Ahh, the great ‘lost’ Glenn Hughes/Robin George album… Of course it’s not really lost, as copies of Overcome have been circulating on the interweb for over a decade, but this new iteration, coming out this month on the excellent HNE Recordings imprint, has at least been remastered from the original recordings so it’s probably time to sit down with a nice little drink and give it a critical reappraisal, over thirty years after the album disappeared without trace…

The first thing to remember is exactly that – this album was recorded in 1989, and it certainly helps in your enjoyment of the album if you nip upstairs and break out your 1989 ears before pressing ‘play’. Because you won’t like this album at all if you judge it by modern sensibilities…

Now you’ve set your expectations, hit that play button… and prepare to be swamped by the voice of rock. Hughes doesn’t hold back here, and George certainly wasn’t pushing the talkback button in the studio asking Glenn to ‘rein it in a little’. But that said, there is some stone gold material on offer here, with George delivering a few prime-grade late eighties rock n’funk nuggets for Hughes to wail over. The acoustic ballad Loving You is probably the highlight, if only because some restraint is exercised, but the title track, War Dance, Machine and Don’t Come Crying (which cheekily throws in a few allusions to George’s doomed Dangerous Music album in the lyrics) rank up there amongst the best of George’s eighties output. The American Way has it’s charms, too, and even at it’s most self-indulgent – I Want -fans of the Hughes throat are going to enjoy what’s placed in front of them. The album also featured a reformation of Hughes’ original band, Trapeze, on the track Haunted, which adds another little reason for giving this a listen.

In 2023 this album will appear to most as a slightly anachronistic curio, but amongst the bellowing and the dated synth and drum sounds there are some very good performances to be found here. Robin George remains one of the most underrated talents produced by the UK, and it’s always nice to hear him playing guitar. And Glenn? Have a listen to his bravura performance on War Dance… THAT is the voice of rock!

Overcome releases on November 24th.