Artist: Johnny Lima
Title: Living Out Loud
Type: Album
Label: Shock Pop Records
The glam era does not appear to have gone away at all. Like many traditional metal styles of late, glam metal is still alive and breathing; mainly in Scandinavia. And so we have this release from famed producer Johnny Lima from California, which one could say is the state where glam metal was originally created even if record labels now like to term it AOR/melodic metal. If you still have a passion for the music of Motley Crue, Ratt, Damn Yankies and LA Guns, then you should love this one. The album is full of hooks and melodies, layered with a little cheese but above all much class and ear grabbing arrangements. Danni Danzi features as a band member (who could forget his melodic metal masterpiece ‘Somewhere Lost in Time’ album a good few years back!?). But the strong talent in this band does not stop here. Christian Wolff, another famed songwriter and producer adds his talents as lead guitarist on 4 of the tracks.
Opening up the album you have ‘All I Wanna Do;’ it’s a foot stomping slab of hedonistic 80’s rock. All the clichés are present on this album; girls, partying, failed relationships etc… For me it is not until ‘Hate to Love You’ that the usual pop stuff stops and it sorts out some mature arrangements with good use of the keyboard elements. Although not exactly a happy lyric, the tune still manages to catch you and pull you into an uplifting musical experience. The vocal melodies are really good and the soothing guitar solo just fits right. ‘I’m On Fire’ has a much respected rock and roll feel, with the vocal melodies in the chorus coming straight out of Sheffield in the form of Def Leppard just after their commercial peak. It does make me laugh when I hear maturing male singers spouting on about subjects and feelings like they were 16 year old lads, but it just seems to work in the spirit of the music; if you don’t look at the album artwork closely, that is! One overriding factor I have found with this album is that there is a lot of Paul Laine-era Danger Danger worship in general with the sleaze of Taime Down (Faster Pussycat/Newlydeads) on the album title track.
You kind of get the picture of where this album sits in musical terms, and if you’re a fan, you will really like this. The arrangements are great, with heart wrenching love and rejection songs mixed with the full-on party vibe of a hot summer’s day cruisin’ in a massive American car with the top down. Rock ‘N’ Roll it certainly is; a fun and competent album.
http://www.myspace.com/johnnylima
http://www.johnnylima.com/
Paul Maddison
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