Black Country Communion

[gweimer]

i could not make my self listen long enough to hear it.

You couldn't make it through 1:07?  Ouch.

[Basvarken]

Apparently they did a secret gig in London the other day

[gweimer]

What timing!  I just got the CD in the mail today.  I've listened to most of it.  It's still heavy on the DP riffs and Glenn still likes to push the vocals (although he doesn't seem to have lost his voice one bit over the years), but there are some very cool moments and songs.  I'll see if I can elaborate after I've listened a little more.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

What timing!  I just got the CD in the mail today.  I've listened to most of it.  It's still heavy on the DP riffs and Glenn still likes to push the vocals (although he doesn't seem to have lost his voice one bit over the years), but there are some very cool moments and songs.  I'll see if I can elaborate after I've listened a little more.

All Right! I'm gonna see if I can find it in a store.....

[gweimer]

Well, after listening to it once, my initial reaction is that it's a good album.  It shows off Hughes' bass playing a little more than in the past few years.   There are a few bright moments, like "One Last Soul", where the song gets really locked down.  For the most part, it still falls short of Feel or Soul Mover.  My wife will love it, I'm sure.  This is definitely '70s power riff music.  The thing that I found hard to believe - with that stellar line-up, they still couldn't come up with a song to top "Red Line" or "Soul Mover".

[Basvarken]

My favorite song on the abum is Sista Jane.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

Hey guys~ how do you like this album by now?
Still ain't got it but I'm looking....
Glenn sounds much better on One Last Soul than he does on Soul Mover.
...& I LOVE Soul Mover!

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

Just got it, finally!
So far my fav is the first track, Black Country. KILLER!

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

These guys don't need Sherinian or the guy who did orchestrations.
They should just be a POWER TRIO!!!

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

Just got Bonamassa's Double Album LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall.
One of the highlights is ZZ Top's Just Got Paid which he closed with when I saw him in SoCal a year ago.
Further On Up The Road is great too with Clapton guesting on it!!
Joe sounds like a young Warren Haynes. LOVE his voice! Needs to work on his songwriting, it all has a samey-ness about it.
There's some good riffage but not near as MIGHTY as Black Country. The lads really went into OVERDRIVE recording this one in 10 days!!!!!!!!!!
Glenn Hughes singing is his down & dirtiest, grittiest ever! Luvvit!!!

Black Country gets my vote for Album of the Year!
Y&T's FACEMELTER is a close 2nd tho

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

These guys don't need Sherinian or the guy who did orchestrations.
They should just be a POWER TRIO!!!

I've changed my mind about Sherinian. I think I'm just envious. I want him in MY Power Trio!!!
He should play more B-3 on this!!!

I am LOVIN' this album SO much! Damn, Glenn puts a lot of INTENSITY into his singing especially on the word GUN in my current fav song No Time! Wow

[uwe]

The keyboards could be louder/more prominent on the BCC debut IMHO. I guess I'm spoiled by how loud the organ/keyboards were on those early seventies Deep Purple and - even more so - Uriah Heep recordings, Ken Hensley took no prisoners in the mix. I don't like layered background keyboards you only notice when they are not there, I like a gurgling B3 or C3, a percussive piano, a raging synth solo and generally organ work that is pumping and rhythmic rather than just giving a harmonic halo (which can have its place).

The BCC songwriting grows on you after a while, but I miss the immediate catchiness the, say, Hughes Thrall album had in the early eighties. I do like the two songs sung by Bonammassa though - his voice isn't totally unlike Glenn's (I'm sure Bonammassa has done his share of DP Mk 3 hearing, you can hear it both in his singing and some of his guitar licks), but has less histrionics to it.

Given Glenn's instability within bands, you can only hope that these guys stay together for some time, not so much as a steady outfit at the expense of their solo careers and day jobs (Foreigner), but as an off-and-on project with a CD every few years and some short tours similar to those Transatlantic proggies from Dream Theater, Flower Kings, Marillion etc.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

So do you agree with me that it's the Album of the Year, Uwe?

Did you get Jon Lord's latest?

[uwe]

I didn't think this year particularly strong on hard rock albums, so this is probably among the best, though Slash's solo album beats it hands down in memorable melodies. Glenn plays well and energetic bass on it, Bonamassa is tasteful and the other two do everything that is called for, but it's not really great on catchy songs, is it? For my taste, Glenn's has listened a bit too much to Soundgarden ever since the nineties. He's always been a musical sponge sucking up what is around him.

Jon Lord's latest, you mean his classical stuff, yes I've got all those, or do you mean what he has done with Gillan, Iommi and the Maiden drummer? Is that already finished? Last I heard they wanted Jason Newsted to play bass on it (it is a solitary Armenia charity single). The stuff he wants to do with the Roxy Music/Transsiberian Orchestra violin chick looks more promising to me. Musically. I'm fine with the charity purpose of the "supergroup" single.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

Yeah, I meant the Classical style thing with the flautist.

That Supergroup sounds good too! Wow

I didn't even buy Slash's album cuz you can hear all the songs on youtube & the only track I really liked was the INSTRUMENTAL!
Some songs on it are ok but none of the singers on it sings with anywhere near as much feeling & POWER as Glenn does on Black Country.
...or even near as good as Joe Bonamassa!
The riffs are MIGHTY on COMMUNION! & if that's cuz Glenn loves SOUNDGARDEN, that's a GOOD THING & he should keep listening to them!!!
Didn't they get back together btw? Hope they can rekindle the FIRE in 2011!

Black Country raises the bar for all Hard Rockers!
Hopefully their 2nd album will raise it higher!!