Before I wade in on the review of this 12th studio album by U.S.
rockers Great White, firstly there is a battle going on out there in
'Media World' between Jack Russell and the rest of the band. I'm just a
humble individual who is essentially merely a fan of Rock music and I
won't take any side, and I won't share any opinion on their war of
words.
Secondly, due to the impressive back catalogue of
albums this band has released since their self-titled debut in 1984, I
won't be bothering to give you all an indepth history lesson, but I will
make reference to their most commercially successful album which was
their fourth studio opus called "...Twice Shy".
Here we have their 12th studio album then, "Elation" is
the name, and I guess that general feeling sums up the enthusiasm,
passion and determination that oozes from each chord and melody line
they exhibit. I really love this album. I bought "...Twice Shy" back in
the day based on the band's reputation and the general hype behind it's
success, but was disappointed with it. To my general modest ears, that
album was okay, but it sounded so watered down. Jumping 23 years on I
find myself being instantly struck by the meat on the bones of
"Elation". From the opening salvo of "(I've Got) Something For You" and
"Feelin' So Much Better" you know you're in for a treat. "Love Train"
maintains the continuity and then "Heart Of A Man" follows. By this
point I was smiling from ear to ear, pleasantly surprised and thrilled
with the backing vocals and the drive this band now shared as a unit.
By trackula number five, I found myself being
distracted during "Hard To Say Goodbye" which is the first proper
ballad. The melody line really felt familiar and when I finally
pin-pointed the similarity, I arrived at the front door of The Quireboys
"I Don't Love You Anymore". Maybe you'll recognise that too if and when
you check this album out. In fact if you're a fan of The Black Crowes
"Shake Your Moneymaker" debut album, then you'll certainly find
something to enjoy and appreciate from "Elation". The final trackula on
the album called "Complicated" is a real rock'n'roll romp which could
easily have found itself snuggled in and amongst the songs on "Shake
Your Moneymaker". I loved it.
To summarise this new Great White album, I would have
no problems recommending it for anyone who appreciates their bluesy-ish
melodic guitar driven Rock music. On the other hand, if you are a
hardcore Great White fan who has followed the lead vocals of Jack
Russell throughout this band's illustrious career, you may find this
difficult to swallow. Terry Ilous has done a sterling job in the vocal
department, and although I was partial to his older band "XYZ" back in
their heyday, he really fits like a glove in this line up.
Talking of the line up for Great White 2012, the band
still features original members, Mark Kendall (guitar), Michael Lardie
(guitar, keyboards) and Audie Desbrow (drums). On bass they have Scott
Snyder. For consistency I hope this line up maintains and nurtures
itself with more positive releases to come in the future, but you know
what Rock'n'Roll can be like. It's an untamed entity with rebellion in
it's proverbial veins and you just never know what is next!
Using the measuring system that we have put in place on
our website here at Rockulus Maximus Towers, I would have to say that
as much as I want to keep the scores low and mean, I really do love this
album. It gets a nine out of eleven!
The ballad "Love Is Enough"
far outshines the aforementioned "Hard To Say Goodbye" in my humble
opinion, and I wasn't as smitten with "Shotgun Willie's" and "Promise
Land" as the rest of the tracklist. But don't get me wrong, they are
still good songs.
Enjoy.
