"Songs in The Key of Rock" review
A task like this is always hard. Hard is to dissociate heart from brain sensations. I'll try to weigh them equally. This album takes its scent from the latest Glenn's experiences, despite it's dedicated to his past, as he often says.
IN MY BLOOD - As in Can't stop the flood (track 1 of Building the Machine, the last GH solo album), the opening piece has a classic structure, that really easy-pleases the ears. The guitar riff is magnetic, the dynamic crescendo in the verses works great. Glenn's voice goes up and up... and that's only the beginning!
LOST IN THE ZONE - As Glenn says, this song could be taken from Trapeze discography. A funk-blues vein flows from start to end. I think that this piece recalls also the atmospheres of Incense & Peaches, especially in the cantabile chorus.
GASOLINE - Hat tip to a song that seems to be written for Stormbringer. Try to close your eyes and imagine Coverdale and Hughes chasing up themselves on the verses. JJ Marsh' guitar solo is a tribute to Ritchie Blackmore. Glenn goes back to the grandeur of thirty years ago. He plays with his voice, with syllables, with sharp high tones... yeaouh!
HIGHER PLACES (song for Bonzo) - Mid-tempo obviously dedicated to the monumental Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham. Master of this song is the drum groove, til the blue chorus where Hammond makes you cry for the intense vibrations. The guitar solo by Jeff Kollman goes really deep as well as it is technically eminent. I like that "muffled" sound (I think that it is a neck-pickup with constantly closed wah wah... I wanna hear ya in the forum, guitarists!). Great.
GET YOU STONED - I tell you this: I was in my bed while listening for the first time SiTKOR, when this song came out... I screamed, I threw the sheets up in the air! I think this is one of the most important song that Glenn has written ever. It is a perfect shot, Chad Smith (drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers) is superb. Riffs are masterful, as I love the bass track... Glenn sings two verses before each chorus: the first really funky, the second uvula wide open... but listen carefully the transition between the two, listen how he screams! That's unique, I feel blood flow in my veins yet. Dare who thinks the opposite! Great is also the psychedelic bridge. Glenn... you drive me crazy!
WRITTEN ALL OVER YOUR FACE - The album gets its best in this epic song, that could figure indistinctly in the MK3, in the Trapeze... also in HTP! But don't think that GH teaches "retrology". It's easy to fall in comparisons for who listens continuously to his music. But Glenn's sound is fresh and modern. More, Glenn demonstrates that he has been always a reference point, in whatever band he played. Infact the song has been composed entirely by JJ Marsh, that shares with Glenn inspiration and musical flavor. The guitar bridge is beautiful, as the final voice-guitar dialogue, with Glenn that culminates with a high-end long vocal stream. A long and articulated song for classy palates.
STANDING ON THE ROCK - The earbleeding superspeed track must not miss the shot, and Glenn doesn't betray. HTP opened again that road... and this song is tremendously "Double Dealer"...! Listen to the "Get ou of my way" in the verse. An impressive tribute. Glenn also said that this song was recorded in first take... mamma mia!
COURAGEOUS - Everybody agrees with the effective hypnotic bass line. This song is sometimes whispered, with the falsetto choirs that Glenn loves and that make us love him. This funky round melodic track is "freakish"... to make a parallel, we're on a Trapeze or Incense & Peaches line.
THE TRUTH - Listening to this track makes me wonder... think about a videoclip shot along a straight American Highway, burning sun, cowboy hat, sunglasses, a cabriolet car to enjoy the ride. That means a simple song, but tremendoulsy effective. My mind flies to The Eagles. Atypical. Glenn wrote this song at a movie cinema. The musical track is knowingly less articulated, so Glenn balances it with all his vocal dictionary.
WHEREVER YOU GO - I was waiting for a ballad, but nothing! Glenn used to end his album with hypnotic songs, but in SiTKOR the more you go the more you grow. That's a "guitaristic" song, in which there are infinite parallels... for example you can lay on the verses of "You Fool No One"... aaargh! That's amazing.
This album probably will make people discuss, but surely it matches with every kind of fan. That's a "slow deliverer" of emotions. I suggest to listen to it several times because Glenn's voice is unique, young and flexible (more than in Building The Machine, I think). Surely it has a strong impact... well fundamentally SiTKOR goes on a "parabolic" run, in the sense that reaches his climax in the middle. Only a regret (but I'm somewhat involved in): I would like more keyboards presence. Ed Roth does very well his job, but he doesn't really "pop up"; but that's probably a precise will.
I invite everyone to express your opinions in the forum, as I did in this personal review.
GIAMPIETRO FRULLI