Joe Lynn Turner ~ Slam (album review) ... JLT slams into high gear!

Style: hard rock
Label: MTM
Year: 2001
Home: New Jersey/Japan

Members: Joe Lynn Turner ~ vocals
Akira Kajiyama ~ guitars
Paul Morris ~ keyboards
Eric Czar ~ bass
Kenny Kramme ~ drums

 

 

 

 

 

 

JLT's post-Rainbow career started out a little predictable. His 1985 debut Rescue You with the former keyboardist of Foreigner in tow ... sounded just like Foreigner but JLT in tow. It's follow-up Nothing's Changed would come a decade & about forty guest sessions later as a backing vocalist, along with stints fronting numerous bands including Deep Purple & Rising Force. With guitarist Al Pitrelli regularly by his side playing & composing for a handful of albums JLT would turn out by the book hard rock with Nothing's Changed & The Usual Suspects being prophetic album titles as to what could be expected musically. Solid albums, good playing, a firm grip on the East Coast/New York hard rock sound versus the glam oriented L.A. rock, but nothing particularly exciting or climactic or breaking expectations. Reliable is a key word ... top notch reliable. The session gigs would continue to help pay the bills. Then in 2001 JLT released his seventh album Slam. This would be a turning point in his career with his heaviest album yet. Instead of a large group of rotating musicians which was the normal set-up since his third album, JLT zoomed in on the trio of bassist Eric Carr, keyboardist Paul Morris & drummer Kenny Kramme. In the guitar role would only be Japanese guitarist Akira Kajiyama who had appeared on the previous album & would continue a relationship with JLT. Kajiyama is a very different guitarist than the melodic Pitrelli & the other guest guitarists who had appeared on JLT's albums including Mountain's Leslie West, while taking all the parts challenged the music in ways that just overdubbing a solo or rhythm doesn't. Whether deliberately or not, Kajiyama, also acting as co-composer, would turn this from a JLT vocal album with friends into a guitar album with tons of solos & wild playing. In many ways the album feels like it's Kajiyama's game, not JLT's, but yet there's also this feeling that Kajiyama respects JLT's music & is actually just helping push it into new musical directions, the natural course of any musician's career. JLT comes at the challenging new music, the closest to metal he'd recorded yet, with some amazingly expressive vocals that match the guitar playing par for par. He sounds rejuvenated & renewed, let alone challenging himself vocally with screams & shouts & even different tonal styles (for example, "Deliver Me" & the title track). "Bloodsucker" opens the album which is not just a harsh sounding title to add to the JLT catalog, but recalls Deep Purple with a thriving guitar line. It kicks the album off in high gear & an hour later nothing lets up. As much as the other album titles set the tone Slam does the same. Some songs are a little more traditional JLT but fans won't mind what is a slump for this album but a high gear song for any other album, though the second half the album does begin to run out of creativity & begin to feel imitative of what was already played. That being said, you won't be shutting the album off early though. JLT met Kajiyama years earlier when the guitarist released a Japanese tribute album to Rainbow. Kajiyama would appear on JLT's Under Cover, Vol. 2, Holy Man & Slam & the two would co-release Fire Without Flames with Kajiyama playing all the instruments. He would also tour behind the Hughes Turner Project in 2002 featuring JLT alongside former Deep Purple bassist/singer Glenn Hughes.

Jorn ~ Dio (album review) ... Doing Ronnie proud!

Style: tribute, hard rock, classic rock, heavy metal
Label: Frontiers
Year: 2010
Home: Norway

Members: Jorn Lande ~ vocals/10 string bass
Tor Erik Myhre, Tore Moren, Jörn Viggo Lofstad, Igor Gianola ~ guitars
Ronny Tegner, Tommy Hansen ~ keyboards
Espen Mjøen, Steinar Krokmo, Nick Angileri ~ bass
Stian Kristoffersen, Willy Bendiksen ~ drums

There is no denying the influence of late frontman Ronnie James Dio from Elf to Rainbow to Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell to his own group Dio. His voice, ubiquitous hand gestures, his elfish yet powerful stature & his songwriting has contributed much to heavy metal over the past decades. Where his legacy will go in the future is unknown, as really his influence is based on himself & not an array of songs like Lennon/McCartney. Consider that Dio only had a few certified hits early in its career; while RJD's time in Black Sabbath had its shares of musical stumbles even if many fans prefer him over Ozzy; few go around singing Rainbow songs, which is often just as much about guitarist Richie Blackmore than it is RJD; & as for Elf or Heaven & Hell ...? How will we remember RJD? The future it almost doesn't matter as right now RJD is the great icon whose voice can send shivers down your spine. Some of his ex-Dio bandmates have even toured as Dio's Disciples performing his songs & supposedly some unfinished material was handed over to the band by his widow. Books have been written & more are on the way. Right now, that's not a problem. Right now, there can not be enough tribute to the late singer. He deserves the honors. Thankfully, he got many in his lifetime. He died knowing where he stood in the metal pantheon. While the future may not necessarily dwell on him as we do now, it is only the fault of hindsight for we can still see the beginning of heavy metal not so many decades ago & that its just as much the personalities as anything else that has created the world & sound of metal. Where RJD might have lacked a hit he made up for it with an epic, literally, writing style that helped inspire many others that would have hits. He gave to heavy metal something that went beyond just some good songs - he gave a vision ... he also gave us the devil sign, regardless of what Gene Simmons claims. Everyone has to invent something ... yet RJD still gave the claim to his grandmother ... so there, Gene. Actually, my Italian father-in-law likes to do it to the tv so the football team he doesn't like will lose. I don't know if its works. Metal singer Jorn Lande, going simply by Jorn in his solo career, has done something many musicians might not dare to do - he released a tribute album covering RJD's songs. Who would have the courage to step into RJD's shoes, particularly so soon after his death? More importantly, who would dare? The irony is that the album was under construction before RJD's death, it became a tribute to the deceased by accident not intention. But, regardless of timing, who would think they could give justice to RJD's voice & an attempt a whole album to prove their skill? Well, Jorn is a pretty talented & experienced guy who can handle everything from blues to metal to pop. More importantly, he knows he's not RJD & he knows what he can do & shouldn't do & what he can do. This translates into not imitating RJD but trying to instead find the soul of RJD. & he indeed finds that soul & creates a pot of gold & a worthy tribute. Dio collects together the Dio songs: "Invisible", "Shame On The Night", "Push" "Stand Up & Shout", "Lord Of The Last Day", "Night People", "Sacred Heart", "Sunset Superman", "Lonely Is The Word - Letters From Earth", "Straight Through The Heart", "Kill The King" & "Don't Talk To Strangers" plus Jorn's original composition "Song For Ronnie James". Yes, one will notice my earlier thesis in play here - not a lot of hits that people may immediately know. Jorn has actually deliberately aimed for a collection that goes for the lesser known parts of RJD's pen & not the big hits. It would be nice to hear "Holy Diver", but its covered by every metal band in every rehearsal studio every where - I speak from experience playing the song in bands. Choosing lesser known songs might take some pressure off of Jorn's shoulders. We may not recognize the Black Sabbath song "Night People" so we don't critique it as harshly. On the other hand, we're liable to realize that RJD was more than just the hits. The hits were a side-effects of a very full career & have more to do with marketing than RJD's creativity. But, even if we choose to critique Dio harshly, Jorn has created a fine tribute that feels like RJD. It doesn't necessarily sound like him, he doesn't have RJD's vocals, but Jorn doesn't sound like he's overly straining to sound like someone's he's not. He's just having a good time. & one gets the feeling that RJD would approve of the effort ... maybe even go "I like those songs ... oh wait, they're mine!"

Joe Lynn Turner ~ Rescue You (album review) ... Rescue me from what?

Style: hard rock, AOR
Label: Wounded Bird Records
Year: 1985
Home: New Jersey

Members: Joe Lynn Turner ~ vocals
Al Greenwood ~ keyboards
Bobby Messano ~ guitar/bass/b. vocals
Chuck Burgi ~ drums

 

JLT came out from Rainbow with his first stop his solo debut Rescue You. It had a modest MTV hit with "Endlessly", but not much critical response & wouldn't be given a follow-up until 1995. Though, by then, JLT's prolific work as a session musician would put thirty albums on his resume. By the time of his second solo album he'd built up lots of studio experience with an array of musical styles, had some new writings partners, let alone moved away from the shadow of Rainbow both musically & personally. On Rescue You most of the tracks were co-written by keyboardist Al Greenwood, formerly of Foreigner. The outcome echoes of Foreigner (i.e. "Losing You", "Endlessly") with embarrassing abandon. Part of it is the now dated sounding stabs of keyboards that take prominent ground over the guitars which are lost in the mix at times. It has a very 80's AOR sheen, though considering he'd just worked with guitar demon Ritchie Blackmore it's probably better that he stayed away from guitar heavy music for the moment. Sadly, the album doesn't have a kick. The material sounds too dated & too weak & definitely too repetitious in its feeling & style to ever truly rise. But, JLT shines above it with a great range of vocal nuances. Though, on first listen one is liable not to hear anything but JLT's voice falling into the generic music & not out from under it. Thus, on one hand, this is not the best JLT album to recommend as its not a strong album musically, later albums would often bring in multiple songwriters to their benefit, but his voice is rich & enjoyable once one gets past the 80's sheen. Actually, on the second half of the album it's incredibly nuanced & you can feel him putting his whole body into the notes riding it forward like a boxer. Let alone the man is pitch & tone perfect as always. There's a reason he's a prolific session backing vocalist & its not just due to self-promotion. In many ways I'm reminded of Michael Bolton's first few albums, when he was still a guitar playing rocker. He sings his heart out but the material just isn't there & too much time spend on radio friendly love ballads. JLT has the same problem. But, this isn't so bad of a first step out into the great solo unknown, though its obvious why it didn't have a bigger impact. JLT fans should pick up this first release if they're at all interested in his career & anyone else probably won't regret it too much. Anyways, it is Al Greenwood of ... Foreigner, not just any old keyboardist.

Black Sabbath ~ Heaven & Hell (album review) ... 2 sides of the same coin!

Style: heavy metal, hard rock
Label: Warner Brothers
Year: 1980
Home: England

Members: Geezer Butler ~ bass
Ronnie James Dio ~ vocals
Tony Iommi ~ guitar
Geoff Nicholls ~ keyboards
Bill Ward ~ drums, backing vocals

Few bands have replaced a key member, changed songwriters, updated their sound & found just as much success, particularly bands as musically influential in creating a genre, as Black Sabbath did in 1981 when they brought in horn waving elf Ronnie James Dio fresh out of Richie Blackmore's Rainbow. Dio took not just the vocal spot from iconic Ozzy Osbourne but also the writing spot from bassist Geezer Butler & helped moved the band away from being a gloomy blues based drug band to heavy 80's rockers reaching out to a new generation of fans as hair metal hit the airwaves. Many decried the plethora of changes, though in hindsight many may have forgotten that this reinvention came after Sabbath was on the decline. Heaven & Hell, the first of four outings from the new line-up, isn't strung with classic song after classic song like the 1970 legacy-making Paranoid, but it did contribute fan favorites "Neon Knights", "Children Of The Sea" the title track ... that are just as good as anything that came before & working hard to disprove the fans that said there was no Sabbath without Ozzy. The experimental nature of the later Ozzy albums, a weak point of contention for many fans, was largely retired for a more commercialized sound, while the drug & mysticism lyrics gave way to medieval imagery. It's easy to ignore the albums between Paranoid & Heaven & Hell & forget that this is actually a predictable steady progression of the band, it just came to fruition earlier than expected with Dio's arrival. It's really not a surprising change, nor by far a negative one & definitely reads more drastic than it really is. Tony Iommi's trademark de-tuned guitar lines remain slow & heavy with Geezer Butler's bass still slogging away ... a simplicity that would be lost in future heavy metal that came to believe guitars had to be fast & distorted to be heavy. Iommi plays like a big slow gorilla not a fast colorful tiger. While the lyrical move isn't really that big of a change as its more like two sides of the same coin. Decrying social ills remains a regular theme, with the step from witchcraft to medieval mysticism beyond distant cousins & both lending themselves to visual lyrics. The band couldn't have found a better writer without hurting the band, as would be shown by the weak material that followed after the departure of Dio & Geezer. Further, honestly, Dio is probably the better singer than Ozzy ever was or is. Ozzy has an instantly recognizable voice & style but he essentially just shouts, grunts & vocalizes with none of the range or control of Dio & if it wasn't for some great songs, both with Sabbath & in his solo career, one can only wonder if he'd be so popular as his vocals often sound sloppy. Dio & the boys proved to be a rocky partnership that produced The Mob Rules before collapsing & Dio forming his own band with replacement Sabbath drummer Appice, while successive Sabbath singers found the band at its lowest point, but a shadow of itself with only Iommi as a constant presence. The Dio era, as its called, was the light before the dark. Dio returned to the fold a decade later to produce Dehumanizer, again to see things crumble & eventually lead to a Ozzy reunion that produced only a live album & two weak studio tracks. Dio united again with the band under the moniker Heaven & Hell, making a strong case for the skeptics that still preferred Ozzy let alone that Sabbath was dead, with the powerfully dark The Devil You Know before his unexpected death in 2010. Of the four Dio era Sabbath albums, two are great, two are okay. But, the great ones are good enough to have divided the Sabbath camp into Dio fans vs. Ozzy fans. It's really two different bands. I saw Heaven & Hell/Black Sabbath in concert & didn't mind in the least that not a single Ozzy song was played. They weren't missed.

Black Night: Deep Purple Tribute According To New York (album review) ... More like a tribute to New York!

Style: hard rock, tribute, funk
Label: Revolver Music
Year: 1997
Home: New York City

Members: T.M. Stevens ~ bass/lead vocals

Guests: Joe Lynn Turner, Tony Harnell, Cory Glover ~ lead vocals
Simon Gregory ~ guitars/b. vocals
Will Calhoun, Van Romaine ~ drums/b. vocals
Cindy Blackman ~ drums
Ritchie Kotzen ~ lead vocals/guitars
Al Pitrelli, Lars Y. Loudamp, Steve Salas, Vinnie Moore ~ guitars
Bernie Worrell ~ keyboards

I tend to avoid compilations as potential reviews as it will undoubtedly turn into a situation of judging one band against another & if I like one contributing band but not another I'm in an uncomfortable position of comparison ... but, this is an interesting compilation as it's produced by funk bassmaster T.M. Stevens & features only fellow New York musicians ... many of whom aren't household names but whose careers as just illustrious as anyone else ... with the set number of musicians organized so no two songs feature the same line-up though the same musicians are all over the album with T.M. Stevens as the one stable factor & Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun coming in near second. Also, I happen to be a big fan of Richie Blackmore, but who isn't, & of guitarist Al Pitrelli who rips through four tracks. Speaking of Al ... the roster of musicians on this tribute - wow! The list is the best of NYC, though by far not inclusive of all the great talent in the city. It includes alumni/members of Rainbow, Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, TNT, Living Colour, UFO, Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz, Steve Morse, Poison, Mr. Big & more. & yes, they all live up to their reputations which isn't always the case with tribute albums of this type. Besides rotating through Stevens backing band over the years, many of these musicians have played together in numerous other projects or even been in the same bands. The comradery comes through. There might not be a single real or permanent band on the outing, but the inherent cohesiveness of sounds & styles says differently. So often one-off tribute line-ups like this are created by people who don't each other & the music suffers because no one is on the same page. But, with long shared histories & Stevens keeping a watchful eye on the outcome this compilation does not suffer like most of its stilted 'in it for the money only' label created cousins & easily rises to the top of tribute albums. As for the music itself. This is not Richie Blackmore. No one can copy his style ... if they can even play that fast & nimbly. Though at times some of the guitarists come close in their own individual way, but the point here is obviously not to imitate but pay tribute. There's a big difference that a lot of bands misunderstand when doing covers. Focusing on imitation is where other tribute albums usually fail. The point is also to give the album a New York City edge, which obviously deters some inclinations to imitate. Which, for Stevens, is to funk Deep Purple up. For those that think Deep Purple can't be funked up the results are shocking & ecstatic. Blackmore has always been a very melodic player, avoiding the cliché riffing style, so putting a funk behind his rock rhythms doesn't sound like two strangers coming together. Given Blackmore's diverse inspirations he'd probably approve of the resulting interpretations. Even a reggae-fied "Child In Time" comes across successfully, with the great Bernie Worrell on keys though it migrates into a rock sound. Further, you usually don't get to hear most of these guys ... and girl, laying their stuff over a bed of funk so this is a treat. Upbeat, fun, & it gives an equal balance to funk & rock, more in the sense that the rhythm is funk & the leads are undoubtedly rock. At times it reminds me of Band of Gypsies, Hendrix's funk outfit. Sometimes when you have an album with such a star line-up you aim to listen for a particular musician. Yes, I'll confess I bought this album for Pitrelli, but this is an album where you stop trying to focus in on the details cause the whole thing is an exciting collage of sound ... the way it should be with no superstars just a bunch of good old city boys jammin'. As for is this a particularly NYC sound? Well, what is a NYC sound? I've always seen it as Lou Reed, but heroin isn't mentioned anywhere on the album nor are there any screechy Velvet Underground-like tirades. While it's definitely not the New York Dolls, Twisted Sister, Beastie Boys & there's not a bit of Broadway in sight. So, who really can say. It's definitely not L.A. glam, that's for sure. For the curious, all the hits are here: "Black Night", "Strange Kind Of Woman", "Fireball", "Smoke On The Water", "Child In Time", "Woman From Tokyo", "Space Truckin", "Stormbringer", "Speed King" & "Burn".

Graham Bonnet ~ The Day I Went Mad (album review) ... The day I became a Graham Bonnet fan!

Style: hard rock, heavy metal, power metal
Label: Escape Music
Year: 2001
Home: Los Angeles

Members: Graham Bonnet ~ vocals
Kevin Valentine ~ drums

Additional: Mark Eric ~ guitar
Michael Alemania, Teddy Andreass ~ keyboards
Jamie Carter, Tim Bogert, Matt Boyd ~ bass

Guests: Slash, Vivian Campbell, Danny Johnson, Bruce Kulick, Mario Parga ~ guitars
John Thomas ~ guitars/keyboards
Tony Franklin ~ bass

Maybe I listen to too much music that sounds alike cause I swear a lot of it I forget as soon as the headphones come off. Or, maybe a lot of it is just not that memorable regardless of how good the musicians are. Then, occasionally, I hear something & I can't get it out of my head & I realize how really bland everything I've been listening to is in comparison. I originally started this review months ago but the album has been going around in my head so much I didn't want to let it out of my thoughts by finishing the review. I've felt like a parent having a kid leave home. Will I ever listen to the album again once it leaves me? Will I listen to the next album by this artist sooner than later? It's an album like The Day I Went Mad where I realize my problem is an overdose of bland music & I'm frightened to return to it ... I might go mad. This is a wake up album. I even wrote an e-mail to someone about how good this album was & I was only on the 3rd song. Brit Graham Bonnet is one of the lesser names of 80's singers, though it's not because he hasn't been prolific nor because he has an incredibly recognizable & it's not because he doesn't talented set of vocal cords somewhat in the style of Rob Halford. While his trademark James Dean-esque greaser look in an era of hair metal, though recently he's also been known to show up in a suit, has given him lots of coverage. Further, he fronted Rainbow after Dio left along with the Michael Schenker group & was in Alcatrazz with Satriani & Vai respectively. But, like many musicians the chart-topping hit has eluded him & thus his legacy/name recognition isn't reflective of what it should be. This album is cornucopia of alt-rock, Queen-esque operatic choir, 80's rock & power metal & maybe even a little grunge by way of Alice In Chains. The band is great but it's Bonnet's voice that is the key moving it all to a new level. As good as Halford, Dio, Ozzy or any other famed singer with a voice that can scream or get down to a grinding snarl. The Day I Went Mad is full of incredibly memorable riffs spanning a musical spectrum where each song is like a mini-musical world of its own with none of them sounding alike & not a bit of filler & every song, more importantly, rocks out. You actually begin to wonder what the band sounds like if they just let loose & rock out in a jam session. Some bands you know need the studio, but these guys sound like they could make magic anywhere. But, while this cornucopia approach can make for a difficult listen, & has been the weak spot of many albums, Bonnet's voice is the rope that keeps it all together. I didn't know Bonnet before I came across this & picked it up because I like the name of the album, it reminded me of the Queen song "I'm Going Slightly Mad", but this is one of the most spectacular releases I've accidentally took a chance on. If you can't tell - I've been made a fan. Highly recommended for everyone who likes to rock! Further, this is an album that actually sounds original in a world where nothing is original anymore. Featured in guest spots are Slash, Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell, KISS's Bruce Kulick, The Firm's Tony Franklin & members of Firefly.

Dio ~ Diamonds: The Best Of... (hits comp) (album review) ... Going holy diving!

Style: heavy metal
Label: Vertigo
Year: 1992
Home: Los Angeles

Members: Ronnie James Dio ~ vocals/keyboards
Vivian Campbell, Craig Goldy, Rowan Robertson ~ guitars
Jimmy Bain, Teddy Cook ~ bass
Vinny Appice, Simon Wright ~ drums
Claude Schnell, Jens Johansson ~ keyboards

 
In honor of his death today, this review gets put up early form its place in the queue. Ronnie James Dio was a great singer, even if he's a walking elfin caricature who was performing as wild as ever well past retirement age. With Rainbow, Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell, and his own band RJD has seen a stream of hits come from his pen and through his distinctive vocals, putting a stamp on all bands that no successor has been able to match. I'll even confess that I actually might like the Dio era of Black Sabbath better than the Ozzy days or, aghast, the Tony Martin albums. But, really, those are three different bands. I do know, after having seen Heaven & Hell last year at Madison Square Garden Dio was probably the far better performer and had more control over his vocals than his foe Ozzy. The problem with Dio, the namesake band formed with fellow Sabbath alum Vinny Appice, is, perhaps due to line-up changes, the hits just weren't always there. They have but a few classics which makes this collection both good and bad. Good in the sense that it has all the hits ("Holy Diver," "Rainbow In The Dark," "Don't Talk To Strangers" & "We Rock") spanning their career from 1983-94 and if you're a casual fan this will complete the Dio requirement for your album collection. There's a few later songs that don't hold up as well so the album starts stronger than it ends but it'll take care of all your needs without you having to week through the entire up and down discography. But, listening just to their hits, Dio pretty much has everything you want from metal, both in terms of the band and the man. Rest in piece one of our rock icons!