Shaw. Blades. To an 80's rock fan, these names signify not just rock, but RAWK! Tommy Shaw of Styx, Jack Blades of Night Ranger and both formerly of Damn Yankees-they are two legends of Arena Rock. In Damn Yankees, their songwriting and harmony vocals were the perfect foil for Ted Nugent's bombastic guitarwork. Outside of Damn Yankees, their strong sense of harmony still shines through.
On Influence (2007) the dynamic duo deliver a covers album in a market flooded with them. Like most covers albums, the songs focus on a specific timeperiod where the artists taste in music developed. In this case, the time is the late 60's and early 70's. A mix of folk rock (Simon & Garfunkel, Mamas and Papas), prog rock (Yes, ELP) and soft rock (Seals & Crofts, Orleans) fill out the song choices. All of the songs are tastefully produced with a focus on the intertwining vocals between the jaunty Jack Blades and the high voiced Tommy Shaw.
The highlight of the album is the opening track "Summer Breeze". Shaw / Blades play the song fairly straightforward but the passion for the song makes it stand out. A spot on cover of Yes' "Your Move" is another highlight with Tommy Shaw almost rivaling Jon Andersons' vocal range. They stay true to most of the song arrangments except for on Paul Simon's "I Am A Rock". "Rock" has a modern rock arrangement remiscent of the Foo Fighters (the similarity is so noticeable they comment on it in the liner notes).
On Influence (2007) the dynamic duo deliver a covers album in a market flooded with them. Like most covers albums, the songs focus on a specific timeperiod where the artists taste in music developed. In this case, the time is the late 60's and early 70's. A mix of folk rock (Simon & Garfunkel, Mamas and Papas), prog rock (Yes, ELP) and soft rock (Seals & Crofts, Orleans) fill out the song choices. All of the songs are tastefully produced with a focus on the intertwining vocals between the jaunty Jack Blades and the high voiced Tommy Shaw.
The highlight of the album is the opening track "Summer Breeze". Shaw / Blades play the song fairly straightforward but the passion for the song makes it stand out. A spot on cover of Yes' "Your Move" is another highlight with Tommy Shaw almost rivaling Jon Andersons' vocal range. They stay true to most of the song arrangments except for on Paul Simon's "I Am A Rock". "Rock" has a modern rock arrangement remiscent of the Foo Fighters (the similarity is so noticeable they comment on it in the liner notes).
Is Influence an outstanding covers album or the best of it's kind? No, not really. But the intentions seem honest in wanting to pay tribute to their favorite tracks and as a fan of both of them it's great to hear. Influence isn't for everyone, but if you're in the mood for some mild rockin with a bit of nostalgia then it should hit the spot.
I watched the last half of The Lake House (2006) starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as lonely rich people who are separated by two years but send letters through a magic mailbox. Lake House is one of those movies that gives Chick Flicks a bad name, the story is extremely flawed and let's face it: in movie time, two years is not an unsurmountable gap for two people to overcome. The bomb in Speed was a better romantic device than this mailbox. All these two people had to do is Google each other in either time period and knock on the other's door to meet. If you would like to see a good movie of this type, check out Somewhere In Time (1982) with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.
The latest American Idol update, I was wrong again as Sanjaya was not booted off this week. I thought for sure his number was up when he turned in a decent performance that wasn't a joke. But Haley Scarnato's hot legs couldn't outrun her manic, unfocused performances and America sent her home. Too bad, she was the only good looking person in the whole group and I'll miss my wife's imitation of Scarnato's sudden spastic twitching in the middle of her "sexy" sauntering. So far I'm only 1 for 5 in predictions for AI, I will have to try harder next year!
No comments:
Post a Comment