This is the album that brought them back together, after Glen threw his toys away when Joe wouldn’t make BCC his priority band. Would you if you had a super successful solo career? Nope, and neither would I! Kevin Shirley always said he would have loved to have produced Zeppelin, and I guess this is as close as he will get. Except, this is Zeppelin with keyboards and a better singer.
Opening track, Collide, is Joe trying his best Jimmy Page impression – even the tone is super close – and Jason’s drum sound is so close to his dad’s. Over My Head feels like a song that would be on a Hughes solo album with a slight funky undertone. The Last Song For My Resting Place starts with Jo Bo on lead vocal, and sounds as though it’s his solo album. I’m not sure why there is a Keyboardist to be honest, as they just use him as strings substitute in the most part. Sway shows this perfectly, again, we have that big rock sound with the funky undertone – and the keys seem to be an after thought. Sons Of Apollo is next and that’s how you use Derek Sherinian.
Now, you may be getting the impression that I don’t like this album. But that’s wrong – I do – it’s just that I think this project may have run it’s course. I don’t think they have an identity of their own, and they just sound as though they are paying homage to what’s gone before. However, Glenn is an unbelievable vocalist, and Joe is a killer guitarist, and both Jason and Derek are at the top of their games also. They could have mixed the old with the new and come up with something of their own. The production is great and delivers that stripped back old late seventies classic rock sound that Shirley is so good at.
I think the first album is the best and this gets 8/10 from The Grooveman.
