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Artist: Big Life |
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Whenever
the name of Steve Newman appears on an album the Melodic and Hard Fans
take notice, so it should be this band has a Midas touch as Steve's got
together with ex-Praying Mantis frontman Mark Thompson-Smith for their
latest project Big Life. Straight away you know this is going to
be something rather special and then when you throw in Rob McEwan (who
has drummed on the last three Newman albums), the trio have produced a
quintessential British Melodic Rock album. The
album gets
underway with ‘Dying Day’ and from the off this is a different
animal to the Newman material. A little more edgy with Thompson-Smith
sounding powerful, but it’s the guitar work of Newman that really
shines out on not just the opener, but throughout the whole album.
There’s a little more grind and an intensity that I think really works
on this album. Yes the melody is still there in spades, but Newman
is given free rein to really show he can throw out the big licks like
the best of them. The
album continues to impress with the excellent ‘Close To You’ and the
dark edged mid tempoed ‘Better Man’,
the latter being the first single off the album. Another of
my favourites off the album has to be the harder edged ‘I’ll Still
Be There’, again it's Newman punchy guitars that are a real joy to
hear and Thompson-Smith is on the money as he mixes power and grace in
equal proportions throughout this song. The
tempo is brought back up with the excellent hard rock of ‘Feel
Alive’, before it's back to ballads with the cream of the crop the
stunning ‘Deep Water’, where we hear Thompson-Smith's finest vocal
on the album so far. The
pair put a spin on things with the next track, the modern rocker ‘At
The End Of The Rainbow’. A real gem, then it's time for another
great vocal from Thompson-Smith on another the gentle melodic tones of
‘Leaves’. The
gentle vibe is continued with ‘Stop In Time’ before the peace is
shattered with the groove filled rocker ‘Takin’ Me Down’.
The albums closes with ‘Nothing Without You’, which wraps up a great
album that will appeal not just to fans of Newman, but also fans of good
British rock music. This album is sure to tick many of the boxes
for the die-hard Melodic Rock fans out there. Let's hope this the
start of something big for the band. |
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Tracklisting: 1.
Dying Day |
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