An entire decade has passed since Russ Ballard first released the “It’s Good To Be Here” album – which took another five years to appear on physical medium – so the veteran’s new material was long overdue, and this record will eventually arrive on April 25th to re-establish the British musician’s credentials as one of the greatest songwriters of all times. To be issued as a double-shot offering, “Songs From The Warehouse / The Hits Rewired” consists, as its title suggests, of two discs, one corralling the artist’s freshly concocted pieces and the other featuring recent takes on his classics.
It should feel like the perfect reflection of Ballard’s creativity that always combined originality he first prominently demonstrated as part of ARGENT and relatable versatility which made his solo albums a wellspring of songs taken to charts by such performers as SANTANA and RAINBOW, ABBA’s Agnetha and Frida, Ace Frehley and AMERICA, URIAH HEEP and HOT CHOCOLATE. Yet while hearing Russ reclaim those evergreens, listening to his latest numbers seems to have more allure.
Songs From The Warehouse /
The Hits Rewired
CD 1:
1. Resurrection
2. Courageous
3. Journey Man
4. The One Who Breathes Me
5. The Wild
6. Charlatan
7. Soul Music
8. Sleepwalking
9. Last Man Standing
10. Make Believe World
11. The Family Way
12. Fearless
13. The Last Amen
14. Can’t Shake Loose (bonus track for Japan)
CD 2:
1. Since You’ve Been Gone
2. Winning
3. God Gave Rock And Roll To You
4. Voices
5. New York Groove
6. You Can Do Magic
7. Liar
8. I Know There’s Something Going On
9. I Surrender
10. No More The Fool
11. So You Win Again
12. Free Me
13. On The Rebound
