Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Christian, James
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2013
Length: 47:02
Rating: 4/5
James Christian, the lead voice and big boss of American melodic rockers House Of Lords, has changed his mind this time. His packed schedule normally runs on a steady cycle of House Of Lords albums every two years, but he’s put the band on hold for a while. That doesn’t mean he’s been sitting on his hands. He’s made a solo studio album of his own and called it »Lay It All On Me«. It’s the fourth solo studio record from a musician who’s otherwise known in the melodic rock world as a savvy, seasoned songwriter and producer. His previous solo studio album, »Meet the Man« (2004), came out a good nine years ago.
You’d think James Christian has nothing to offer beyond new ideas for House Of Lords albums, but that’s not quite true. As you’d expect, on »Lay It All On Me« you can feel exactly who the master and main songwriter here is. It’s a deeply personal, confessional album, dealing above all with James Christian’s experience after his battle with a sneaky illness (cancer). »Lay It All On Me« reflects a new level of maturity for this artist, not just as a songwriter but as a person. Christian simply needed an outlet here, one that would take him into a deeply intimate conversation and contemplation with himself for a while.
On »Meet The Man«, Christian wrote with AOR masters like Stan Bush and Judithe Randall, with help from his House Of Lords bandmates at the time, Chuck Wright and Lanny Cordola. For the new album he again called in some highly respected names: the Swedish workaholic Tommy Denander, plus two battle-hardened, experienced songwriting veterans, Australian Chris Pelcer and American Jeff Kent. Meanwhile, current House Of Lords guitarist Jimi Bell made sure the guitars (solos included) sound just the way they should.
The conclusions aren’t exactly groundbreaking. Christian goes about things in a tried-and-true way. If you like House Of Lords, then »Lay It All On Me« will get under your skin in no time. You could even say that James Christian’s confessional solo studio effort is more of a House Of Lords album than the latest House Of Lords record, »Big Money« (2011). The production is again far more polished, with more control over the coloring and contrast of the building blocks of the sound. It sounds a lot more retro-AOR than, say, the last House Of Lords studio album, where the guys deliberately left the guitar riffs a touch smudged.
James Christian and his crew have made a bright, positive-minded album. Songs like Sacred Heart, followed right after by Day In The Sun, or toward the end Shot In The Dark, and then the catchier, riff-driven Don’t Come Near Me and She’s All The Rage, create that unmistakable magic and ultra-melodic singability that grabs the average rocker’s ear instantly. You’d hardly want more from James Christian. The songwriting is so close to the House Of Lords style that this album could easily have come out under the House Of Lords label. The pomp comes from, once again, finely woven vocal harmonies (layered alongside Christian’s lead vocal), that familiar “typical trick” with synths in the background of the main riff contour, and atmospheric peaks in the chorus crescendos of high catchiness, which of course squeezes the most out of the melody. The title track and Sincerely Yours could swap places on the tracklist without any trouble (Sincerely Yours could easily open this album), since their arrangements are remarkably similar. As expected, Christian also tucked two ballads onto the album, Let It Shine and Believe In Me. Neither says anything new, but they work purely as extra bits of variety, adding to the album’s dynamic flow by shifting the mood from track to track. Although they do come across as generic compositions.
James Christian is simply such a practiced, seasoned and experienced studio “carver” that he knows exactly what to do when writing to make things stand up and ignite the way they should. He knows how to masterfully wrap, rewrap and serve up stuff that’s already been chewed over and said before. And it all stands up superbly. It meets the best standards demanded by the modern melodic rock genre, which of course draws on the best that the AOR genre produced in the eighties. Once more. Given the production style and the more upbeat character of the songs, this solo studio effort from James Christian may hit House Of Lords fans harder than the latest House Of Lords album, »Big Money«.
Lineup
James Christian – vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Robin Beck – backing vocals
Jeff Kent – keyboards
BJ Zampa – drums
David Sherman – drums
Jorge Salas – guitar
Jimi Bell – guitar
Shelby Stewart – guitar
Production
James Christian
Tracklist
1. Lay It All On Me
2. Sacred Heart
3. Day In The Sun
4. Believe In Me
5. You’re So Bad
6. Don’t Come Near Me
7. Let It Shine
8. She’s All the Rage
9. Sincerely Yours
10. Shot in the Dark
11. Welcome to Your Future
