Once again it's good to see a rock artist cruising down the busy highway that leads back from the eighties, almost casually showing that there's still plenty of energy, power and songwriting ideas under the hood.
Ex Silent
Rage man, Jesse Damon, has just released his fourth solo album and like his debut, this one is produced and co-written by the inimitable Paul Sabu.
The PR suggests this album is the heaviest of the four, and that's clearly true if you bear in mind that
heaviest is a relative term. Most aficionados of the genre would place this firmly in the AOR/melodic rock category.
That's no bad thing of course. Sabu's precision tooled production and Damon's measured performances may never win today's teenage hearts and minds, but for those with longer memories,
'Rebel Within' may well provide 45 enjoyable if undemanding minutes.
And that's really the problem with this album. It just doesn't ask enough questions of the listener.
Take '
Living On The Edge'. This track's narrative would have us believe that character at the centre of the song was slowly going insane. Unfortunately Sabu is either incapable of, or unwilling to create the threatening atmosphere that the lyrics demand, completely undermining the song's objective.
The similarly plotted '
Going Crazy' - melodic rock of a darker hue - initially shows much more promise than it ultimately delivers, for much the same reason. Yet, you have to admit that Sabu's lighterweight keyboard and guitar interplay has an undeniable attraction, but in turn this creates an uncomfortable ambivalence. It's a vicious circle that most of
'Rebel Within' seems unable to escape.
On the upside, there are a few top quality songs that make it worthwhile.
There's an even better song lurking within the throwaway, singalong
'Party Girl' - the middle eight's the best thing here. On
'Hell Hole To Heaven', the production lives up to the song title's inherent promise. Damon's vocal is a little more ragged edged and Sabu's production gets a little dirt under its fingernails. Add to that a middle section that borrows cleverly from Johnny Cash, and you have the album's standout track.
'
Rebel Within' ends up being something of mixed bag. Great performances and interesting lyrical ideas aren't always aligned with suitable arrangements and treatments, but still, I would expect fans of Damon, Silent
Rage and eighties melodic rock in general will find something here to enjoy.
Written by
Brian Friday, February 23, 2007
Show all reviews by BrianRatingsBrian: 6/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
This article has been shown 2139 times. Go to the
complete list.
