Author: Jernej Vene
Artist: Shaw/Blades
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Released: 1995
Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades are a couple of old hands from the American hard rock and AOR scene. Tommy Shaw was, and after a long break is once again, the guitarist and lead singer of Styx, put out a few solo records, and in the early nineties was the driving force behind Damn Yankees. Jack Blades, meanwhile, led the Californian band Night Ranger from the early eighties, who played polished guitar rock and who you probably remember best for the hit Sister Christian. Mr. Blades later joined Damn Yankees too, and besides the duo, that lineup also featured guitarist Ted Nugent and drummer Michael Cartellone. So why did Shaw and Blades make a record of their own? Mainly because they felt they could present their music in a different way than in Damn Yankees. On top of that, Ted Nugent was still carrying on with his own career. So Damn Yankees are still out in the cold, which doesn’t mean they won’t work together again in the future. Still, the break has been way too long. If you know even a little of Tommy Shaw’s and Jack Blades’ earlier work, Hallucination will be a first-class surprise. You won’t find the searing, murderous guitar sounds of Ted Nugent or any other guitarist who played with them before. The whole instrumentarium Shaw and Blades use is stripped down to the bare minimum. Jack Blades sings and plays bass, percussion and acoustic guitar, while Tommy Shaw, besides singing, plays guitar and keyboards. The two only borrowed a studio drummer, Steve Smith, whom you know from his work with Journey and various jazz outfits. Michael Cartellone of Damn Yankees also drummed on three tracks on Hallucination. Of all the influences on the Shaw/Blades sound, the most obvious one on Hallucination is probably the stamp of American traditional music, from folk to a touch of country. Some songs are a little reminiscent of Tom Petty’s work, for example, but both guys keep an eye on their own artistic input, which makes the songs completely their own. Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades also wrote all eleven tracks on Hallucination, and here they had pop in mind more than hard rock. These days it’s surprising to hear such intimate music and emotional lyrics from two hard rock veterans. I don’t mean they never swam in similar waters earlier in their careers, but they never went as deep as on Hallucination. The lyrics are more or less classic, as we’re used to in rock. Even so, on some tracks Shaw and Blades point to the troubles of the world we live, or barely live, in. Hallucination offers another, equally interesting side of Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades’ songwriting. On top of being very well played and produced, Hallucination can also serve those of you who are interested as an example of good modern rock songs.
Lineup
Tommy Shaw – guitar, vocals, keyboards, percussion
Jack Blades – acoustic guitar, vocals, bass, percussion
Jol Dantzig – guitar
Michael Cartellone – drums
Steve Smith – drums
Track list
1 My Hallucination 4:44
2 I’ll Always Be With You 4:12
3 Come to Be My Friend 5:09
4 Don’t Talk to Me Anymore 4:28
5 I Stumble In 4:33
6 Blue Continental 2:34
7 Down That Highway 4:01
8 How You Gonna Get Used to This 4:09
9 Night Goes On 2:44
10 I Can’t Live Without You 5:04
11 End 1:22
