Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Great White
Label: Bluez Tone Records
Release: 2017
Length: 47:21
Rating: 4/5
Great White are now considered hard rock legends of a sort, and proven masters of their craft. In their own songwriting they’ve always liked to flirt with Led Zeppelin, though there’s a similar equivalent in Europe too, when we bump into, say, their contemporaries Thunder.
Still, Great White have always had a turbulent career, and the unforgettable event remains the one from 2003, when a devastating fire broke out at their concert in Rhode Island, killing over a hundred concertgoers as well as the band’s guitarist Ty Longley. In recent years Great White finally parted ways for good with original vocalist Jack Russell, going through no small amount of unpleasantness, including a legal battle over the use of the name. Still, with »Elation« (2012) the band proved it had made the right move by bringing in the excellent former XYZ singer Terry Ilous. That splendid new album helped the band weather the crisis of the ugly split with Russell at the time. If nothing else, it loudly reminded the music world who the real Great White are.
But Jack Russell was the first to rush out of the gate, releasing his comeback album under the name Jack Russell’s Great Whte in the first half of this year. Frankly, it’s one of the weaker releases, and its blandness didn’t live up to the high expectations. In that sense, we can say Great White have scored a second goal against their former buddy and stretched the lead to 2:0. The new studio album »Full Circle« is, after »Elation«, excellent once again. In several respects, in fact: it comes across as even more confident, even more compact, more focused (especially when it comes to performance and songwriting), and even more engaged in the finer points of sound design and composing. The band has once again leaned heavily into the roots of its work, reaching back to the very start of its career. So it’s no surprise they called on the experienced and legendary Michael Wagener at the production helm again. He shaped the sound of the band’s first album and of the very first EP (which came out even before the studio debut). Hence the highly meaningful title of the new album. The circle has closed, and the band has stepped into a new one. A new beginning. With an excellent new album.
Yes. »Full Circle« is fueled by an extraordinary harvest of charismatic, classically seductive hard rock riffs, with no shortage of charged, dynamite energy drawn from the legacy of rock giants, led by the band’s signature, eternal fascination with Led Zeppelin. The album is also packed with superb solo seasoning and combines multi-part vocal harmonies with Terry’s lead (in catchy chorus melodies), while the band once again deftly adds the old-fashioned but always igniting blanket of chunky Hammond sound.
The album was recorded between January and February 2017 at Wagener’s Wireworld studio (Nashville). If you’re a fan of the band, you absolutely have to get the CD version, which comes with a DVD of film footage from the studio, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new album, titled “Making Of Full Circle”. Todd Sadowski produced the film.
Ilous is once again outstanding on vocals. Even more confident and more convincing compared to what he left on »Elation«. Versatile, too: more than on the previous album he adds a soul note, which pays off especially in the calmer, bluesier passages. The band’s blues element stays chunky, tight and pronounced. Just like always. But what remains fascinating about Great White is that the band builds an incredibly catchy and sensual amount of melody into its songs. The new studio album is no exception. It’ll grab you and seduce you in an instant, since its quality doesn’t fall short at all next to the band’s most celebrated moments from its golden era. Whether it’s the excellent new ballad Let Me In, or the soul-tinged and dark Cry Of A Nation, which would (immodestly put) be more than tailor-made for Mr. Glenn »Voice of Rock« Hughes too.
On the new album, Great White present themselves as incredibly skilled and polished songwriters who know exactly how a song has to stand to ignite instantly. In a brilliantly primal manner, in the noblest form of rock’n’roll. With »Full Circle« they remain a proven byword for high-quality musical consistency, one that keeps maturing healthily, developing and growing through the years of evolution. For many established contemporaries of this band, for example, it’s not entirely clear today (or justifiable) why they even still record new albums, since those are a pale shadow of the golden days. But with Great White one can only hope that this fairy tale of high creative inspiration, even in the band’s mature years, never goes out.
Great White – Big Time (official video):
Lineup
Terry Ilous – vocals
Mark Kendall – guitar
Michael Lardie – guitar, keyboards
Scott Snyder – bass
Audie Desbrow – drums
Production
Michael Wagener
Track list
01. I’m Alright
02. Movin’ On
03. This Is The Life
04. Let Me In
05. Moonshine
06. Cry Of A Nation
07. Give It Up
08. Big Time
09. Never Let You Down
10. I’ve Got Your Back
