Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Phenomena
Label: Escape Music
Released: 2012
Running time: 44:05
Rating: 3/5
The Phenomena project always stirs things up. It’s interesting, generally speaking, that the project always gets presented with Tom Galley named as its creator. Given how many excellent musicians take part in it, the question is whether Tom Galley still contributes the bulk of the ideas for the albums at all. In the promo copy for the last two albums he’s only ever credited as co-producer, alongside Swedish workaholic Martin Kronlund (Gypsy Rose). Chances are the others write the whole core of the songs, while he just gives the green light to the ones that actually make the album.
However I turn it over, it doesn’t matter much once we focus on the content of the releases put out under the Phenomena name. »Psyhcofantasy« in 2006 more than successfully did justice to the three excellent releases from the project’s eighties days, and »Blind Faith« (2010) served up an inspired follow-up. But the new album »Awakening« sadly doesn’t deliver the same convincing expressive and arrangement power as either of its predecessors, let alone the classic Phenomena albums.
»Awakening« came into the world just a year and a half after its predecessor »Blind Faith« was released. Once again there’s a whole battalion of fantastic singers on it. Galley kept some of them on from »Blind Faith«, such as Rob Moratti (Final Frontier, Saga), Ralf Scheppers (Primal Fear), Terry Brock (Giant, Strangeways) and Mike DiMeo (The Lizzads, Masterplan, Riot). The excellent Robin Beck didn’t take part this time, but Galley invited her husband James Christian (House Of Lords), whose punch somehow makes up for the absence of Chris Ousey (Heartland) and, in part, Tony Martin (Black Sabbath, Mollo/Martin). Lee Small (Shy, Surveillance) brings a pinch of »Hughes-style soul acrobatics« to Smash It Up and How Long (a role FM singer Steve Overland pulled off more than brilliantly on the previous album).
Taken as a whole, the album can’t boast the same infectious chorus hooks as its predecessors, and on top of that it’s also less varied in expression. In the arrangements and the choice of lead motifs, it fails to capture the variety of »Blind Faith«. The colorful palette of lead vocalists isn’t used to its full potential this time. The short time it took to make the album leaves you with the feeling, while listening, that »Awakening« could have been a lot better if Galley and company had given it more time. Of course, all these musicians are so seasoned, and so well-versed after all those miles in the studio and on stage, that when it comes to songwriting and performance they simply can’t help showing it. With all that hard-won experience they always know how to »mask as little as possible«, so they keep all their credibility and, in Phenomena’s case, guarantee a confident continuation of the whole point of the project.
»Awakening« is, after all, a typical Phenomena album through and through. For modern times it has a much livelier, punchier production, and Galley builds most of the songs’ punch on a combo of Hammond organ and guitar riffs, which also make up most of the massive wall wrapped around the lead vocals. The dark mood is here in abundance. There’s a sense of temptation, the typical expressive contrasts in battles between good and evil, a legacy carried over from the Phenomena albums released back in the eighties. So the tradition is preserved, but poured into the cry of new times, as enjoyed by melodic rock’s current stage of development. The sound production is taken over from the production of »Blind Faith«
There isn’t a single moment on the album that stands out in quality. Of course, the singers once again try to carve out some space in their parts where they’re as convincing as possible and where the plasma of their unique vocal interpretation is at its best. But as mentioned, »Awakening« isn’t as successful at this as »Blind Faith«. The arrangements don’t fully allow it. Take Shake, led by DiMeo on vocals – it goes absolutely nowhere. Sadly that goes for Gotta Move too, led by Scheppers, who had one of his more impressive moments on Fighting on the previous album »Blind Faith«. Stand Up For Love, with vocals by Chris Antblad, is the song near the end of »Awakening« with the best-cut chorus arrangement. Combined with the Swedish choir »Java Gospel«, it adds a gorgeous pure-blooded AOR moment to the album, the kind this record is definitely short on this time around.
So this time »Awakening« is aimed at a narrower base of melodic rock fans and strict devotees of the project, who simply have to have the Phenomena albums in their collection. It’s far from a bad album. But it still comes with quite a few reservations before you could call it excellent, or at least good enough to stand confidently shoulder to shoulder with the high-quality level of its predecessor »Blind Faith«.
Line-up
VOCALISTS:
Lee Small
James Christian
Rob Moratti
Ralf Scheppers
Mike DeMeo
Terry Brock
Toby Hitchcock
Niklas Swedentorp
Chris Antblad
MUSICIANS:
Martin Kronlund – guitar, bass
Tom Harlan – guitar, keyboards
Imre Daun – drums
Henrik Thomsen – bass
Per Aronson-Andersson – Hammond organ, keyboards
“JAVA Gospel” choir on the track “Stand up for love”
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Carl Anthony Wright – guitar
Christian Wolff – guitar
Tommy Denander – guitar
Mike Slamer – guitar
Magnus Karlsson – guitar
Mat Sinner – bass
Steve Newman – guitar, backing vocals
Frederik Bergh – keyboards
Coldspell (all members)
Production
Tom Galley & Martin Kronlund
Track list
1. Smash It Up
2. Reality
3. Homeland
4. Going Away
5. Gotta Move
6. How Long
7. Shake
8. Fighter
9. Dancing Days
10. Stand Up For Love
