ROMEO RIOT - "SING IT LOUD"

RATING: RRRRR

LABEL: KIVEL RECORDS

REVIEW BY:ALAN HOLLOWAY

Romeo Riot are a sort of supergroup, mainly if you're a big fan of Kivel records. For me, the real draw was the inclusion in the band of one Jace Pawlak, noted songwriter and keyboard player (as well as a nifty vocalist in his own right), and I've been waiting to get my ears wrapped round a copy. As you can see from the rating I was not disaapointed, and if you like quality AOR neither will you be.

What you have  here are ten knock-it-out-of-the-park upbeat melodic rock winners, and whilst I don't have an inlay or album credits the songs are very comparable to those on Pawlak's last solo album but with lower register vocals. Those vocals belong to Mark Giovi, late of Farcry, and he has one of those voices that is hugely melodic but with a slight edge to it that works beautifully. One of Pawlak's songs 'Every Now & Then' appears on both albums, with the different vocalist turning it into quite a different experience, despite the very similar arrangement. It's one of two ballads unwisely both on the latter half of the album (makes it unbalanced), but with that said they both, along with every single other track, hit the aural sweet spot. It's so hard to pick out favourites as they all qualify - there's more fun and bounce here than a trampoline factory. You've got the high enegry opening duo of 'Room To Run'and 'Streets Of  Babylon', or the more crunchy 'Same' and finish off with the upbeat glory of album closer 'Twist of Fate' (very Night Ranger), and there's still six other tracks to choose from, all with their own claims to being the best one. Well bugger it I really can't decide so I guess I'll just have to listen to 'em all again.... and again.

'Sing It Loud' is one of those AOR records that makes you remember why you got into this type of music in the first place. It's so hard to fault that I've given up trying, and can't reccommend it highly enough. It's very rare that I give a full five out of five to an album, but I can't see any reason to drop any marks here. Melodic rock perfectoon can be yours, so go out and get some.

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