Jan 30
9195360
Jorn
WorldChanger
(Now & Then/Frontiers)
Jorn (ex-Company of Snakes, Ark, Millenium) is fast becoming the Scandinavian Jeff Scott Soto. Alas, like Jeff, he has stretched himself a bit too thin. Like Soto’s Love Parade, Jorn has released a solo album that is not up to the standard of his most recent releases, either solo or in bands. That is not to say that this album is a load of rubbish, far from it. It does seem a bit strained at times and there is nothing here that is outstanding, just decent. Jorn, only has himself to blame, he has set such a high standard with his output. The songs, with the exception of the title track and ‘Bridges will Burn’, do not have the same catchiness to them that can be found in the originals on Starfire. Jorn mimics Ronnie James Dio, Jeff Scott Soto and David Coverdale, sometimes in the same song. At nine tracks, the release is a tad short as well. The harder stuff on here just does not work well. One for the fan rather than the uninitiated. Even for the fan its a grower.
Marty Dodge: 6.5
Backyard Babies
Independent Days
(MVG)
As the name suggests, this is a compilation release of Backyard Babies stuff before they signed their major deal with RCA. The two CD set includes a Greatest Hits CD, which seems a bit presumptuous for this group, and a live and rare track compilation. To add to the pleasure CD 2 comes with 2 video tracks, �Look at You’� and �Highlights.� Considering you get 28 audio tracks and 2 videos, this is damn good value
for money and shows the evolution of the band. There are guest appearances by Ginger and Michael Monroe. Tracks range from glam to punk and 80s Sunset Strip rock. One of the most amusing tracks is the mini ode to LA trash. Babylon, which features not only the Faster Pussycat named track but even a bit of �Fight for Your Right to Party� by the Beasties. �Independent Days� is a hell of a lot of fun. It is great to
witness the progression of one of the best bands to come out of Sweden in a long time. Sad really to see a Swedish band doing glam-trash better than current LA purveryors such as Beautiful Creatures
(who just got dropped) and the over-rated Buckcherry (who have just broken up/lost all but two of their members).
Marty: 8
Apocalyptica
Cult
(Mercury)
The heavy metal cellists are back with another great album. For the
first time, Cult is made if all but 3 original tracks. The band have
taken what they learned from covering metal classics and added their own
touch. They cover Greig’s �Hall of the Mountain King,� Metallica’s
�Until it Sleeps� and “Fight Fire with Fire’.� This nod to their roots,
gives someone new to the band a quick band history lesson. It is
unfortunate they chose to end the disc with a throwaway sung piece
featuring Sandra Nasic of Guano Apes. One can only hope that is not a
new direction for the band. The rest of the CD is a stunning collection of
metal tinged classical played only on the cello. The music is dark,
dense and menacing, everything you have come to expect from this lot. I
cannot recommend this album enough, the perfect album with which to
brood over your troubles. Let us hope that Max’s recent departure will
not affect the band too badly. A must have for any fan of goth,
symphonic power metal or, of course, Wagner & Greig .
Marty: 10
Gilby Clarke
Swag
(Spitfire)
Well the good news is that Gilby has a new release. The bad news is he sings on it. The songs and the guitars are decent like, the Kiss-esque ‘Diamond Jacks’, though most tracks lack a hook. What ruins it for the listener is Gilby’s rubbish voice. Listening to it is almost painful. Gilby is not a total waste of time. His Pawnshop Guitars album from ‘94 was a corker. Gilby needs to admit he can’t sing and get someone decent in. He should ask his buddy Slash to recommend someone. In short, this is a pretty dire disc that I cannot recommend to anyone.
Marty: 2
