Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Carousel Vertigo
Label: Molano Music
Release: 2013
Running time: 45:55
Rating: 4.5/5
Heads up! Hot stuff incoming! When an album of this caliber lands »on the platter«, you can finally exhale, because it becomes instantly clear there’s no need to fear for the future of rock ‘n’ roll! This time it’s the Carousel Vertigo project. Let’s just call it a band! The whole thing came about completely spontaneously. No deals cooked up in advance. In 2008, the guitar company Gibson sent its licensed »endorser« Jansen Press to France. Press, who hails from Nashville in the US, as the Carousel Vertigo logo itself hints, was tasked with attending a music trade show where Gibson was, of course (almost obligatorily), showing off its creations once again. As it happened, Press »jam-med« on stage with the French Gibson »endorser!« Vincent Martinez. And? The two realized they clicked brilliantly when playing together, and the cornerstone for something bigger was laid. On top of that, Martinez isn’t just an excellent vocalist, he’s an exceptional one too.
Another event was hugely important in getting the Carousel Vertigo name out on the international scene. At a similar music trade show in Birmingham, England, a business partner of Rick Parfitt, the legendary guitarist of Status Quo, spotted the two heavyweights on stage! Parfitt must have been seriously thrilled with the new discovery, because Status Quo »bundled« Carousel Vertigo onto two joint tours, with Carousel Vertigo opening the shows for Status Quo! It went even a little further. For the studio debut »Mighty«, Status Quo bassist John »Rhino« Edwards himself chipped in some creative songwriting input, co-writing the track 3rd Deegre with Press and Martinez. These facts alone show that Carousel Vertigo and the album »Mighty« are a truly first-rate musical adventure, one that richly rewards hard rock fans baked authentically in the rustic rhetoric of blues music!
Now let’s cock a keen ear at what’s actually on this thing! If you like hard rock heavily loaded with blues, you’ll feel right at home listening to »Mighty«. Let’s just say it straight: you’re going to get »seriously worked up«. The two Gibson players build a signature, greasy, roaring riff vise through the guitar phrases across the record, packed with damn well-defined solo escapades where neither of them ever runs out of dynamite. They also spice things up with slide solos (I’m A Comin’ World). The transitional passages, intros and outros of the songs are full-bloodedly loaded with inventive guitar ornaments, so the dynamic development of the songs on the album is optimized as far as it can go! There’s no room here for even a smidgen of ego-tripping. This is an album blessed with an extraordinary dose of the right balance between the wizardry of top-level virtuosity and following primal instinct! Exactly what a fully equipped hard rock album soaked in throbbing bluesy eroticism needs! The peak in this respect is Howl At The Moon! A rolling song on a thunderous mid-tempo beat, with ruffled, humming riffs fanning the flames, and Martinez’s vocal stands out especially here in uncompromisingly howling delight!
Martinez has a powerful, explosive voice. For a Frenchman, his English is excellent. He comes across as cheeky, with just the right touch of a spell that wins the listener over to his side in an instant. His vocal character has an extraordinary expressive stamp. Strong in every register, seasoned with a fitting dose of raspy, throaty grit. Exactly what the style Press and Martinez are developing demands! Martinez is convincing in conveying passion and emotion, and his delivery is salted throughout with the authentic character of top-notch soul improvisation. The heavy, chugging riffs, from which thick-sliced blues pours out, channel the unbridled energy of the seventies, when Free, Humble Pie or Bad Company raged across the stages, and quite often the character even moves close to the later Black Crowes, occasionally Great White too. So it’s a bundle of ten songs that, in its compositional and sonic dossier, is captivating from the first second to the last. The two guys also spiced up the songs with Hammond organ and percussion, and in places the sound is reinforced and thickened with acoustic guitars too. Had »Mighty« been recorded in the early seventies, Carousel Vertigo would surely have reached evergreen status as pioneers and rock legends over the years. It’s incredible how the two musicians managed to pour in the timeless magic of the seventies doctrine, when hard rock and blues had no bad album recorded or released, and breathe soul into their product in such an authentic and honest way. The final mix and mastering decisively shape the feelings described in the previous sentences. They were handled by the renowned sound engineer Keith Rose, the man »to blame« for the sonic image of albums by the likes of Coverdale/Page and Aerosmith, among others.
»Mighty« isn’t an album that announces nostalgic tearfulness for bygone days when rock ‘n’ roll was still young and innocent , nor is it »just« an album by »good imitators«. This is a top-shelf hard rock record, full-bloodedly loaded with blues, even boogie (Last Call For Love, 3rd Deegre), and while it nods to the good old days with a few sly touches, it walks its own road with a sharply drawn musical character. The question is how deep Press and Martinez can reach into their pockets. If they don’t work on aggressive promotion, this album could very quickly sink into oblivion, and with it one more of the great hopes that the times when original talents get the honestly earned commercial success they deserve for their individuality might someday return!
Lineup
Vincent Martinez – vocals, guitar, bass, drums
Jansen Press – guitar, bass, percussion, backing vocals
Jimmy Mountout – drums, percussion
Jolynn Daniel – acoustic guitar, backing vocals, percussion
John Deadrick – Hammond B3 organ, piano
Julian Audigier – drums on track no. 10
Thomas d’Arbigny – backing vocals on track no. 10
Production
Jansen Press
Track list
1. Mighty Good Woman
2. I’m A Comin’ World
3. Long Highway
4. I’m Your Man
5. 3rd Degree
6. Day For A Bone
7. Help Me Through The Day
8. Better Be Wanting Me
9. Howl At The Moon
10. Last Call For Love
