Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Christian, James
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2018
Runtime: 40:56
Rating: 4/5
James Christian, lead voice and frontman of west coast AOR legends House Of Lords, never sits still. Five years after its predecessor »Lay It All On Me«, he’s back with his fourth solo studio album. If he’s not helping his life partner Robin Beck record new music, or House Of Lords are on an extended break, Christian always finds the time for a new solo studio album.
Basically, James Christian doesn’t surprise with anything here. The new material will first and foremost go down well with fans of House Of Lords as well as of Christian’s earlier studio work. The stylistic parallels between House Of Lords and Christian’s solo records are close, far too close for it to be any other way, since every song is the work of Mr. Christian himself. Unlike the production House Of Lords have been using since around 2006, Christian leans on acoustics much more heavily on his solo outings. The acoustic guitar can be heard practically at every turn on the new album, and in combination with the other building blocks of the sound (no worries, proper distorted guitar phrasing is here too) it forms a seductive record full of highly infectious melody and pomp. This added acoustic layer sets it apart from what Christian delivers with House Of Lords. The songwriting also drifts a little away from the House Of Lords philosophy, though not by much. World Of Possibility, the title track, and also Wild Boys are moments that a typical House Of Lords album would have a harder time absorbing. So James picked his material sensibly for the new solo studio album. Christian also remains a »white rocker«, which he doesn’t hide in his lyrics, once again occasionally leaning on his spiritual wrestling matches with the heavenly father, something that isn’t as noticeable with House Of Lords.
No surprises. Superb singing, superb production. Superb dressing of the songs in shimmering, eighties-sounding keyboards, with some orchestration touches too, along with Jamesx’s trademark vocals, often layered with vocal harmonies that deepen the drama, boost the melodic catchiness and deliver the required dose of bombast and pomp for a record like this. Fans of west coast AOR will feel right at home on »Craving« again. The album is predictable in its rhetoric and the way things unfold, sure, but let’s be honest, which album holding its ground in the AOR genre in 2018 isn’t? Christian has once again dodged that predictability trap with superb production, polished, finely crafted songs and, as said, his trademark, incredibly infectious singing, which keeps its exceptional, expressive vocal character even into his later years.
Lineup
James Christian – vocals, guitar, backing vocals
Billy Seidman – guitar
Tommy Denander – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards on the tracks Wild Boys, Love Is The Answer, Sidewinder, I Won’t Cry
Jimi Bell – guitar on the track Black Wasn’t Black
Pete Alpenborg – guitar, bass guitar on the track Jesus Wept
Alessandro Del Vecchio – keyboards on the track Jesus Wept
Clif Magness – all instruments on the track Craving
Josh Freese – drums on the track Craving
Production
James Christian
Tracklist
1. Heaven Is a Place in Hell
2. Wild Boys
3. Craving
4. Jesus Wept
5. World Of Possibility
6. Sidewinder
7. I won’t Cry
8. If There’s a God
9. Love Is the Answer
10. Black Wasn’t Black
11. Amen
