Mood Swings

Storyteller - Corridor Of Windows

1. What She Wants
2. In Your Arms
3. Hello Heaven
4. Why Cry
5. Like It Or Not
6. Wait Till You Find Me
7. Corridor Of Windows
8. She Sherea
9. Never
10. Where Is Daniel
11. Private Eye
12. White Liar

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Total Playing Time: 54:48 m:s

Review date: 12/07/2000

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Two keyboard players in the lineup gives a clue. Yes, this is a keyboard driven album. As such it harks back to the AOR music of the 80s and acts like White Sister. A more current example is Departure.

“What She Wants” is a big hooks melodic opener with hints of Kansas in the keyboard sound. “In Your Arms” is an improvement over the opener. The pomp influences come to the fore musically, together with some very AOR style vocals. “Hello Heaven” is a huge keyboard driven ballad where some fanfare style keyboards remind of the band’s pomp tendencies. “Why Cry” is  fast paced rocker with big vocals and harks back to 80s AOR - a sure fire winner! Uptempo pomp rocker, “Like It Or Not” struggles to compete with  the preceding track. An atmospheric opening heralds “Wait Till You Find Me” which has shades of Eloy about it, but is more pomp than progressive.

The band seem to take their time, and don’t rush things like on some of the previous tracks, on title track, “Corridor Of Windows”. The result is the best track on the album where the keyboards and guitars feel perfectly blended. A more straight ahead 80’s AOR tact is adopted on “She Sherea”. “Never” features a heavier approach to what has gone before and as such is a welcome touch of variety. The keyboards are still there, but this time the guitars take central stage. The band seem to have kept all the variety to the end of the album. “Where is Daniel” has an orchestral start before it becomes an acoustic guitar based ballad. “Private Eye” is another track with more balls than some of the other tracks. Unfortunately, it sounds muted to me, maybe due to the production. “White Liar is a pomp meets AOR rocker that reminds me of Magnum’s “Just Like An Arrow”

This keyboard dominated album has grown on me. The prolonged writing period shows a little, but doesn’t really detract from the overall enjoyment of the album. All the variety is crammed in at the end, maybe spreading it out a little more would have created a more well rounded album. However, that doesn’t stop me saying that this is a must for all fans of pomp influenced AOR.

Raine - Peace

1. Rainmaker
2. I Am
3. Everytime
4. Without You
5. 2 AM (Hang Out Here)
6. Miracles
7. Lost Angels
8. What I’d Rather Be
9. Inside Out
10. I Believe
11. Never Alone

Album Cover:

Total Playing Time: 53:18 m:s

Review date: 12/07/2000

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Raine were previously known as Rainmaker, but changed their name whenever previous vocalist Simon Saxby left to be replaced by American David Lindland. The other members are Jay Stone on guitars, Rennie Xosa on bass and Ben Powell on drums.

Opener, “Rainmaker” kicks of with a heavy drum beat, then the bass. It takes a while for Raine to hit you with the guitars, but it is worth the wait. The opener is a good melodic hard rock tune with some impressive vocals. I can say that after a few listens, because it took me a while to adjust to David Lindland’s higher register vocals, which I’m not normally a fan of. On “I Am” the hooks are bigger and this is a definite singalong candidate by the time the second chorus arrives. “Everytime” has a slow ballad style beginning before transforming onto a hook infested mid-tempo rocker and then alternating between the two. These pace changes add some nice depth to the song. 

The guitars are turned up for the big rock of “Without You”. “2 AM (Hang Out Here)” is ballad which has a slightly raw feel to it which gives a sense of emotion to the song. A gentle piece of piano kicks off “Miracles” before it develops into a soaring AOR ballad. “Lost Angels” is a Steve Perry/Clif Magness tune which unsurprisingly bears a passing resemblance to Journey, albeit Journey in one of their more rockin’ moods.

“What I’d Rather Be” & “Inside Out” are a couple of is a hard rockers that maybe don’t quite match up to the rest of the material on offer. “I Believe” is another ballad that is handled with class, especially on the big chorus. The band finish off with a mid-tempo AOR rocker in the Journey vein.

Raine combine AOR and hard rock in a convincing package that includes some neat song writing touches. After the first couple of tracks I though we were going to be in for an album full of mid-tempo rockers, but, in fact, Raine provide a varied diet in terms of feel and tempo. A diet that will appeal to many melodic rock fans.

House Of Shakira - III

1. Pellucid Part 1
2. Alien
3. Wings
4. In Your Head
5. Nearly Orgasmic
6. Black And Blue Skies
7. Splitting Hairs
8. Miracle
9. Rainbows And Butterflies
10. Time That Passed
11. Unspoken
12. I Am
13. Unforgiven
14. Pellucid Part 2

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Total Playing Time: 57:10 m:s

Review date: 12/07/2000

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Another of HOS’s notable moments was a performance of a Journey song (”Separate Ways” ?) at one of the Gods concerts. Journey are certainly an influence, but the band combines this with a few heavier elements to create a HOS sound that doesn’t sound too derivative.

Pellucid Part I is the expected tribal start to the album. The hard edged rocker, “Alien”, is a poor start to the album which features a tired sounding “We’d like to welcome you” opening line. “Wings” incorporates a definite Led Zep influence and the song gets better as it progresses. It takes the Van Halen-ish “In Your Head” to bring a sense of melody and a decent chorus to the listener. Now I’m paying attention. “Nearly Orgasmic” goes for a more mellow approach and is impressive. The Zeppelin influence is very much to the fore again on “Black And Blue Skies” which is musically good, but is let down by a lackluster chorus.

“Splitting Hairs” is a very mellow ballad that takes me by surprise almost every time I hear it, especially after the previous rocker. This is a simple acoustic guitar driven ballad. “Miracle” is another mid-tempo rocker that always has me thinking about why don’t I like this album more. “Rainbows And Butterflies” helps provide the answer. Although it is reasonably good tune, for me it is lacking some vital ingredient to make it really click. “Time That Passed” is another big power ballad. For “Unspoken” it is back to melodic hard rock that is helped by a big hook laden chorus. “I Am” is a dark moody mid-tempo affair and typical of what I remember the debut album to be like. I’ve got the feeling it is one of those tracks that will improve with more listens. “Unforgiven” is uptempo semi-acoustic AOR that is one of the album’s stronger tracks. Pellucid Part II is more dark moody rock.

The Tribal/African gimmicks have gone, allowing the band to concentrate on writing a more consistent set of songs. When they are good, they’re very impressive (Miracle, Unforgiven), at other times they totally fail to impress me. The good tracks just about out weight the average ones. One thing I should say is that this album is not an immediate proposition and at the moment it is only the more immediate AOR moments that have caught my attention.

Vertigo - Vertigo

1. Denial
2. Crucified
3. Prophet
4. Why?
5. Belt
6. Whatchagonnado?

7 - 12 (radio edit versions)

Album Cover:

n/a

Total Playing Time: 35:44 m:s

Review date: 12/07/2000

Email: vertigokc@hotmail.com 

The band worked very hard to get me a copy of this CD to review - even sending me a second copy when the first failed to arrive as a result of my recent house move. When a copy did arrive and I opened to package, the data sheet listed the band’s influences as Head PE, Korn, NWA, Machine Head, DMX, System of a Down, Morphine, Bone, Clutch, Slayer, Pantera, Limp Bizkit and Fear Factory. My first reaction was - “Shit! I hate all those bands! (those I’ve heard of)”. A quick listen confirmed that this wasn’t going to be an easy review to write, as, apart from anything else, I simply don’t have that many reference points in this type of music to compare the band to and gauge how they measure up. Setting aside the fact that this doesn’t suit my personal taste in music, what is on offer?

This is ultra modern heavy metal blending trash, techno and rap-metal. 

“Denial” start off sounding like Slayer before the rap kicks in. For the chorus, the Slayer/Pantera growl takes over. And so the song progresses alternating between these styles. Whilst listening to the radio in the car recently I heard Limp Bizkit for the first time performing a song from the “Mission Impossible 2″ soundtrack. Clearly this type of music is becoming more accepted by the mainstream. Going back to listen to Vertigo, it sounded to me as if the band aren’t that far off the mark. All the tracks follow the pattern established on “Denial”. It is fairly brutal assault on your senses and not for the faint-hearted.

Most AOR/Melodic Rock fans are going to hate this with a vengeance. Fans of modern metal are probably going to love it. I’m going to let the music do the talking, chicken out of giving this a rating, and instead provide a sample of the opening track, “Denial“, to let you make up your own mind.

J Smith and HighWatt - MP3 demo CD

1. Come On Everybody
2. Hold On
3. Don’t You Know

Album Cover:

n/a

Total Playing Time: 11 mins

Review date: 12/07/2000

Email: jsmithandhighwatt@hotmail.com  

J Smith’s first foray into the world of music was as a drummer. Later he moved on to the guitar.  This led to singing and song writing. J Smith sings, plays all the instruments and records the results using his home studio. To get some wider feedback and to promote the project, he posted “Don’t You Know” at MP3.com in May of this  year.

“Come On Everybody”  is an uptempo tune about getting to the end of the working week. This party rock tune has got a kind of a glam feel about it and gets my vote as the best tune. “Hold On” has a Kiss meets Motley Crue vibe. “Don’t You Know” is a hard rock tune with a hint of a blues in the guitar playing, reminding me vaguely of Free.

J Smith is obviously a man of talent as the has created and recorded these tracks single handed. In the short note that accompanied this it said “when I’m asked why I do this I just say I enjoy it very much”. What better reason is there and MP3.com is the perfect place to showcase such music. Unfortunately, this type of music isn’t in vogue at the moment and moving the project forward, to say a record deal, could prove difficult.

John Taglieri - Leap Of Faith

1. Leap Of Faith
2. Shangri-la
3. Reason To Believe
4. First Night
5. I Found You
6. The Two Sides Of Love
7. Can’t You See
8. One More Tomorrow
9. High Road
10. Hold Me Close Tonight
11. Need To Hear
12. Here Without You

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Total Playing Time: 51:24 m:s

Review date: 12/07/2000

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John has been in a few local bands, played numerous gigs and worked on many recordings in his home area as either lead guitar player, vocalist/front man, drummer, percussionist, bassist, or keyboard player. This talented multi-instrumentalist has created “Leap Of Faith” virtually single-handed. John plays most of the instruments, sings & wrote the songs and even released the album through his own record label. However, during the time this was waiting to be reviewed, I’ve read that the album will be released by A2 Records in the UK.

Opening track, “Leap Of Faith” is an uptempo semi-acoustic rocker, similar in style to Bon Jovi. This is an excellent start to the album and certainly grabs your attention right from the beginning. The good start is consolidated by another semi-acoustic gem, “Shangri-La”. “Reason To Believe” slows the pace slightly, but again works well. “First Night” is a heart-warming love story in the form of an acoustic guitar semi-ballad.

The pace gets picked up on “I Found You” and even further on “Two Sides Of Love” which has a more full on sound. “Can’t You See” is a big AOR-style ballad that reminds me of Styx. This is followed by another ballad - this time a duet with wife, Michelle. After two successive ballads, “High Road” is a rockier number. “Hold Me Close Tonight” is another, most successful, rocker. For “Need To Hear” it is back to the more semi-acoustic approach seen earlier. “Here Without You” is a slow-paced album closer.

John is clearly comfortable with the type of music he is playing and this shines through on the album. The result of his labor is an album to be proud of.

400 Horses - 400 Horses

1. Guilty As Sin
2. Too Close For Comfort
3. Is That What You Want
4. Over & Done
5. Information
6. Let It Go
7. That’s What I Like
8. Wanna Make Love To You
9. Don’t Give A Damn

Album Cover:

Total Playing Time: 35:47 m:s

Review date: 12/07/2000

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One song really sums up what 400 Horses are all about - “That’s What I Like”. The lyrics proclaim - “That’s what I like, no doubt about it. That’s what I like, just Rock n Roll! “. 400 Horse take the attitude of GnR, add the swagger of Aerosmith and the bluesy feel of Little Caesar.

Opener “Guilty As Sin” is an uptempo GnR-style blast. On “Too Close For Comfort” the band add the swagger of Aerosmith, albeit without quite the same air of confidence that Aerosmith have perfected over the years. “Is That What You Done” continues the theme. “Over & Done” lets a little bit more GnR creep in. The jangly funk guitar of “Information” adds a little variety to the formula and sees them almost get that Aerosmith swagger down to a tee. “Let It Go” is a straight ahead romp. “That’s What I Like” is the band’s take on Kiss’s “God Gave Rock n Roll…”. A party tune, that is simplistic but enjoyable. It’s a close call, between it and “Information”, but this gets my vote as the best tune on the album. “Wanna Make Love To You” is the tune which brought Little Caesar to mind. “Don’t Give A Damn” sees the Kiss influence come back into play.

Sometimes you just want to listen to some straight forward party rock. 400 Horses are the band for that occasion. I would have liked the album to last a little longer than the 35 mins long playing time to help keep the VFM factor up.

Lunar Tool - demo tape

1. To The Moon
2. Cheggers Smokes Pot

Album Cover:

Total Playing Time: - m:s

Review date: 12/07/2000

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The band describe their music as “kind of funky psychedelic grooves combined with electronic sounds and hip-hop, plus a hint of rock”. A diverse set of influences includes James Brown, George Clinton, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Public Enemy, De-La-Soul, Super Furries, Stevie Wonder, Beastie Boys & Gomez. After listening to tape and then going back to re-read the bio to write this review, I can hear a few of those influences coming through.

First track, “To The Moon”, floats in on a sea of funky guitars. The mid-tempo verse gives way to the speeded up, more forceful stance of the chorus. I detected some distinctly Jimi Hendrix influenced guitar happening on this track as well. “Cheggers Smokes Pot” once again has a “funk thang goin’ on”. This largely instrumental track has got just about everything thrown in, including the kitchen sink - hip-hop samples, what sounds like a siren and a lead synth part that is a dead ringer for “Telstar”, all superimposed on the funky/blues guitar backdrop. A few reference points from my own record collection would The James Taylor Quartet, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hawkwind.

This is a bit of a departure from the normal style of music reviewed here at Mood Swings and the first listen was a bit of a shock, albeit a pleasant one. I listened to this quite often between the other albums reviewed this month and found it let me approach the more conventional Mood Swings albums with a new perspective.

At the end of the day, the band’s approach might just be that bit too contemporary to make me go out and buy an album by the band, but, based on this demo, I think the band have enough ideas to create an interesting and worthwhile album.

Through The Storm - Demo Tape

1. Wait For An Answer
2. Circle
3. Through The Storm

Album Cover:

n/a

Total Playing Time: n/a

Review date: 15/06/2000

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My expectation weren’t that high when I plunked the cassette in the machine and hit play. There was surprise waiting for me because this demo contains some good old fashioned British style hard rock which I haven’t heard that much of recently. The raw feel of the recording is not surprising, but what does surprise on first track, “Waiting For An Answer”, is the big hard rock sound that includes a sense of melody. Rich’s vocals rasp like he’s screamed his lungs out the night before at a gig down the local rock club, but I like them and they fit the music perfectly. “Circle” is more uptempo rocking and is bloody annoying because it reminds me of something else, but I can’t think what. This song sounds a little more polished and focused. I could imagine a band like UFO churning out something like this on stage. The band’s signature tune, “Through The Storm”, has almost a Metallica riff at the start before returning to the UFO meets Saxon meets Tygers Of Pan Tang style of the previous tracks.

TTS aren’t breaking any new ground and I suspect they are perfectly happy not doing so. A 3 song demo tape is always are pain to listen to repeatedly because you’re just getting into the groove when it’s over and you’ve got to wait for the tape to rewind for a repeat of the same few songs. That rewind and repeat play process has happened quite often for TTS which is a good sign. A full length CD would solve this situation, so I hope some record label is reading this.

Chapter 23 - Flying In The Face Of Conventional Wisdom

1. Big Top
2. Shake Down
3. Come What May
4. Mr C
5. Cold Steal & Neon
6. Shoot The Moon
7. Catch 22
8. Can’t Stand The Weather

Album Cover:

n/a

Total Playing Time: 46:07 m:s

Review date: 05/06/2000

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The band’s style is best described as progressive AOR with a high keyboard content. With two keyboard players in the band I guess it is no surprise that the Chapter 23 sound relies heavily on this instrument. If you’re looking for comparisons then fellow Canadians Saga are the closest I can think of.

Opener, “Big Top”, does little more than welcome you to the album. “Shake Down” is an improvement and a lot more memorable. An uptempo catchy tune that reminds me of pomp rockers Styx. The organ and piano really drive “Come What May”, which is back into Saga territory. “Mr C” has an AOR start, takes on more progressive elements as it continues, yet keeps that AOR feel thanks to the chorus. The vocals thus far have fallen into the “OK” category with Pierre Lauzon on lead, however keyboard player, Allan Wilmore, is let loose on “Cold Steel & Neon”. As a lead vocalist Allan makes a great keyboard player, as his bad Neil Diamond impersonation doesn’t help this tune. “Shoot The Moon” has Pierre back on lead vocals, although the instrumental passages grabbed me more than the vocal sections. A lighter slower feel is evident on “Catch 22″. The band save their best tune for last. “Can’t Stand The Weather” is the longest tune on the album at 7:43 m:s, but is nicely structured and finishes off the album with panache.

“Shake Down”, “Mr C” and “Can’t Stand The Weather” are the standout tracks & prove the band have plenty of potential. The other songs just don’t get that little bit of special help required in the vocals department to lift them. One for Saga or Kansas fans to check out.