Label: AFM Records
Release date: September 27, 2019
Production: Leo Leoni
Album length: 62.29 min
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 9.0 / 10
The CoreLeoni album »II« is a release that true Gotthard fans already have at home. CoreLeoni started out as a simple project idea and soon grew into a band that plays Gotthard songs. A little differently, yet very similar, or not all that different at all. Still. For band boss Leo Leoni, who is, if not the sole author, then at least the co-writer of every Gotthard song, the “Gotthard by pass” outfit CoreLeoni is a fresh source of extra studio fun, a way to let loose and catch his breath. With a lineup in which only drummer Hena Habegger keeps him company from the Gotthard ranks, hanging out onstage with the crew of new members is another new, no less fun and exciting experience for the refined guitarist. Apart from Chilean Ronnie Romero, Leoni dutifully sticks to the tradition he adopted from Gotthard, so the rest of the quintet is 80% Swiss.
As already noted in the review of the first “compilation” CD by CoreLeoni back in 2017, vocalist Ronnie Romero is a real find for Leoni, one he’d surely put both hands in the fire for if he’d met him a decade earlier. Romero really is an incredible vocalist, and in what his vocal character delivers, he’s one of the best on the world hard rock scene, right at the very top of the singers of his generation. That’s why he’s so in demand. He even sings with the revived “old-timers of rock’n’roll” Rainbow, and once you run into that fact, a vocalist of that status needs no further introduction. Romero can get within an inch of the late Steve Lee’s voice; in tone and approach he can actually be dangerously similar, even though Lee is irreplaceable. Thankfully. Like I said. One of CoreLeoni’s aims is to play Gotthard classics, but departures from the originals are a must.
The production is considerably more “stripped down and naked,” live and organic, unpolished and juicy than the originals. That means the guitars are extra bristling, and their phrasing is consequently even more pronounced, so the guitars, in all their ravenous hunger, deliver a monstrous and fiercely high-octane wall of sonic massiveness, into which the incredible Romero is “pressed.” The bass lines rattle penetratingly and dig in cheekily, creating a pulsing, erogenous contrast to the caliber of the superb execution of the material. The sharp-eyed boss and main protagonist of everything CoreLeoni-related, that is of course Leo, has reworked and freshened up some of the harmonic ornaments and inserts, and the solos too, by his own wish and need, as his musical perception demands for 2019. You mature over the years and have to move forward, even though Leoni is once again rummaging through the “archives,” the »II« release has thrillingly refreshed some of the Gotthard originals and given them a noticeably different patina of final finish. The selection is once again a gem, just like the first installment, and it leans on the Gotthard catalog from the Steve Lee era. Simple as that. With a catalog of songs like Gotthard’s, you simply can’t miss. There’s actually no weak moment, apart from the utterly unnecessary time-filler, a cover of John Lee Hooker’s original Boom Boom (luckily it’s placed at the tail end of the compilation). The deliberate intro and outro also take up time, inspired by the music from the film “The Godfather” (CoreLeoni is a coinage similar to the surname Corleone, around which “The Godfather” of course revolves).
Alongside all these nice observations about the refined stroll through Gotthard’s legacy, which is by no means surprising since its creator Leo Leoni is behind it, it’s essential to point out that the album also includes two completely new original tracks, and they’re extremely good. That’s added value for the release. Those are Queen Of Hearts and Don’t Get Me Wrong, which, even in a potential live execution, would slot into Gotthard’s iron-clad repertoire without a hitch. In general, Don’t Get Me Wrong feels like Leo Leoni updated an old idea that originated around the time of recording the Gotthard album »Domino Effect«. So? With »II«, CoreLeoni deliver exactly what everyone expected. Their second helping of fun, freshly reworked Gotthard classics!
by: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
01 Waltz No. 2
02 Standing In The Light
03 Love For Money
04 Open Fire
05 Angel
06 And Then Goodbye (Bonus Digi/Vinyl)
07 She Goes Down
08 No Tomorrow
09 I’m Your Travellin’ Man
10 Cheat And Hide (Bonus Digi/Vinyl)
11 Make My Day
12 Mountain Mama
13 Queen Of Hearts
14 Don’t Get Me Wrong
15 Boom Boom (Bonus Digi/Vinyl)
16 Il Padrino
Lineup:
Ronnie Romero – vocals
Leo Leoni – guitar
Igor Gianola – guitar
Mila Merker – bass
Hena Habegger – drums
