schon shows a deftness of touch that only comes from years of experience, happy to allow the listener to sit back and relax when necessary, such as during the laid back but technically brilliant “True Emotion”. When Schon gets going you can’t really call it shredding, as his stuff is just too, well, pretty to describe that way. Regardless, he can certainly dance up and down the fretboard at some pace when he wants to, and there’s plenty of reasons for lovers of skillful guitar to like “The Calling” as well as lovers of plain old good music.

Although not really a fit for dedicated Journey fans, the influence is there in several tracks, notably the light but powerful “Blue Rainbow Sky”, which would make a superb power ballad if Arnel Pineda was given some lyrics to go over it. Schon manages to combine diversity of styles with some truly imaginative playing throughout, making “The Calling” a genuine pleasure to listen to, and certainly one of the better pure instrumental albums I have come across.
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BONRUD: "Save Tomorrow"

Rating: RRR
Label: Escape Music 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Bonrud's second album has been a long time in the making, but it has now finally seen the light of day. Some of you may remember the band's first effort which was released a few years ago. While it was a decent album, it didn't have that much character of its' own - I believe I called it "textbook AOR" in my review. Now, for "Save Tomorrow" the band's mainman Paul Bonrud has recruited a new vocalist (Rick "Four Octave" Forsgren) and tweaked the band's direction. This time around the songs aren't quite as "standard AOR" as before, there's a cool metal edge added to some of them. But fear not, if you liked the previous album, there's still plenty of AOR to be found too.

I must say that for my money, the highlights are among the heavier tracks. The opener "We Collide" sounds a bit like Fates Warning's or Queensrÿche's most melodic tracks, as does "End Of Days", another personal favourite. Some of the AOR stuff is really good as well, like the album's title track which reminds me a lot of vintage Journey, guitar-driven tracks like "Stone In Love" and "Anyway You Want It". The Blue Tears-like "You're The One" is another winner.

Some of the remaining heavier songs could have used bigger chorus hooks, while the some of the AOR material still suffers of that "textbook AOR" syndrome, the melodies and the lyrics sound like they were written only to follow some rules of AOR songwriting.

"Save Tomorrow" has been produced by Keith Olsen and Paul Bonrud, and it sounds so good that it's almost a shame to give it only three "R's". If there only had been a couple more tracks as captivating as "We Collide" that additional "R" would have been easy to throw in. But never mind, let's go for five "R's" the next time around, ok?

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TEN: "Heresy And Creed"

Rating: RRR
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Ten made a welcome return to the scene with last year's fine "Stormwarning" album. They had a lot to prove and they did just that, giving us some excellent songs. Now, if that album was a "stormwarning", this new one should have been a hurricane of epic proportions, right? It isn't. At times it gets quite stormy, but at its' weakest we merely get a little bit of rain and some wind... ok, that's enough weather.

Once you get past the standard "orchestrated, pompous intro", the album gets a fine start with "Arabian Nights", which is classic Ten with plenty of power and melody - just the way I like it. I really don't know what to make of "Gunrunning", it has its' moments but somehow it ends up being somewhat unremarkable. "When The Lights Go Down" has a great, atmospheric intro which promises good things, and indeed the song is one of the better ones, but the chorus doesn't really take off like I hoped it would.

"Raven's Eye" is the album's "celtic ballad", and frankly I could've done without it. The verses are almost hilarious with vocalist Gary Hughes streching the words to the extreme. I know it goes with the celtic theme, but it's still funny. I could've also done without "Right Now", which is a monotonous and dull song that doesn't seem go anywhere. "Game Of Hearts" is better, as is the beautiful ballad "The Last Time", which gets my vote as the album's best slow track.

I guess "The Priestess" was written to be the album's "groovy and sexy" track, but it could have been just as well saved as the Japanese bonus track, it doesn't really work. One to skip for me.

"Insatiable" and "Unbelievable" are both very good uptempo rockers, and inbetween them you'll find the very melodic "Another Rainy Day" which is the most AOR-type of a song on the album. This trio of good songs would have ended the album on a high note, but there's still one ballad stuck to the end of the tracklisting. Gary Hughes has written some of my favourite ballads, but this isn't one of them. It's melodic and nice enough, but not that memorable. And the keyboard stabs during the chorus almost kill the song... seriously, they are rather disturbing.

I'm hoping that this album is just the "calm before the storm" that were warned about. The next one could tear off the roof, please.

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PANZERBALLET: "Tank Goodness"

Rating: RRR
Label: Gentle Art Of Music 2012
Review by Martien Koolen

Panzerballett is a German rock band from Munich combining jazz and metal; and so creating a new sound called phatting, in German Verkrassung. After highly appreciated albums like Hart Genossen Von ABBA Bis Zappa and Starke Stucke, Panzerballett again comes up with a highly original fourth album with a unique sound. You really have to listen to this album to understand and feel how this band sounds: it is complex music with lots of saxophone and trumpet, but also some really mean and heavy guitar riffs and hooks. Most of the tracks are instrumental but on two songs you can hear vocals from Conny Kreitmeier and Ron Van Lankeren (Time Of My Life)) and Mattias IA Eklundh on IKEA trauma. The CD also contains four covers, being: Some Shunk Funk (Brecker), Giant Steps (Coltrane), The Time Of My Life (Previte/DeNicola) and Take Five (Desmond). Especially the song from the horrible movie Dirty Dancing is completely weird, but the classic jazz tune Take Five is also played completely over the top. From the other four songs I really like Vulgar Display Of Sauerkraut - what a great title - which is an instrumental guitar driven metal track with amazing solos, riffs, hooks and arpeggios. The IKEA Trauma - again a superb title - is a rock song with vocals, some heavy passages and a keyboard solo. The other two tracks are rather jazzy and funky and not really my cup of tea. But you should really have listened to this album once in your lifetime and then maybe Panzerballett will become one of your favourite bands.... They are unique, so check them out at maximum volume and go crazy!

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PENDRAGON: "Out Of Order Comes Chaos" DVD

Rating: DVD
Label: Metal Mind 2012
Review by Martien Koolen

This brand new DVD was again recorded in the Wyspianski Theatre in Poland on April 2011. The gig lasts for more than 2,5 hours and Pendragon, the best neo prog rock band of this time, play 16 tracks! In fact the setlist is a journey through time as you can enjoy "old" classics like Paintbox (from The Masquerade Overture, 1996), Shane, Prayer, Back In The Spotlight (The World,1991) and Not Of This Wolrd and If I Were The Wind from Not Of This World (2001). Furthermore you can enjoy songs from their two latest albums Pure(2008) and Passion(2011), of which This Green And Pleasant Land and Indigo are probably the best songs on the entire DVD. The band is in great shape and the sound is really remarkable; crystal clear and spot on; especially the guitar solos of Nick Barrett are really out of this world... The DVD also includes a video documentary about the band's life on tour and a video with behind the scenes footage, an interview with Nick and more. The album is also available on Blu-Ray for the first time in the history of the band. This is one of the best DVDs I have ever seen and heard and therefore a must for lovers of excellent melodic prog rock! Buy or die!

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ELDORADO: "Antigravity Sound Machine"

Rating: RRR
Label: -Eldorado 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Spanish hard rockers Eldorado have put together their third album, and spared no expenses doing that. The album has been produced by Richard Chycki (Rush, Gotthard, Aerosmith) as was their previous one, and I have no doubt that this album could take them to the next league. Especially right now, when retro-rockers like Rival Sons are just about the hottest ticket in rock.

The band's style hasn't changed since the last album, they still play 70'ies flavoured hard rock along the likes of Rival Sons, Black Crowes and Tesla. Of course one can draw comparisons to the "originators" too, Zeppelin, Free and so on. If that's your kind of rock, you could just as well add one or maybe even two R's to the rating and head to the nearest record store right away, because Eldorado would definitely rock your boat. I've never been that much into this particular style of hard rock, hence the three R's only. Eldorado are a really talented and tight band, if they had more hooks and memorable melodies I would be probably praising them to high heaven.

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BOY HITS CAR: "Stealing Fire"

Rating: RRRR
Label: BHC 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Boy Hits Car and end up under school bus? Originally formed in 1993, their best known self-titled second album was released at Wind-Up records in the early 00's. It's very obvious that they're a serious anti-L.A. glamour band even though it's their hometown @ California U.S. of A. Initially the nu/alternative band, their post-hardcore album number four, "Stealing Fire", packs tons of emotionally tunes and the quirky term of lovecore.

Armed with heavy guitars, groove driven bass, tribal rhythms, intense melodic vocals and open tuned 12 string acoustic guitar, the album gets a lot badder than should legally be allowed and a lot better than expected. They've managed to create the nice mixture and contrast between melody and energy as they now play a style of rock that smacks of angry indie vs. commercial radio friendly stuff. Yup, it's clearly Poprockhardcore?

If anything, "Stealing Fire", takes them further up the ladder of excellence than they've ever been before, albeit with more easily accessible songs and sharp hooks. Sell out? Oh get the f##k out! It's the rhythms of Jane's Addiction only with slightly catchier and more direct material in the typical arena rock style of today. This leads to each track having its own mood, but all sharing the common ground of intense and close to tribal arrangements. It's the entire package with crunchy guitars and sing-a-long melodies that makes this a nice change from the average post nu-metal affair. I prefer this over their Wind-Up release and it's nice to witness the band's progress without the backing of a major label. Kudos!
www.boyhitscar.com

MARK SPIRO: "Care Of My Soul Vol 2"

Rating: RRR
Label: Sun Hill/Playground 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

"Care Of My Soul Vol.2" - obviously the sequel to Vol.1 (duh!) and the brand new recording by the multi-talented U.S. songwriter and musician. Mister Mark Spiro is indeed responsible for absolutely everything on the record from programing (drums), keyboards, guitars, to vocals and production. It's nearly close to pro-tools overkill with several samples and processed vocals that at times will have Spiro sounding like Jamiroquai? It's the utterly clean and sterile production and hardly the earthy sound of the ancient westcoast platters.

But don't get me wrong, I'm not personally taking a stand against all modern production and evolution. However, I know that some of you may not appreciate the lack of proper musicians and especially the drummer. Then again, drummers were never really musicians in the first place and I nearly tend to agree with Simon 'Tw@t' Cowell on the subject? Yes? No? Hands up if you're into drummers? Ehem, pardon me Rick Allen, that's hand up.

Spiro combine witty, intelligent lyric with the undying passion to explore. The only problem is his inability to stick to a more defining sound. Instead he's all over the place with westcoast tracks, quirky electronic beats, and processed vocals that merely the pre-teen would/could find intriguing in the long run. The album also seems to suffer from a severe pace problem but that's laidback rock for you.

Strangely enough, one of my favorite tracks, "Love Don't Come Around Here Anymore", the most outrageous trip of them all and almost like the weird music competition between Jamiroquai and Peter Gabriel. "Up In Flames", mixes Nik Kershaw and Jamiroquai melodies while others such as, "A Beautiful Mistake", or the fantastic, "Paper Dragons", pure soft-rock heaven in the vein of Lawrence Gowan, Richard Marx, and Spiro. Final verdict: Vol.2 is like the emotional rollercoaster with many ups and downs and you might need a barf break?
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MARK SPIRO: "Care Of My Soul Vol 1"

Rating: Reissue
Label: Sun Hill/Playground 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Originally released in the mid-nineties (1994) as "Care Of My Soul", now re-released, re-entitled (Care Of My Soul Vol.1), re-mastered, re-arranged (tracklisting), including two previously unreleased tracks plus new artwork and as digipack (phew). Mark Spiro is perhaps mostly known as the U.S. songwriter merely second to Desmond Child and Diane Warren in the late eighties/early nineties. His (co-)work sold a total of approx. 100 million copies with the likes of Bad English, Cheap Trick, Giant, Heart, Julian Lennon, Mr. Big, Winger, etc.

I have recently been going through the seventies era after spending many years in constant fear of their weird looking artists and bands. That's a rather strange note to include in the Mark Spiro review? Well, merely trying to point out that I now appreciate the ultra soft singer/songwriter style of Simon/Garfunkel, Cat Stevens as well the superb westcoast, yacht music of Christopher Cross, etc. etc. Regarding Spiro and his old album, it's definitely not a problem of being too soft or laidback... but do NOT expect this to rock or AOR at all really.

Soft spoken verse followed by the great refrain, the opening title track definitely sets the pace and standard of the album. It's the Stevie Wonder harmonica as well as banjo (huh?) to be found on "Wheels May Rust", while other tracks may remind you of the laidback work of Sting (the former Police singer/bassist). "Drop In The Ocean", highly inspired by the Paul Simon sound of the mid/late eighties and the same goes for several other tracks by the way.

I clearly remember hearing this CD for the first time in the very late nineties and ended up truly disappointed. I couldn't understand the ultra soft melodies and almost jazzy arrangements since we expected it to rock 'ala Giant or Bad English. I do get it nowadays, but it's clearly not AOR (simply remove this particular thought out of your head). It's the folk-rock, westcoast, Sting, Paul Simon, type of arrangements with the occasional hint of Steely Dan and overall beautifully crafted melodies. Nice but ever so laidback...
www.myspace.com/markspiro