KELLY KEELING 'Giving Sight To The Eye' Mascot Records (2005) website

Vocalist Kelly Keeling (Baton Rouge/Blue Murder/John Norum) has produced a fine solo debut and amazingly it's his first one as well! There are plenty of guests as well including Roger Daltrey, Don Dokken, Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin to name but a few. The album also covers many musical areas ranging from the hard rock opener 'Rising Of The Snake' (not a song about David Coverdale) to the funky vibe of 'Broken' (for me the weakest track on here). Stand out tracks are 'Ground Zero', a truly magnificent piece of pomp rock and it's no wonder as it is written by Kansas's Kerry Livgren and 'Jessie', a wonderful acoustic number in the vein of CSNY and the Eagles. Roger Daltrey and Denny Laine (ex-Wings/Moody Blues) guest on this one and if any song on here would suit airplay it is this gem. Elsewhere former Dio/Rainbow drummer Vinnie Appice drums up a storm on 'Hell Is On The Way', with Keeling proving he's no slouch in the guitar department either as he widdles up a solo storm a la Steve Vai.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this album was as many albums with long guest lists tend to have a disjointed feel to them. Well worth adding to your collection and it highlights what an underrated vocalist Keeling is.