“The best British AOR album of the last ten years”…
So said the hyperbole-laden note attached to the review copy of Brit rockers White Skies‘ Shouting at the Hurricane, fresh from the shakin’ hand of Sentinel Daily supremo Scott Adams as it crashed into my inbox, express delivery, the other day… Was the old fool right? I’ve gotta say my interest was well an’ truly piqued, so I slid it into the ol’ death deck at Strickmann Towers and prepared myself to rubbish the bossman’s grandiose claims.
But dammit, I just couldn’t. I couldn’t. Mere seconds into the pomp-laden keyboard intro of opener If This Is It (Get Ready) I was sucked in, and, as this is an album that doesn’t let the listener go from those opening parps, that was that.
So, to reiterate, this IS the best British AOR album of the last ten years, of that I’m sure. It’s got the songs, the players, the sound… everything just feels right as the honey-tonsilled Mick White leads his troops through a dozen anthemic slabs of brilliance that reel in the years and take you back to the late eighties like the last thirty-odd years never happened. Break out the satin dust coats and cheap cowboy boots!
It’s not just White of course (although the man’s performances throughout can only rightfully be described as heroic) – Ray Callcut (you may remember him from Ya Ya back in the day)’s Slameresque guitar playing on Righteous Zone will put goosebumps on your goosebumps, for instance, whilst keysman Pete Laikin‘s ivory tinkling gives uber-AOR credibility to tracks like I Can’t Make This Alone, Control and I Kissed the Rain, all three of which will have grown men (and women) weeping in the aisles at the sheer majesty of it all… Drummer Daz Lamberton and bassist Rob Naylor provide the solidity over which the magic happens – and believe me there is lot of it about on …Hurricane.
In fact, this record is that rare beast, an album that quite truthfully has no weak points at all. And even if it did, the presence of absolute barnstormers like Money To Burn – a sure fire melodic hard rock classic for the ages – would more than make up for any frailties. And as closing track I Kissed The Rain – a spinetingling combination of Strangeways and Journey – fades into the rose-tinted ether, you’ll be struggling to wipe that nostalgic smile off your fizzog before pressing play and enjoying the whole beautiful shebang again. Perfect.
Shouting at the Hurricane releases on March 27th