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Artist: Iain Ashley Hersey |
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Well it nearly happened, this great album nearly slipped through our net, had it not been for Mr Carsten 'Lizard' Schulz we may never have come across this fine Classic Rock release. Mr Hersey is quite the formidable guitar talent and with his albums 'Fallen Angel' and 'The Holy Grail' receiving critical acclaim both sides of the pond, I'm truly stumped as to why Perris should choose to play down the release of this album and not publicise it more, particularly outside of the US. Regular
readers of our site may remember when we reviewed 'The Holy Grail' I
said at the time that I would really like to see Messrs Hersey and
Schulz do a whole album together, such was the magical combination
between the two on this earlier collaboration. Well can you even
begin to imagine how wide my smile was when I found out this wish had
come true in the form of 'Nomad'. Joining
Hersey on this release is an abundance of Euro talent, not only Mall
favourite Carsten “Lizard” Schulz, but also Doogie White, Paul
Logue, Jochen Mayer, Frank Kraus, Holger Seeger, Thomas 'Hutch' Bauer,
Bernd Herrmann and Steffen 'Seegi' Seeger. This album is pure
classic 70's rock and with a line-up like this one, it's also pure aural
gold. The album opens up with ‘Nicotine Dreams’ and instantly you're whisked away to a far gone age of Classic Rock where Deep Purple and Zeppelin ruled the air waves and the likes of Rainbow and Sabbath took up the reigns with the Hammond Organ abound. This song features some great guitar licks wrapped around the superb vocal talent that is Schulz. That old school vibe is continued with ‘Sacrifice The Sun’. Mr Blackmore has obviously had just a hint of an influence on Mr Hersey with the likes of ‘Sacrifice The Sun’ and it's heavy Hammond keyboard sound added to the classic rock sound, and although Hersey may be tied to the classic rock sound, this album still sounds fresh and new and is very much aimed at the modern Melodic rocker. This is abundantly clear with one of the finest tracks you’ll hear this year ‘Vintage Love’, which has it all, great vocals, great guitars and a great chorus. The thing of dreams when it comes to great Melodic Rock and a style that suits Schulz’s vocals down to a tee. The album continues it’s Classic Rock vibe with ‘Flesh, Bones & Blood’, again with Schulz the main focus of attention as he shows us why he's one of the finest vocalists around today. This combined with Hersey’s classic rock guitar sound showcases perfectly this pairs ability to bounce of each other, so much so that I think this could be the start of a very beautiful partnership. That Deep Purple/Rainbowesque vibe is once again brought to the forefront with ‘Bloody Waters’, with it's heavy keyboard sound which has a very classic feel to it, although it's Schulz’s vocals and Hersey’s guitars that give this song a more modern feeling. There are several outstanding tracks on this album and the next track is one such track as it features something for all. ‘Voodoo Spirits’ is quite simply something rather special with it's heart deeply rooted in the late 70’s. The song takes a modern approach to a classic vibe, the result of which is pure bliss to this old heart. As I said before there are more than a few special tracks on this album and ‘More To Life’ ranks amongst those with its smooth funk vibe. This song is just nectar to the ears. Then there’s ‘When Will My Love Fade’, a real guitar players track as Hersey shows what a real talent he is and with the magical vocals of Schulz this is one ballad that will make its mark on even the hardest of hearts. But original track of the album for me has to me the slow burner ‘We’ve Lost The Rhythm’, a true blood Rock track that Schulz makes his own and has to be his finest vocal on the album for sure. To cap off this great album Hersey has added something rather special as Doogie White takes over vocals for a cover of Rainbow’s ‘LA Connection’ and really shows us his own vocal might throughout the track. I must confess I did have to do a double take to check the cd insert to make sure this wasn't the mighty Mr Byford lending his vocals to this one. The similarities between the two are quite spooky! You can see in the distance Dio and Blackmore nodding their approval at this cover version and at an album that shows classic rock can mix it up with the best of what's now just as long as you put it all together with such class as Hersey has done on this his latest release. All in all another impressive release for Mr Hersey which deserves worldwide exposure. At times there is a genuine warmth to the songs and whether this is down to the Hammond sounding keyboards or the camaraderie of the artists who feature on it I'm not sure. I definitely got those bluesy rock jam vibes when I was soaking in the songs though. A great listen after a long day to kick back and let it all wash over you.
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| Tracklisting:
1. Nicotine Dreams
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All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
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