The name Gypsy Rose, and the cover artwork first made me think this was some
kind of blues/hardrock/metal album like Brand New Sin or maybe Whitesnake. I
haven’t heard the bands first album from 2005, so I was quite puzzled when the
music started floating from the speakers – Damn, this is melodic AOR or hardrock,
maybe with a slight touch of metal. With the first surprise (and for me
disappointment, I’m not at all into AOR) clearing off, I decided to set
my expectations aside, and for the best of my ability judge the album for its
content, on its own terms.
The vocals of David Reece are one of the best sides of the album. I’m not that
familiar with his work in Accept or
Bangalore
Choir, but he sure can sing, with a blend of raw crispy and melodic voice he
lifts my general impression of the album. The musicmanship is solid and tight,
good guitar work and keyboards to complement it, without the latter getting too
dominating. But in my opinion it all gets a bit too predictable. It’s probably
because of the compositions, its solid craftsmanship, but there are no real
surprises or new inventions here, the numbers just floats along, and I miss some
standout tracks to hook on to. The general style and sound reminds me of Fair
Warning, White Wolf and (later) Whitesnake mixed with the Swedish hardrock-/metal-sound-tradition
of Yngwie Malmsteen and followers – nice, but honestly: heard before…
The production
is powerful and clear, with a broad and pumped sound – just fine for this kinda
stuff – good work!
All in all a
very professionally done album, and for fans of the genre surely something to
check out and maybe adding to your collection of melodic hardrock.
For me this is
not something I’ll put on again (very often). My excursions into this kind of
style are, with a few exceptions, the last Yngwie-album I own: Trilogy - so what
do I know…
