I was once a big fan of
Alien's "
Alien". Which one? It's hard to say. They had three albums that were so-called self titled and since it was years ago and given to me in a "here's a CDR - check this band out" kind of way I have no idea which of these I tested the waters in. Either way, it was good, solid
AOR with alot of keyboard doodling. A big, no, huge album that was comfortable being poofy melodic music that oozes with the key stuff, along the lines of
FM and Da Vinci, two fine bands indeed.
Over the years
Alien has had many singers, but this is a return to the classic lineup of that first self titled disc that is heralded as being such a groundbreaker of top shelf
AOR. Jim Jidhed is back on vox and Tony Borg on guitar. Only this time it's not at all what you would expect if you were a past fan of the band, in fact, it's very different. This is more along the lines of 70s classic rock with bits of
Journey and Starship thrown in the mix. Jidhed even mimics Phil Lynott of
Thin Lizzy just as the music morphs to move along with that direction.
The two openers are among the best you will find here,
"Dark Eyes" being a sly modern interpretation of 70s style rock and
"Don't Go Away" having the balls to mix classy
Deep Purple classic rock with a slathering of
AOR on the side. The mix n match works well and Jim's Steve Perry to David Coverdale and back again, twisting vocal style fits the songs nicely. Each of these lands some memorable melodies in an uptempo fashion.
"Oh Sarah" is what Starship would have sounded like if they had taken a more acoustic route. It's pumped up with a flying guitar solo in its midst, and the chorus is nicely done.
"Fallen Eagle" is one of those cliched storyteller songs, like Foreigner's "Jukebox Hero" or Bruce Springsteen's stuff. For some reason it lacks authenticity and seems like they are trying too hard.
"Lethal Woman" is standard hard rock, and it's been done a million times before from just about everyone, Ace Frehley's Comet comes to mind.
It's after this that the waters get murky. The album becomes frustrating as the quality takes a serious dive and we are treated to such downgraded dreck as
"Wild One" and
"Don't Fight It".
"Riding With the Wind" brings us out of the cluttered seas of boredom for a moment that invokes
Thin Lizzy right down to the vocals and guitarwork. Well done and a saviour by this point in the disc's running time.
"Are You Ready" is repetitive to the point of annoyance and then there's
"Fire (The Game)". It gets a fair shake by being a decent rocker awash in hard rock goodness. It won't rattle your world but it isn't terrible.
"Sherylee" closes the disc on a ballad and is too much in the style of Steve Perry gone solo if you ask me. It's heart is in the right place though and ends "Dark Eyes" on a positive note that is
AOR through and through, just what fans were hoping for in the first place.
Truthfully, fans of
Alien are going to wish "Dark Eyes" was a different animal altogether. They were expecting overblown
AOR goodness and are instead ambushed with a cd that while has its moments in the melodic sun, deals far more time out to the classic rock stuff. The CD does have an inner warmth and natural feel to it, something that's rare and refreshing to hear in the age of overprocessed music. They keep it simple and uncluttered, just as the music was back in the day that they are attempting to emulate. Unfortunately, simplicity comes at a price especially when your song is as annoying as
"Don't Fight It". It doesn't bode well when your song doesn't just bore a person but literally gets under their skin as an irritant. Ugh.
There's just too many tracks here that are hair pullingly annoying to give this a recommendation. Some songs are good but they just don't offer enough to elevate it beyond just average album status overall. No one is going to want to pledge their dollar just to hear
Thin Lizzy ripoffs and wanna-be Steve Perry ballads. Unless you are a diehard fan of Jidhed, Borg or
Alien in general, you might want to go searching elsewhere.
Written by
Alanna Thursday, September 29, 2005
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