I have dived into my review material for another week and have quite a diverse lot to choose from. Some of it is a bit daft but all of it was at least interesting to listen to; at least once.
CD Reviews
Lauren Harris: Calm before the Storm
Lauren, daughter of Iron Maiden founder/bassist extraordinaire, has released her full length. What makes the album interesting to fans of IM is the fact this is the first release, other than Iron Maiden, that Steve Harris has lent his bass skills to, in his entire 30 year career. Not that you can hear much of his bass playing on this pop-rock album.
Those expecting some female-led power metal will be wildly disappointed by this heavier Kelly Clarkson-style pop rock. It's inoffensive stuff that ranges from the twee to the tolerable. Lyrically, she needs to work on things a bit as her songs can be as cliched as the worst power metal from the continent.
It will be interesting to see what she comes up with next time out. Something a bit more substantial would not go amiss. Considering that with this disc she is not helping herself with claims of nepotism, it was a particularly poor idea to put her on the Iron Maiden tour. This has gotten her and her father quite a bit of criticism.
There is a glimmer of the Harris’ family musical talent. It just seems wasted in this already filled music genre. She needs to strike out on her own a bit and stretch her wings.
Southern Gentlemen: Valley of Fire
This is not what one might expect... another dose of Southern rock inspired by Skynrd. In fact this band, especially the lead singer, have far more in common with Dio than anything to emerge from South of the Mason-Dixon line. I mean this as no criticism. How can you when you have such prime Dio-esque rock as "End of the World" and "Bitter Harvest". There is even a hint of bluesy Whitesnake before the band turned into MTV monsters; but the voice is pure Ronnie James Dio.
This is very good blues rock and avoids the now cliché sludge rock that has been invading the Southern music sphere. The band includes Dave T. Chastain, a man better known for his guitar shredding abilities via his solo material, ala Steve Vai, than someone in a band setting. This is the same line-up that recorded their previous effort, which saw quite a bit of their material appear during various TV programs.
This CD was quite a find and I have enjoyed it in its entirety. One to seek out and seriously enjoy. It's always nice to make this kind of discovery for someone like me; who thinks he has heard it all.
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