The now defunct Long Island Records released this debut album in 1995. The brainchild of Tom Blendinger - songs, guitars, production - it created a few ripples among diehard eighties' Luddites, but was overwhelmed by the tidal wave of grunge rock.
There are occasions when a heavily accented vocalist can totally spoil a good song, a good album.
In Vinci's case, German vocalist Wolfgang Riegel can't disguise the fact that English is not his first language, but his singular vocal style - more a force of nature than a rock voice - makes this totally transparent.
Much of it is framed in a declamatory, stadium filling style, in fact at times it will remind you of mid period Kingdom Come.
Blendinger's yearning for the previous decade is realised precisely and powerfully on '
The Shooter', a riffy, atmospheric jolt in the arm opener.
'Sixth Sense' and
'Love's A Jailer' stomp through eighties' hard rock with noisy abandon, building quickly and eagerly to pulse quickening hooks.
In the main, Blendinger maintains a strong hold on his catchy choruses and inventive, melodic axe solos, witness the colourful, carefully tailored guitars on '
Smell Of Spring'.
Only ccasionally does he get indulgent, it's his ball after all, but that aside, this is a solidly constructed blend of
AOR and melodic rock, as much a loving tribute to all the great bands of the eighties as a personal statement.There are times when you think a song or a recording could have done with a little more finessing, but that occasional demo feel just adds to the album's charm.
There are several standout tracks.
'
1999' is decked out in studio trickery, where Blendinger's taut, muscular axework just stops short of distracting us from Riegel's emotive vocals.
'One' is a cracking melodic rock song, with a strong prog undertow, reminiscent of Trevor Rabin's solo work. Unoriginal perhaps, but bold and accomplished nevertheless.
'What About You' is an unapologetic genre piece that glides along in true, user friendly,
FM radio style.
The songs' sentiments are sometimes overstated by charging guitars and excessive pianos, but they have an iresistible bounce and honesty. You can clearly detect an almost palpable enthusiasm for the genre.
Elsewhere and perhaps more interestingly, '
Good Times' and the 8 minute '
Welcome Home' hint at a neoclassical style that, exasperatingly, goes unexplored any further.
Subsequent albums failed to break the surface, leaving Vinci's debut as a true melodic rock artefact, rare to find now.
But who knows, maybe some enterprising label will arrange a reissue.
Written by
Brian Monday, August 24, 2009
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