Ok..Ok.....another Super group
with old, grey and tired rock stars was
my first thought when I read about'Rated X. But,
I was wrong, very wrong!
The eternally young (63 year old) and
leaf thin super vocalist Joe Lynn Turner
is one of my oldest favourite singers
with an history in Rainbow, Deep Purple,
Yngwie Malmsteen, Sunstorm and of course
on his own.
Joe Lynn Turner sang in the band
Fandango in the end of the 70's and he
got most famous when he replaced Graham
Bonnet in Rainbow in 1980. Since that day
he has been one of the strongest hard
rock voices in the genre. Carmine Appice
(born 1946) is the other big name in the
line-up. Carmine has played with Vanilla
Fudge, Cactus, Paul Stanley, King Kobra,
Ozzy Osbourne, Rod Stewart, etc. (Most
people also know that he is the brother
of heavy metal drummer Vinny Appice, who
has played with, among others Dio and
Black Sabbath).
These two giants have the maximum level
of rock n roll experience and the right
feeling for groovy uncluttered
old-fashioned hard rock. Karl Cochran on
guitar (Ace Frehley) and the bass player
Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder,
Whitesnake) ain't a bad backup. They give
us twelve great tracks with Rainbow, Deep
Purple and Whitesnake vibes. Timeless hard rock
with melodic melodies and strong vocal performance
from the big little man. I heard him live some years
ago and Joe couldn't take the highest tones that
night, so I was worried how this would sound. OK, in
a studio you can make some magic and smoothen some
scars, but these songs are written for
his voice tone as it sounds now and it sounds good actually.
The opening track 'Get Back My Crown' is
a killer song in good old Rainbow style.
'This Is Who I Am' is next 'slap in the
face' track from Rated X with bluesy and
groovy sound. The slower song 'Fire and
Ice' has much taste from Deep Purple. 'I
Don't Cry No More' is also a down tempo
song with big brush strokes of Rainbow.
The longest song is the epic track
'Lhasa' with smoke-rings from 70's hard
rock. 'Lhasa' is one of my favourite
song with awesome guitars by Cochran and
hefty drumming from Appice. The mid
tracks 'Devil in Disguise', 'You Are The
Music' and 'Peace Of Mind' isn't any
filler material on the album. Nope,
overwhelmingly strong tracks with a
Turner in top shape. 'On the Way to
Paradise' is a straight forward hard
rock tune with fat Hammond sounds. The
lush ballad 'Our Love Is Not Over' is a
nice love song and holds some fine
guitar candy parts.
The album closes with the stiff track
'Stranger In Us All' and I'm impressed
of their work on this disc. These guys
are of retirement age and could both be
parents and grandparents to most of us.
I love that they have the energy to
continue to deliver high-quality hard
rock that is also fresh and modern.
I sincerely hope that they are going out
on tour this summer so I get to see
these talented rock n roll dinosaurs
again.
Line up:
Carmine Appice - Drums
Joe Lynn Turner - Vocals
Tony Franklin - Bass
Karl Cochran - Guitar