TWISTER
REVIEW
1. PRELUDE
Thoughts of guitar in a loud voice. It’s like
being at Earth limit, with seawaves at your feet. A really warm Spanish-style
rhythm.
This piece is a “pomp rock ’n’ roll”, Great
White – style... obviously Paul Shortino is one of the best performers of this
kind of songs.
What can I say? Here
sings He who gains power from God, the Funkmeister mr. Glenn Hughes. A melodic funk-rock in perfect
Incense & Peaches style. It starts with drums and guitar duelling in a
perverted tornado and then comes in the voice… a great ménage-a-trois… as the
rhythm changes in that duel. Don’t miss it.
4. LONELY
Galactic. Simply
galactic. A sweet ballad that
you can’t forget so easily… Robin McAuley makes everything superb with
his “aulic” voice. It
remembers me some Michael Shenker episodes. Maybe that’s the best piece of this album,
absolutely for melodic rock & ballads lovers. Acoustic intro and sweet voice
dancing on notes with great skill and wisdom. Celestial!
Instrumental jazzy variation, with a really
interesting bass bridge. The riffs remember to me the best Tony MacAlpine of his
first two albums. I can define the guitar “noir”, as old-times black & white
cinema productions. Ending is a continuous drums zig-zag, as in search of
something. It looks like something’s missing up in the air…
The return of
Robin McAuley. This song may remember “Eve” or “Crazy” (from the 1992 Shenker
album). It’s a good, clean and running rock ‘n’ roll, with
That’s a good
surprise. This is a-la David
Coverdale, but using superior tones, I think. Wonderful are the choirs,
wonderful is Luppi and his voice, that could certainly figure in a Journey
album. But is the guitar solo that gives the “ballad” mark, and I have to say
that something comes from the Master Ritchie Blackmore, eh eh eh. Really
superb.
Well, what was missing in “Who’s the boss,
ah?” now comes in again. The “noir” returns in this instrumental song: Humphrey
Bogart lights his cigarette and everything vanishes in the fog. Yes, melancholy
is the subject of this song. I don’t know why, but that’s my impression. The
jazzy blues, the stops, the warm and mellow sound of the guitar, takes me back
(despite the title) in a world apart where a simple guitar could transmit
infinite emotions. Emotions that today have lost the way. But maybe it’s this:
the cyborg dreams about the past, tries to imagine it but he can’t remember his
origins, despite his journey through time. Simply great.
Let’s come back to Earth, but not for much
time. “Love child” is another rock ‘n’ roll. This song is a little slower than
“The way U look at me”. Paul Shortino dreams and makes us dream with his mellow
voice. The guitar is perfect with that bluesy voice.
The carillon intro
doesn’t reveal the rest
of this instrumental track. The guitar starts with a crunchy guitar, in a
style that for me is a mix among Eddie Van Halen and Steve Morse. The central
part brings to light the old-times Blackmore, and the
Humphrey Bogart stops smoking, and on the
horizon appears Edward G. Robinson with his chalky dress ready to the last
battle. But both of them know that the sun is about to fall, and they walk on
their way without turning back… and the two men vanish in the fog, as guitar and
piano slowly fade out their great run… not a word… Can I say something
else?
Let’s take a deep
breath and enter the live atmosphere of Highway Star. The song was performed with Michele Luppi on
voice and Ian Paice on drums. Great sound and great play, obviously. Another
time that’s a good performance for Luppi, and the guitar makes the rest. The
solo is really great (in the good-times Ritchie style) and keyboards and bass
are a perfect one.
Naturally this is my personal opinion about this
album. I know that someone will not agree with me, or maybe all of you, but you
know… music IS emotions, and everyone grabs that emotions in a personal mood. As
I can do, as you can do. Let us
know your opinions about TWISTER, writing to our emails.
ROBERTO COSENTINO
(translation by Giampiero Frulli)