Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Bonfire
Label: UDR
Release: 2016
Duration: 102:44
Rating: 4/5
The long-lived German band from Ingolstadt in Bavaria came back onto the scene a year ago with a more than solid new studio album, »Glorious«. Bonfire, who were a hair’s breadth away from a big breakthrough and still one of the most distinctive hard rock outfits of the eighties on the old continent, went through plenty of lineup changes over the course of their career. That’s also why the quality of their studio releases has wobbled from time to time.
However you look at it, Bonfire survived, and the only original founding member left in the camp is their creative engine and guitarist Hans Ziller. Two years ago he joined forces with former Accept singer David Reece, an American, who slotted into the album »Glorious« superbly with his distinctive (melodically raspy) vocals. The new Bonfire lineup is made up of lesser-known names on the scene, but Ziller has obviously found enough backing in these young and promising players to tackle further Bonfire-related projects with a relaxed, carefree attitude.
So, with the band’s 30th anniversary here, the idea of re-arranging some of their classic material seemed more than fitting. For the new lineup it means an extra boost to the chemistry that matters not only in the studio, but is also the yardstick for how confident the live shows are.
The band packed 22 tracks onto two CDs. The first CD is called »Rock Pearls«. It’s stacked with rock-heavy, bristling numbers, or let’s just say the songs that embody the wild rock’n’roll character that wrote the band into the story of world hard rock, especially through the eighties. This CD covers the recognizable rock crushers, the Bonfire standards, including the must-haves Sweet Obsession, Proud of My Country and Under Blue Sky. Some might miss S.D.I. in place of the Sweet Home Alabama cover, but that doesn’t really matter anymore. What counts is the realization that these tracks work superbly in their refreshed outfits: catchy, boiling over with energy, and a proper successor to the legacy of classic Bonfire, meaning the era with Lessmann on vocals. A few tracks on this CD are effectively beefed up with extra orchestral arrangements. The second CD is called »Classic Pearls«. It gathers the calmer moments of their career, mostly dressed up in acoustic arrangements. Who’s Fooling Who and You Make Me Feel have found their way in there, of course. This move, stripping the originals of their distortion and putting them in acoustic variations, radiates real maturity and courage from Hans Ziller, who offered his fans his music served up in an effectively different way for the 30th anniversary.
»Pearls« is therefore a fully credible visa for celebrating the band’s 30 years. The seasoned Ziller, together with the band’s crew of new faces, has given loyal fans of the old German school of eighties hard rock a lovely tribute, and artistically tried out something new, a challengingly different move for the band, tying the current lineup to Bonfire’s eighties roots. The Bonfire story goes on!
Lineup
David Reece – vocals
Hans Ziller – guitar
Frank Pané – guitar
Ronnie Parkes – bass guitar
Harry Reischmann – drums
Production
Hans Ziller
Tracklist
CD 1: “Rock Pearls”
- Strike Back
- Under Blue Skies
- Diamond in the Rough
- Proud of my Country
- Sweet Home Alabama
- Don’t Go Changing Me
- Sweet Obsession
- American Nights
- Good Time Rock’n’Roll
- Heat in the Glow
- Can’t Stop Rocking
- Down to Atlanta
- Loaded Gun
CD 2: “Classic Pearls”
- You Make me Feel
- Give it a Try
- Whos Foolin’ Who
- I Need You
- Goodnight Amanada
- Southern Winds
- If It wasn’t For You
- Why It’s Never Enough
- Lets’ Fly Away
