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Artist: Gary John Barden |
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When
it comes to British Hard Rock institutions the name of Gary John Barden
is right up their with the greats, apart from being in my opinion the
true voice of MSG, and voice behind Statetrooper and Silver, Barden has
released some great solo material. Right from his first debut release ‘Past
And Present’, which saw him rework some MSG classics. Then there was
the blues filled ‘Agony And Xtasy’ and the rock filled ‘Love And
War’, now in 2011 Barden returns with what I think is his best solo
effort to date. Once again he teams up with old pal Michael Voss, who
handles the production duties on this new release ‘Eleventh Hour’. With
Barden’s unmistakable blues filled vocals dominating the album and
Voss’s near perfect production, this album will once again highlight
one of the voices of British Hard Rock. Things
get underway in emphatic style with the rocking ‘Baghdad’, an all out
heads down rock track, that instantly shows Barden still has a great set
of pipes on him, as he unleashes his own 'Weapon Of Mass Destruction'.
With big
licks and plenty of strong back beat, this is old school rockin’ at its
best. The
good times just keep on rolling as the album continues with ‘Fallen By
The Wayside’, a gentle rocker that plays to Barden’s vocal
strength, as it simply oozes bluesy rock. Speaking of bluesy rock, check out
‘Child Of Sorrow’, a real smooth groove filled song with a great sing-a-long chorus. That
same vibe is continued with the excellent ‘What You Wanna Do’,
a track filled with motorsport innuendo that keeps you hooked
right to the chequered flag. The
grooves come thick and fast with one of my favourite tracks off the
album ‘We Are Dead’, before the pace is picked up once more with the
excellent ‘All In’. Another a riff filled slice of bluesy rock filled
to brim with great riffs. Then it's time to funk it up a little with the
foot tapping Southern Rock feel of ‘Blackmail’, before returning to
the traditional Barden rock with 'Shine A Light On Me’, the its funky
time once more with ‘Easy Does It’. If
I had to pick out one outstanding track from the album then it would
have to be the dark rocker ‘Before The Eyes Of The World’, probably
the heaviest track on the album, no probable to be honest, it is the
heaviest! This is as dark as it is majestic, a real barnstormer, this
song just really stands out from the pack. The album closes as it started with a meat and bones rocker in ‘Don’t Take Me For A Loser’, which wraps up another great slice of British Rock from one of its greatest ambassadors ... “cometh the hour cometh the man”. |
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Tracklisting: 1.
Baghdad |
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All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
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