Review Rundown: LA Guns, One Less Reason, Hell Or Highwater, Park Lane, Gregory Issacs
This new edition of the Review Rundown looks at new
releases from LA Guns, One Less Reason, Hell Or Highwater, and Park Lane, as
well as a tribute record to the work of Gregory Issacs.
Various Artists - We
Remember Gregory Issacs (VP Records): We
Remember Gregory Issacs, a tribute paying homage to the late Jamaican
singer helmed by saxophonist and producer Dean Fraser, features vocal versions
of several of Isaacs' signature tunes sung by contemporary Jamaican vocalists. We Remember Gregory Issacs, a double
disc affair, starts off with various contemporary artists tackling some of
Issacs’ strongest works, including “Night Nurse,” performed by Romain Virgo,
“Front Door,” performed by Tarrus Riley, “Mr. Brown,” by Jah Cure, “Hard
Drugs,” performed by Busy Signal, and “Border,” as done by Duane Stephenson.
Etana’s take on “My Only Lover” also serves as a highlight here, though the
true selling point of We Remember Gregory
Issacs is the second disc in which Fraser himself emerges from behind the
mixing board to perform each and every one of these song instrumentally, whose
considerable talents with a saxophone in hand pretty much know no end. We Remember Gregory Issacs has the
potential to reintroduce the legendary work of Issacs to the world and make
Issacs relevant again in the eyes and the minds of today’s new generation of
reggae lovers. (www.myspace.com/gregoryisaacsmon)
Grade: B-
Go Download: “Night Nurse”
L.A. Guns – Acoustic
Gypsy Live (Favored Nations): No matter the band, no matter the songs,
acoustic albums are pretty much hit or miss regardless. In the case of L.A.
Guns and their new acoustic offering Acoustic
Gypsy Live, in order to fully enjoy the album, you have the take the good
with the bad as it were because not all of Guns catalog lends itself to an
acoustic makeover. Such is the case with the tracks “Sex Action” and “Rip and
Tear,” two songs that sound a better fit with a full electric accompaniment,
though the guitar solo housed within the former makes up for its shortcomings
in the acoustic department. On the flip side, “Ballad of Jayne” and “Crystal
Eyes” could not sound better unplugged and sound more haunting and more
powerful with the power turned out. “Over the Edge” represents the strongest
cut off of Acoustic Gypsy Live, and for those looking for more than simple
redeux’s, the band offer up a new tune in “Little Soldier” and a couple of
excellent covers in Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine” and Nazareth’s “Love
Hurts.” Even though Jizzy Pearl handles vocal duties on Acoustic Gypsy Live, it makes no difference (he’s since left the
fold), and it’s nice to see Tracii Guns doing what he does best with a guitar,
albeit acoustic, in his hands. Whether you’re a fan of L.A. Guns I or L.A. Guns
II, Acoustic Gypsy Live is worth a
listen. (www.laguns.net)
Grade: C+
Go Download: “Over the Edge”
One Less Reason - Faces
& Four Letter Words (Arsenic): Let’s make one thing perfectly clear
from the start – One Less reason’s Faces
& Four Letter Words is a good record, and there’s a good chance you’ll
agree while you’re listening, which is the ultimate downfall for the record.
It’s a quality listen, though you’ll probably have a hard time remembering it
after you move onto another record. It’s sort of a case of right place, wrong
time for One Less Reason, a promising up and comer in the rock game. They’re in
the right place with Faces & Four
Letter Words, though at the wrong time because there’s at least another few
dozen or so high quality rock releases usurping this band’s place in the
spotlight. It’s evident that One Less reason has the chops to get the job done
and its clear they have a keen eye for what works. They know how to assemble a
good modern rock song, oft-resembling a young Crossfade circa 2004, though
there seems to be too many times throughout Faces
& Four Letter Words where the band suffers a power outage, moments of
staunch, radio-drenched balladeering in which you’ll have a hard time telling
One Less Reason apart from 3 Doors Down or Shinedown (“If You Want Me,”
“Someday,” “A Day to Be Alone”), and definitely not enough displays of guitar
driven rock intensity (“What You Are,” “Faces”). Unfortunately for OLR and Faces & Four Letter Words, their
penultimate cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax” is very good, too good
actually because its perhaps the best song on the album, creating yet another
obstacle for Faces & Four Letter
Words in the long run. (www.onelessreasonmusic.com)
Grade: C+
Go Download: “Relax”
Hell Or Highwater – Begin
Again: Begin Again, the
high-powered debut from Atreyu’s Brandon Saller’s new plaything Hell Or
Highwater, is opened with two of its better cuts in “Gimme Love” and “Hail
Mary!,” two tracks that immediately show that with Saller a star is born. Sure,
fans of Atreyu know the drummer/vocalist has got some quality pipes, but now he
longer is shrouded in darkness, no longer remaining hidden behind a wall of
drums – he is front and center in Hell Or Highwater. With the subsequent
“Terrorized In the Night” and “Tragedy,” HOH seems content coming out guns
ablaze, though the initial momentum tires andluster fades a bit as Begin Again progresses, as the album
eventually gives way to a wash of forgettable, mid-tempo rockers that
ultimately fall to the wayside (“Rocky Waters Edge,” “When the Morning Comes”).
Even an appearance from Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows can’t save “Go Alone”
from obscurity. HOH pick themselves up by their bootstraps towards the end of
the record as “We All Wanna Go Home,” the album’s final sendoff employs big
hooks, anthemic vocals and excellent soloing, sending Begin Again out on a high note, an album that clearly shows this
band has some things to build off of. And while Begin Again shows some signs of inconsistency that can be chalked
up to growing pains, it sure made one hell of a mark. (www.hellorhighwateroffical.com)
Grade: B+
Go Download: “Gimme Love”
Park Lane - Letters
From the Fire (Hayfield Records): From his days spent conducting frenetic
and groundbreaking jazz/metal fusion (or “urban fusion” for those fans out
there) act Candiria, to his short-lived, yet overlooked time in the promising
Christian act Hope Kills Fear, Carley Coma has remained one of the most
recognizable and talented throats in the game. And as frontman for his latest
day job, the newly formed Park Lane, Coma continues to dazzle when a microphone
is present, which is all too obvious on the bands debut, the powerful Letters From the Fire. The album’s first
triumvirate of songs (“the Edge,” “Silence,” “Love Again”) represent the albums
three strongest tracks and Coma’s three best post-Candiria cuts. That’s by no
means a disservice to the rest of this record – it’s not meant as a slight by
any means – nor should you plan on abandoning ship and hit the stop button after
“Love Again” fades – there’s still quality left to be heard throughout the rest
of Letters From the Fire, a remaining
portion which ebbs and flows steadily through waves of guitar driven melodic
rock full of deep seated grooves and apparent atmospherics able to create lush
and vibrant soundscapes (“Mirrors,” “My Escape,” “Failure”) and tempered,
heart-on-sleeve moments of sheer emotionality (“Never Alone,” “A Lonely Shade
of Red,” “All You Have”). Regardless of which side of Letters From the Fire you prefer, you can rest assure it’s a
complete listen. (www.parklaneband.com)
Grade: B+
Go Download: “Silence”
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