XYZ released their first album in 1989 entitled "
XYZ". Don
Dokken produced the album and the band was accused of sounding like
Dokken. The follow up "Hungry" was released in 1991 and received 2 gold albums. Now 12 years later
XYZ is finally about to release their third album. Vocalist
Terry Ilous and drummer Paul Monroe are the only remaining members from
XYZ's heyday. New guitarist Jeff Northrup has played with
King Kobra and also on one of the most overlooked Hard Rock albums, namely Jeff's collaboration with Paul
Shortino on his "Back on Track" album from 1993
While earlier
XYZ was compared to
Dokken, the new
XYZ 2003 sounds more like a modern version of Led Zeppelin. The song arrangements and
Terry Ilous' still capable of reaching high notes makes their style close to Led Zeppelin. This is supported by the musical piece after the guitar solo on
Tell Me. The riff is very alike
Kashmir both in chord structure, but also the arrangement with the keyboard sounding like a string arrangement. The intro on
Rainy Day is also very Zeppelin with Celtic inspiration.
If I were to describe "Letter to God" with one word, the absolute keyword would be groovy. This is guitar-based record. The production is great highlighting Terry's strong vocals and Jeff Northrup's crunchy guitar. Paul Monroe and Sean McNabb provide a tight platform.
"Letter to God" has many peaks. The title track is a groovy rocker with some breathtaking lyrics dealing with the tragic background of Terry's son, who died last year during the recording of the album. Vinny Appice bangs the drums on this track.
A song like
Touch the Sky has several moods. There is a short acoustic middle play before the song blasts out on the electric chorus. The guitar parts are well incorporated in the songs and they often give the songs even more atmosphere.
Terry Ilous' vocals are amazing and when he hits the high notes, notions of
Robert Plant comes to mind.
Basically there is no weak songs on the album. The album changes pace between beautiful ballads like
All I'm Asking and kick ass rockers like the irresistible
Burn it Up. All songs have a great guitar driven groove like
Tango. The first time I heard
Tango I was wondering "Where is the melodic chorus?" but after several listens this groovy rocker grows on you and becomes quite melodic. Furthermore there is re-recordings of 2 older
XYZ songs
Inside Out and
What Keeps me Loving You.
Inside Out differs a bit from the new songs groovy approach, while
What Keeps me Loving You is a timeless ballad.
The album ends with
United. The song is the perfect closer, because the groovy song incorporates everything
XYZ is about. When listening to
United you want to play the whole album again.
"Letter to God" is a record that grows a lot and the album has great groovy vibe to it. The album supports the talk about an 80's Hard Rock comeback. The speculations about the return of this style of music are boosted with this great
XYZ album.
Written by
Michael Monday, April 21, 2003
Show all reviews by MichaelRatingsMichael: 7.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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