Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Vandenberg's Moonkings
Label: Mascot Records
Release: 2014
Running time: 51:46
Rating: 4/5
Every Whitesnake fan knows Adrian Vandenberg well as the savior of the album »1987«. Vandenberg’s Moonkings is a brand-new band that gave birth to its debut studio album »Moonkings« this February; the esteemed Dutch guitar great got it going in the second half of last year. So it’s a Dutch band with a debut released on the Dutch label Mascot Records. Fair enough.
Interestingly, Vandenberg decided not to carry on his career under the name Vandenberg, the band with which he put out three excellent studio albums in the eighties before joining David Coverdale’s crew. Maybe the recent mess put him off, when in 2011 he recorded and released a single under the name Vandenberg for the song »A Number One«, dedicated to the football club »Twelve«, which is based in Vandenberg’s hometown of Enschede. Former members of Vandenberg sued Adrian, claiming he had used the name Vandenberg without their consent and that he had to release the single with his own name added in front of Vandenberg. Vandenberg came out of the legal process as the winner, as the court ruled that he is fully entitled to use the name Vandenberg.
With this new lineup of top-notch Dutch musicians, Adrian Vandenberg has opened a new chapter in his musical career under the name Moonkings. The album instantly shows why Coverdale courted Vandenberg so eagerly to join him. »Moonkings« is a seriously solid bundle of songs whose lead phrases, as well as the ornamental extras of Vandenberg’s touches of fine filigree work, could easily have been used on »1987« or »Slip of the Tongue« (1989). That in fact stems from the stylistic principle behind how Adrian Vandenberg builds his guitar phrases, and on this album he once again serves up a few brilliant guitar solos that remind us of his mastery! This album, too, undeniably proves that Adrian Vandenberg is a classic hard rock guitarist who comes out of the legacy of the eighties, a decade he left a noticeable mark on with his presence, one way or another. That’s why he still belongs in the category of the most important, if not the most recognizable, hard rock guitarists to emerge in the eighties.
So »Moonkings« is a document lost in time and space. For it, Vandenberg used some ideas that had been lying in dusty archives for years, and that he figured had finally found the right moment to be put to use and given musical flesh. Twelve new original songs, almost 50 minutes of new original music, are a good indication of that. The songs are well chosen and share a remarkably tight bond between verse and chorus, with dynamic build-ups of mood and a crescendo in the chorus melodies. It’s in the tradition of the classic Vandenberg albums of the eighties, with a strong dose of the sonic and stylistic kinship of the mighty Whitesnake. So this is the rightful successor to the look and work of the band Vandenberg, which is perfectly logical and almost goes without saying. The feeling of family ties with Whitesnake is deepened by the excellent vocal performance of singer Jan Hoving, who has neither Coverdale’s bluesy darkness nor his seductive rasp; his approach is closer to Ronnie James Dio’s. Even so, he fits into the realm of Adrian Vandenberg’s hard rock imagination with exemplary compatibility.
As a sign of great respect and camaraderie with the iconic Coverdale, Adrian decided to include on this album, as a special track, a cover of Sailing Ships, which he co-wrote (originally from the Whitesnake album »Slip of the Tongue«), and which is tied to unforgettable memories from the days when he and Coverdale wandered the streets of Tokyo (»Starkers in Tokyo«).
With »Moonkings«, Adrian Vandenberg has closed the door behind him and left all the demons of the past outside! He has wrapped up a chapter of his life’s epic that ties him to the bygone days, especially the eighties and nineties of the last century, and set off to meet new challenges. With »Moonkings«, Adrian Vandenberg delivers the expected musical dossier, which he can of course brew up using his tried-and-tested hard rock recipe. Not a single moment on the album lets the high standard of the product slip. A pile of songs occasionally steals each other’s thunder, which means ten tracks would have been enough, since, thanks to some phrases already tried and tested in the past, they sound quite similar to one another, or they evoke the times when hard rock was still young, and so was the freshness of its ideas. The passion and the muscle are still there, but there’s more prudence and restraint, which comes with the years of maturing. And that’s exactly what »Moonkings« is. Let’s hope this album, as a fresh start for Adrian Vandenberg, also gives the musician a good alibi to show up on concert stages more often.
Lineup
Jan Hoving – vocals
Adrian Vandenberg – guitar, keyboards
Sem Christoffel – bass guitar
Mart Nijen-Es – drums
Production
Adrian Vandenbert
Track list
1. Lust And Lies
2. Close To You
3. Good Thing
4. Breathing
5. Steal Away
6. Line Of Fire
7. Out Of Reach
8. Feel It
9. Leave This Town
10. One Step Behind
11. Leeches
12. Nothing Touches
13. Sailing Ships
