CRANSTON – Cranston

Rock Company 2016

CRANSTON –
Cranston

Rock and a hard place: heavy trio strut their stuff in dramatically arresting way.

Lately, there’s been a whole slew of albums that Phil Vincent, he of LEGION glory, lent his pipes to, and this one finds the singer sharing the spotlight with ONLY CHILD’s Paul Sabu, a guitar foil to stars. Both schooled in AOR, together the duo and B.F. D’Ercole on drums deliver an impressive set of originals that cleverly hide jagged hooks under memorable lines, and large-caliber choruses which shoot to thrill, rather than kill. In such an environment, lyrical cliches like “pedal to the metal” don’t seem unavoidable, but they’re par for the course when it comes to stirring arenas.

The rock ‘n’ roll ardor and singalong melodies on “Queen Of The Pain” and “Fallen” are truly irresistible, while the weighty splashes behind “You Oughta Know” show a serious intent, and the emotional charge relents only in “Sea Of Madness” where ballad waves crash against reefs of riffs. From the bass rumble of “Long, Long Way To Go” on, there’s a nice sway to the songs, with “Let It Go” demonstrating an unexpected raga tint, and “Trouble Ahead” tapping into the heart of Delta until heavenly harmonies kick it out of acoustically tinctured blues. The album’s many layers require delicate unraveling, yet it’s a rewarding process. A solid, if not revolutionary, work.

****

February 24, 2017