Label: SPV / Steamhammer Records
Release date: April 15, 2022
Production: Axel Rudi Pell
Album length: 54.42 min
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Axel Rudi Pell, the timeless German guitar hero, is back with yet another studio album, two years after his eighteenth, “Sign Of The Times” (2020, RockLine review). It’s called “Lost XXIII”. So where does that title come from? Two options come to mind. Either someone miscounted Pell’s releases and the new one is actually already number 23 in line, or everything’s going to hell in 2023. Then there’s a third option: both are true.
Anyone who knows Pell knows exactly what to expect from his new solo album. Just like every album he’s made over four decades, really. This is hard rock to the bone, German-style. Razor-sharp, screeching guitar phrases up front, but backed by the classic sound of Hammond organs, a piercing and wholeheartedly passionate vocal, and a cannon-fire rhythm section. And watching over it all is a remarkable sense of musicality and a knack for building bombastic drama theater.
“Lost XXIII” isn’t much different from anything we’ve seen from this hard-working, dedicated music matador, who didn’t earn the flattering nickname “the German Blackmore” for nothing. Just as Rudi is averse to tinkering with his original recipe for writing and playing his own material, which hasn’t budged an inch over his whole career, he’s just as reluctant to change the lineup. That only happens when there’s no other way out. This is already the fourth album with the legendary Rainbow and Blue Öyster Cult drummer Bobby Rondinelli, who once again pounds the snare mercilessly. The crew around Pell, led by the extremely charismatic Hardline singer Johnny Gioeli, remains completely dependable for the legendary guitarist, and the result of that stability is another very, very good studio effort.
As usual, the mid-tempo tracks take the lead, while the one thing that always stands out is the moment known as the ballad. This time it falls roughly in the middle of the record, in the album’s longest track, Gone With The Wind, which also sneaks in a bit of acoustic work. The arrangement of the album’s second ballad, Fly With Me, is a bit of a surprise, with the guitar even bowing to the keyboards within the verse. After a slightly ‘sugary’ verse comes a great solution in the bombastic chorus, which once again deals Pell a winning poker hand of aces. Then there are the moments where the band shifts into a higher rhythmic gear, like Down On the Streets, and the quintet sharpens its teeth in the same vein on the ‘raging’ Follow the Beast. The instrumental The Rise of Ankhoor sounds traditional and more in the mold of old-school seventies rock, setting the album up for a big closing finale with its title track.
The title track, Lost XXIII of course, is yet another composition that belongs in the arsenal of Axel’s mini epic suites. It’s full of musical motifs, with shifts in mood to match, a touch of mystery, the occult and doom, which is a constant in Pell’s approach (production included, which he handled himself this time). Woven through it all is a musicality that flirts with ‘arabesques’, adding a touch of magic to this melancholic and tragic album finale.
So Axel Rudi Pell isn’t giving up. Not with this album either. Firmly saddled within the musical recipe and form where he’s strongest, he once again reigns supreme with his guitar sound and style, recognizable from a mile away, which makes no secret of its deep inspiration from the enigma of Rainbow and Deep Purple, the iconic Ritchie Blackmore. It’s no surprise, then, that this album came out on Blackmore’s 77th birthday. Just under 55 minutes of playing time, which lets nobody down and comes across as full-blooded, traditional and devoted. Like a well-tested ritual that Axel Rudi Pell faithfully returns to at least every two years. This time is no different.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
01. Lost XXIII Prequel (Intro)
02. Survive
03. No Compromise
04. Down On The Streets
05. Gone With The Wind
06. Freight Train
07. Follow The Beast
08. Fly With Me
09. The Rise Of Ankhoor
10. Lost XXIII
Lineup:
Johnny Gioeli – vocals, backing vocals
Axel Rudi Pell – all guitars
Ferdy Doernberg – keyboards
Volker Krawczak – bass guitar
Bobby Rondinelli – drums
Haha, v primerjavi z Axelom so Status Quo pravi inovatorji. Ampak nemška publika je neverjetno zvesta. Tudi jaz sem precej zvest, ampak kar je preveč, je preveč. Do Mystice imam vse albume, potem pa sem naredil rez in od 2006 nisem nabavil več nobenega albuma. Celo na festivalih ne zdržim več pod odrom. Pa je dobra muzika, ampak če bi vsak dan jedel horseburger, ga najbrž tudi več ne bi mogel videt.
Hej hej! Razmišljam identično. Prav hecno je, ko pričakuješ izid albuma, potem pa ugotoviš točno to in nekak tisto pričakovanje oziroma navduševanje nad tem kar naj bi prinesel novi album, pač hitro zvodeni. Jaz mma težave pri recenzijah, ker so vse iste zaradi tega. Ko sem prejšnjo plato recenziral, sem skušal stvar predstaviti bolj biografsko…. itak pa ni kdovekako veliko cajta vsaj zame trenutno glede recenzij, tako da hehe…. še dobro da smo dobili na koncu tud recenzijo nove plate, se pa s teboj tule 100% v vsem strinjam 😀