How I was looking forward to this
release. I loved Start from the Dark
the 2004 release. It was my album of
the year in 2004. And in 2005 I
bought tickets to the Sweden Rock
festival and was about to fly from
South Africa to Sweden because
Europe was one of the headliners.
Unfortunately business prevented me
from leaving.
And how they tried on this album.
Everything had to be right. It was
mixed by Stefan Glaumann (from
Rammstein and Within Temptation) and
mastered by George Marino (Velvet
Revolver and U2) and produced by
themselves.
Musically speaking it is more modern
than Start from the Dark. There is
the mellow tracks like Wish I could
believe and Mother's Son and then
the rockers like Secret Society and
Getaway Plan. There even is
children's voices halfway through
Let the Children Play.
There are brilliant songs and riffs.
But I think the production and
mixing kills the album. The same
problem many bands has when they try
to make a comeback or try to follow
a first album up.
But boys, I think you tried too hard
and rocked too little. Too much like
Crush from Bon Jovi (yes that old)
and too little like The Answer. Go
back to your roots (rock roots with
no computers )- your guts - and save
your money for retirement which is
not too far away. The guitars are
brilliant though.
Will I listen to it again? I doubt
it. Six times was enough. I have
7000 cd's (originals) to listen to
and the only one from Europe that
will feature a lot is Start
from the Dark whilst I am waiting
for the new one.
I am listening to it again and
again - trying to understand the
mixing on the vocals - will put
another review on the net in 2 days
- 23/10/2006
1. Secret
Society - Very nasal vocal
beginning. I really don't think that
Joey needs help from computers to
make his voice better. I like the
guitars on this song. They determine
the melody and very wisely put the
vocals on the background. new idea
to end the song with the riff. 8/10
2. Always the pretenders - Again the
vocal thing. What is it? Some kind
of new computer program? Again the
riff parallel with the lead solo is
very impressive. Catchy tune though.
Where as the solo lead guitar is
shadowed by the riff, the lead
vocals are shadowed by the
background vocals. This can be a
brilliant song without the terrible
production that dominate the song.
7.5 /10
3. The getaway Plan - I can see John
sliding his fingers on the guitar in
the beginning. In comes a very hard
riff. But again - the vocals must
make the song harder and not take
away the power. And the echoes on
the background does not help the
course. The guitar solo in the
middle on top of the riff is
brilliant. And it just get better to
the end. (8.5/10)
4. Wish I could believe - When the
song begins, it stunts me - this is
the natural Joey's voice. This is
the voice we want to hear on the
album - not a machine voice. Alas
with the beginning of the second
verse in comes the other voice. Very
good mellow guitar solo though
(6/10)
5. Let the children play - This song
has the best riff on the album.
Bring back memories of the brilliant
2004 album. If Joey listened to his
mother and looked for the magic in
his natural voice, this song would
have been a 10. (8.5/10)
6. Human after all - A new idea on
the album - the bass and drum that
precedes the riff. This is
definitely going to be a
crowd-pleaser. I love the change in
tempo when the final solo kicks in.
And yes Joey - "thanks we are all
human after all" (7.5/10)
7. Love is not the Enemy - Very
mediocre tune. The guitar riff and
solo saves the day. (5/10)
8. A Mother's Son - Thank God Joey
is back. Even though it is on a
ballad filler. Yes they must be
there. The strings that builds up to
the piano and then to the riff is a
very safe and effective method of
doing a ballad. Nothing wrong with
it. it is part of the small print
with the record company. This is the
template they will teach you at
Music School. Problem is that I
don't think it works that well in
2006. (7.5/10)
9. Forever Travelling - This tune
was of the shelf. Nothing new.
Possibly from the Countdown
recordings. It is a pity though
because this is some of Joeys best
vocals on the album. Well they are
tired of travelling - give them a
break. (5.5/10)
10. Brave and Beautiful Soul - Same
template as Human after All, just
different lyrics. There's nothing
wrong with putting the bass and
drums on the foreground, but then
with a different tempo. (6/10)
11. Devil sings the Blues - Well
they paid their dues to God in track
4. Now is the devil's turn. He gets
the bad one. (5/10)
