Reviews roundup – Black Country Communion vs. Paul Brady vs. Lew Jetton & 61 South vs. Foreigner
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION
BCCIV
Mascot
Well no-one saw that coming after the exchange of words between Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa in the wake of “Afterglow”. But here they are, five years on, hatchets buried and with a fantastic new album for the world.
And it really is good. Vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze), drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner), Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Alice Cooper) and blues rock guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa have dug deep and turned in what is probably the best Black Country Communion album out there. Which surprised me as I was less taken with “Afterglow” than I was BCC or BCC 2. This one, however, pulls off the difficult job of falling into instant classic status. Now that may be because I’m old or it may be because there’s no-one else out there digging into the seventies as well as this lot. But I think, deep down, it’s simply because it’s bloody good.
As usual they’ve got together with producer Kevin Shirley and the songs sound huge as they knock out a series of songs as good as you’re likely to hear anywhere in the world of rawk. Hughes is in fantastic voice and if you’re one of those people who think he has a tendency to show off on his own records, then clap your ears to this and be amazed. Mind you, if I had that voice I’d show off as well. Songwise it’s the same template of powerful rock, a couple of epics and a touch of blues rock. But as I just mentioned the songs are the key here and numbers like ‘The Last Song For My Resting Place’ (which oddly has a Bonamassa vocal), ‘Love Remains’ and the single ‘Collide’ are simply superb.
There isn’t a misstep anywhere on BCCIV so you really need to grab this when it comes out on September 22nd. There is also a vinyl edition with a bonus track, ‘With You I Go’.
The band are also playing two dates in the UK in 2018. Tickets on sale now:
Jan 2 – Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Jan 4 – London Hammersmith Apollo
PAUL BRADY
Unfinished Business
Proper
Album number fifteen from the now septuagenarian Paul Brady and it’s pretty much business as usual.
I remember getting dragged to a Paul Brady concert back in the eighties and being distinctly underwhelmed. But back then I was a die hard metalhead. Fast forward a few decades and I still am but I’ve matured enough to appreciated the strength of his songwriting and there are some fine examples here, along with an excellent musical performance.
For sure a couple of the songs pass by in a blur of meh but the broken heart I carry could’t help but fall for the near schmaltz of ‘I Like How You Think’ and ‘I Love You But You Love Him’. People think it’s easy to write a simple song but it’s not. However there is still plenty for old school fans to enjoy with ‘Something To Change’ and ‘Oceans of Time’ giving pause for thought. A fine, late addition to his catalogue.
LEW JETTON & 61 SOUTH
Palestine Blues
Coffee Street
Lew Jetton has been plying his blues trade for a long time now. And if you’ve managed to keep going in the highly competitive blues world for decades then you’re doing something right. And Mr Jetton is certainly doing that.
The songs here see him digging deep into some fairly bleak places as he tells tales of his drinking, drugs and depression. Horrible stuff but the sort of thing that goes into making a set of blues songs powerful. Which is exactly what you’re getting here on numbers like ‘Will I Go To Hell’, ‘For The Pain’ and ‘Christ Have Mercy’. Easy listening it certainly isn’t.
The good thing is he seems to have come out the other side and fingers crossed he stays there. Because that’s the hard part, let me tell you. Musically he’s found a tight knit band who never overwhelm the music. It might be a bit much for some people but if you knuckle down and dig in, then it’s definitely worth the journey.
FOREIGNER
40
Rhino
It’s forty years since the debut album by Foreigner came out. In those forty years they’ve released nine studio records, the last one being “Can’t Slow Down” in 2009. And that was their first album in fifteen years. However, at the last count, there were nineteen compilation albums. This makes twenty. Yes, really. They could have just as easily called this “35” to mark the thirty fifth anniversary of their first best of.
Thing is there is no questioning the quality of the music. Before they became MOR bound they made some of the best melodic rock you will ever hear. And in “4” they probably made the best AOR album ever. Yes, Journey fans, you read that right. But twenty compilations! Does Mick Jones really need the money that much. To be fair their US tour has seen them reconvene with some of the original members to make an event out of it. Which is why the live album was invented.
But if you’ve been imprisoned / marooned on an island for the last 35 years and avoided all the previous compilations, then this is a decent one. Of course, that depends on whether you buy the 2 CD version or the single disc version. Oh, yes, you’re not getting off that easily. It’s a multi-format world folks. Naturally the 2 CD version has 40 songs on it and the slimmed down version a mere 20. Actually, if you live in America there’s a three disc version as well, exclusive to Walmart. Most of the songs are peerless and they even find room for personal favourites like ‘Can’t Wait’. The 2 CD version even finds room for Johnny Edwards on ‘Lowdown and Dirty’, another lost classic.
It comes right up to date taking in the Kelly Hansen years and there is even room for a couple of new songs with ‘I Don’t Want to Live Without You’ and ‘Give My Life for Love’ with ‘The Flame Still Burns’ a song released on a vinyl EP last year making its CD debut here. But, again, they get you in the wallet as you’ll need the double disc to get both new songs. That’s called marketing, that is. Great music but…
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St Columba’s Hospice Tribute Fund for Linda Hamilton
http://linda.hamilton.muchloved.com/
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The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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