In the wake of
Firehouse's successful "Prime Time" guitarist Bill Leverty releases his first solo album named Bill Leverty's Wanderlust. "Prime Time" was very much Bill Leverty's record since it was a very guitar based record. Furthermore it had Bill singing 2 of the album's 10 songs.
"Wanderlust" still has
Firehouse references since Michael Foster plays drums, the late Bruce Waibell plays bass and CJ Snare has co-written 2 songs on the album. However, on "Wanderlust" everything is changed down. The songs are mellower and blues oriented supporting Bill's bluesy vocals. Still Bill's characteristic playing is transferred from
Firehouse to "Wanderlust" including Bill's guitar sound and great solos.
The meaning of the title Wanderlust is a strong desire to travel. The album fulfills the title since I always think of this album as perfect to play on a road trip.
Playing A Game strongly opens the album with a great signature riff and a bouncing chorus, which is among the strongest. The happy riff in
Don't Give Up breathes lots of life into the song and it's the one that sounds most like Bill's previous work with
Firehouse. The title track stands out with fantastic hooks and an over the top guitar riff.
All in all Bill's bluesy voice fits the songs perfectly. The laid back
Anytime displays vocal diversity, since Bill's vocals are sung high. The same goes for
All on My life, where Bill finger picks an acoustic guitar and it sounds great.
The only songs I haven't' totally embraced and therefore prevent a higher grade are
Never Going Home,
You're Not Getting Over and
Forever Rolling On. They are decent songs though and Bill's guitar playing uplifts the 2 last mentioned tracks.
Overall the song writing on "Wanderlust" sounds like it is coming straight from Bill's heart making this album for his own pleasure. After the first listens I had my doubts about the quality of the record, but it really grows on you. You just need to adapt to the more laid back and bluesy style, but then the listener is rewarded with a strong collection of songs.
Fans of Leverty's guitar playing get their dose of cool guitars, but the main focus of the album is the songs themselves. Highlights being
Don't Give Up,
Playing a Game,
Anytime and
Wanderlust.
Written by
Michael Saturday, April 24, 2004
Show all reviews by MichaelRatingsMichael: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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