Artist: Great White
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2009
Duration: 59.12
Rating: 3.5/5
Great White, one of the “bigger” comeback acts on today’s hard rock scene (what’s left of that scene, anyway), put out a fantastic return album in 2007, “Back To The Rhythm”, definitely one of the best hard rock albums of that year.
Considering the eight-year hiatus, it’s pretty surprising to realize that the band is already releasing a new studio album after “just” two years. This time they’ve called it “Rising”. If you compare the titles of the two albums, they actually make the same point. Great White have firmly grabbed the reins again and dug their spurs into their little shark. “Rising” is the logical continuation of the story from “Back To The Rhythm”.
Still, the two albums stand quite far apart. “Rising” is a much “brighter” and more optimistic record than its predecessor. Great White have brought back more mischief, more debauchery and carefree playfulness. If Back To The Rhythm was a deeply felt, personal and confessional album, marked by a darker mood loaded with melancholy and longing, “Rising” is far more easygoing, more relaxed, less burdened and more direct. Take just the calmer, half-acoustic Only You Can Do, a lazy morning of basking in the first rays of sunlight after a rowdy night: it never leaves anywhere near as deep a mark of personal confession as, say, How Far Is Heaven from “Back To The Rhythm”, where Russell’s vocal approach let you actually feel the pain.
On a track like Down On The Level, with its guitar phrase built on a classic funky blues kick slyly fused with punchy rock, even the great Glenn Hughes himself would surely feel right at home. Russell is incredible again on “Rising”. His voice works like a chameleon. He goes masterfully subtle when the “blue” touch needs emphasis, or unleashes his inner Plant when the energy has to go up and a landslide of testosterone has to hit in the album’s heavier moments. In short, once again Russell’s vocals are one of the most important links, putting Great White on a special spot on the new album too, among the classic hard rock dinosaurs, in the top quality tier of the bands still active today. The album opens melodic and fast, just as expected; Situation is the ideal pick to get up to the right working temperature that drives this album’s suspension. All Or Nothing adds a rock edge, and with its chosen lead motifs it stands out in quality across the whole album. I Don’t Mind is the expected moment of laid-back sobering up after the opening gallop, with Russell taking center stage, and the track has a special charm thanks to the prominent use of percussion.
With “Rising”, Great White remain the very definition of a fat, juicy production where the individual building blocks complement each other brilliantly. The album has a natural, living sound, and Great White sound most triumphant exactly when they go totally direct, without wrapping the sound in special effects. Thanks to Lardie for his magic guitar touch! The man expresses himself briefly, tersely and clearly. As a result, the guitar motifs and solos stand out even more and hit the listener harder, leaving an even more intense mark. This richness of sound is certainly backed up by the minimalist keyboards in the background, which give Great White that typical, distinctive expression of the classic hard rock message with a mild dash of “southern” spice.
I don’t know what conditions the band is bound by under their contract with Frontiers Records, or how much Great White had to rush with their new album because of it, but the song Loveless, for instance, very shamelessly pulls toward Here Comes My Head Again from the previous album. I was also just counting the days until Great White would take on some Rolling Stones cover. And that’s exactly what we got with “Rising” and the bonus track Let’s Spend Night Together. It’s well known that Russell has long liked to “channel” Jagger, with that accent of winding his way through the verses here and there. Interestingly, because of the album’s calmer stretch toward the end with Only You Can Do and My Sanctuary, the Rolling Stones cover actually works really gratefully here, since it brings back a bit more rock directness and toughness in an important closing stretch. But even this move gently reminds us that “Rising” no longer has the same freshness as its predecessor, and that the basic ideas behind the songs here are less interesting and no longer as “original” as on “Back To The Rhythm”. Still, this is a typical Great White album, one with which the band once again firmly confirms its return to the living two years ago and successfully keeps up the tradition of classic Great White hard rock grandeur, and the remarkable element of maturity, a result of great know-how and rich experience, is once more a guarantee of the high quality we demand from Great White. Guys, I’d ask you for just one thing: a little more care in picking the covers for your albums in the future, because the “Rising” cover looks downright “indie” in an indecent way.
Line-up
Jack Russell – vocals
Mark Kendall – guitar
Michael Lardie – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
Sean McNabb – bass
Audie Desbrow – drums
Production
Michael Lardie
Track list
1. Situation (5:00)
2. All Or Nothin’ (5:19)
3. I Don’t Mind (5:19)
4. Shine (5:54)
5. Loveless (5:39)
6. Is It Enough (4:14)
7. Last Chance (4:11)
8. Danger Zone (4:37)
9. Down On The Level (4:03)
10. Only You Can Do (5:02)
11. My Sanctuary (5:36)
12. Let’s Spend The Night Together (3:48)
