Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Hughes, Glenn
Label: Frontiers Records
Released: 2005
Rating: 3.5/5
The voice of rock strikes again! Definitely one of the greatest rock singers out there (not by number of records sold, mind you). After the classic hard rock-driven “Songs In The Key Of Rock” (2003), the legendary musician has fired off its follow-up, which once again smells more modern, i.e. closer to “Return Of The Crystal Karma” (2000). J.J. Marsch is back on guitar, and Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction, ex-Red Hot Chilli Peppers) lends a hand on the title track too. The band has conjured up a killer groove and, in the same breath, a hard, at times crackling, grimy, modern, funked-up sound, with Glenn steering his super-ironic vocals deftly along the soul-blues rails. It’s a convincing, living groove all around, thanks to a pumped-up, fat, hot funky bass line and crunchy wah-wah guitar all over the record. To get that live feel onto the recording as effectively as possible, the band got together in the studio and basically cut the record like a “gig” in the studio.
The record is far more varied than its predecessor, which also puts the whole rainbow of colors in Glenn’s venomous voice front and center. The great master of soul and blues improvisation goes all in with his run-up before every vocal line once again, and fires off some at times indestructible screams (Land Of The Livin’) that kill in all their rawness, spiced up with a dizzying mix of Glenn’s extreme vocal acrobatics (the half-ballad Last Mistake or Don’t Let Me Bleed). No left, no right, just soul and heart, always on the money. The record winds up tight at the start (Soul Mover), then moves on to the funky She Moves Ghostly, with its seasoned rhythm line backed by percussion. The guys then cool things down with Change Yourself, and the atmosphere hits its first peak in the phenomenal Let It Go, with a calm pre-chorus and a dramatically pulsing chorus, where Glenn’s incredible feel for improvisation is front and center the whole way. A new funk attack follows with Dark Saga, where Glenn also reaches for a wah-wah effect while playing bass. The most impressive moments in the songs are definitely the expressive choruses, which usually add a phenomenal contrast to the raging “foreplay” with their ultra melody (Dark Star, Isolation and generally the chorus in the closing Don’t Let Me Bleed).
So gutsy riffs, groovy beats and divine singing make an album that’s bursting at the seams with excitement and rocker potency. Music for everyone, but especially for those of you who put vocal expression in rock music first. “Soul Mover” is an excellent record that breathes incredibly fresh, and your organs of reception should not skip it under any circumstances. Glenn Hughes, who has clearly been enjoying a genuine new spring, just proves that he’s getting younger and even crazier from year to year, and there’s no end in sight to this positive transformation, or renewal if you like. He’s a man who only has to open his mouth, and everything that comes out sounds so convincing that it’s hard to find any parallel. It’s hard to say of anyone that they’re unbeatable in every single rock guise. And Glenn Hughes has mastered exactly that to perfection.
Lineup
Glenn Hughes – all vocals, bass guitar and “Black Fuzz” guitar on “High Road”
J. J. Marsh – guitar
Ed Roth – keyboards
Chad Smith – drums, percussion
Dave Navarro – guitar solo on “Soul Mover” and guitar intro on “She Moves Ghostly”
Production
Glenn Hughes, Chad Smith & Fabrizio Grossi
Tracklist
1. Soul Mover (4:36)
2. She Moves Ghostly (5:22)
3. High Road (5:01)
4. Orion (4:22)
5. Change Yourself (4:33)
6. Let it Go (7:08)
7. Dark Star (3:54)
8. Land of the Livin’ (Wonderland) (5:01)
9. Isolation (4:43)
10. Miss Little Insane (4:24)
11. Last Mistake (5:12)
12. Don’t Let me Bleed (7:38)
