Reviews roundup – Gregory Lynn Hall vs. Red Molly vs. Niva vs. Rainbows Are Free

Reviews roundup – Gregory Lynn Hall vs. Red Molly vs. Niva vs. Rainbows Are Free

GREGORY LYNN HALL
Heaven To Earth
AOR Heaven

Let’s start things off with some smooth AOR from Gregory Lynn Hall, who is the singer for AOR outfit, 101 South.  He goes back a ways does Mr Hall, all the way back to the days of eighties glam metal, but it’s been since the inception of 101 South that he’s found his niche.

I actually first saw his name when he toured with Heaven And Earth, and he’s worked with plenty of big names, which is why you’ll find the likes of Craig Goldy and Billy Liesegang popping up on this solo set.  Although it’s nearly all Hall, as he takes care of vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and moothie.  The big show off.

It’s actually got a harder edge than the 101 South material, which is probably why he’s putting out solo,  as tunes like ‘Rockin the Road’ and the eighties throwback of ‘Stars in the Night’ attest.  But it’s still very melodic, and he has a fantastic AOR voice, which will make fans of the genre very happy indeed.

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RED MOLLY
The Red Album
self released

Country time now, and despite the fact that they’ve been on the go for a decade, this is my first encounter with them.  And it’s my loss, because Laurie MacAllister (bass), Abbie Gardner (dobro) and Molly Venter (guitar) are very good indeed,

For this one they’ve teamed up with producer Ken Coomer (Wilco / Uncle Tupelo) and put together a set of eight originals and four covers, with their splendid harmonies, front and centre.  The best of the covers is the opening ‘Clinch River Blues’, which really shows off just how amazing their vocals are.

Wherever you drop the needle in the groove, you’re guaranteed to stumble upon a gem, with the best ballad, ‘You Don’t Have The Heart For It’, and right at the end they thrown in an unaccompanied vocal on ‘Copper Ponies’, which is stunningly beautiful. One of the best country albums I’ve heard this year, and one you’ll be hearing a lot of on my radio show over at GRTR Radio.

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NIVA
Incremental IV
AOR Heaven

We’ve a lot to thank the Eurovision Song Contest and added to the pile is the resurrection of nineties AOR band, Niva.  2011 saw Tony Niva working on a song called ‘Janitor Of Love’ for the Swedish Eurovision entry, along with ex-Niva members Roger Ljunggren (guitar) and Marcus Persson (keyboards).

From that, they moved on to creating new Niva music, and they’ve been banging out an enjoyable albums per year since.  And this is another one to enjoy.  It’s classic eighties AOR, full of big choruses and memorable riffs, along with the obligatory big ballad.  From the opening ‘Don’t You Know’, it flows with style and panache, as they set about having a good time.

The big ballad is ‘Travel Back In Time’, and if you want to sample just one outstanding melodic rock tune, take a listen to ‘Play The Game’.  They then rock out on ‘Only You’, another standout song, before heading back into their AOR groove.  There are a couple of songs that could have been cut, but as throwback AOR goes, this is a good one.

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RAINBOWS ARE FREE
Waves Ahead Of The Ocean
Cargo

Now my first thought was “HIPPY! ALERT!”.  I mean come on.  Rainbows Are Free.  Waves Ahead Of The Ocean.  I girded myself for some dolphin duets.  But hold hard, they’re actually a metal band.  And even better, a Monster Magnet type metal band.  Excuse me, while I throw a bucket of water over my head, and think back to my days following MM on their UK tours.

Of course had I flipped the sleeve over and seen a song called ‘Speed God And The Rise Of The Motherfuckers From A Place Beyond Hell’, I might have twigged a little earlier.  A few brownie points go to the PR folk who recommend that as the “Radio Emphasis Single”.  Right!  And they’re very good, indeed.  They’re too hard for stoner rock, especially with the Priest like vocals, but they’ve held on to the swagger and groove.  Oh my.

And it’s their metal edge that prevents them from turning into another boring Kyuss Klone.  They even stretch back to the seventies as you pick up on some Captain Beyond type rhythms hither and thither.  They’re from Oklahoma so they can sort of explain away the southern rock vibe that creeps in to some of the tuneage such as ‘Snake Bitten By Love’.  Awesomely awesome in an awesome kind of way.

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