Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Graham Bonnet Band
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2016
Duration: 115:54
Rating: 4/5
A great hard rock veteran is back on the scene: vocalist Graham Bonnet. Every true fan of rock’n’roll and hard rock, and of heavy metal too, knows him very well. The man has been creating again since 2015, this time with the Graham Bonnet Band lineup. Why he didn’t just go with his own name for the new album, given that he’s put out quite a few as a solo artist over his career, isn’t entirely clear. Most likely he wanted to underline that the new material is a team effort and not just him. Either way, it’s good to finally get something fresh after a while from the creative mind of this legendary musician.
He’s surrounded himself with truly top-notch players, and first and foremost there’s drummer Mark Zonder, who left an indelible mark on the classic Fates Warning albums back in his younger days. The other name belongs to a Brazilian guitar revelation called Conrad Pesinato. This incredible guitar wizard is behind all the guitar work on the album. All the more incredible because, as a total unknown, a newcomer to the scene, he manages to pull off just the right dose of that retro-sounding “riff-lore” on this record.
In the arrangements of the songs on »The Book«, then, it’s not hard to hear the influence of classic hard rock, with parallels to Rainbow, MSG and Alcatrazz. Some of the tracks could just as easily have been used by Chris Impellitteri on one of his albums. Bonnet and company managed to put together eleven brand-new songs that carry the torch of classic hard rock in the truest sense of the words. The kind that developed through the eighties, but under the strong influence of the old rock school, which also brings a polished touch of bluesy elemental feel under its wing. On top of all that, the material delivers refined musicality, with songs hitting their atmospheric peaks in soaring choruses. The middle instrumental sections are masterfully enriched by a guitar performance of lightning-fast virtuosity, and behind it is, of course, the inventive, sparkling and consistently attractive work of Conrad Pesinato. You can tell the man has a lot of neoclassicism in his fingers, inherited among others from Y.J. Malmsteen, but he knows how to rein in his ego so it doesn’t carry him off into a sea of note-shredding. He deftly scatters notes across well-crafted, fully realized solo melodies, and the songs only gain a seductive compactness that way. The keyboards, with their Hammond-like sound, deepen the album’s retro-phonic feel.
Witty riffs, then, packed into eleven tracks of equal quality, where the choruses of Rider and The Dance work best on a melodic level, with a breath of AOR blown in that flares up even more later in a song like California Air (which even smells a bit like the hit Since You’ve Been Gone).
»The Book« is also an album with a heaping helping of drama theater. It knows no sweetness; it’s dark and brooding. It flirts with the occult rather than looking to “paint flowers” of syrupy pathos. Even in his later years Bonnet still has his own instantly recognizable vocal character, even if he shows the odd bit of wear at times, especially in the higher to highest registers. But with his incredibly focused commitment and heartfelt dedication, the man overcomes all these nitpicks, because he’s full of passion and emotion. Older, but more fired up about everything. As if he refuses to admit that the years are relentlessly catching up with him.
Another CD comes with »The Book«. It features re-recorded classics that Bonnet co-created with MSG, Rainbow, Alcatrazz and Impellitteri. The band clearly enjoyed being in the studio, tackling these classics again. The team of instrumentalists holds its own against the originals very decently. At the same time, this second disc is very welcome, since alongside the new material it brings exactly those classic-era hard rock tracks that Bonnet and his crew play at all their current shows, like his set at last year’s Rock Of Ages festival in Germany. »The Book« is a gorgeous album with a classic hard rock stance and inspired compositions that will light up concert stages like hell, right next to the Rainbow MSG, Impelliterri and Alcatrazz classics.
Graham Bonnet Band – Rider (official video):
Lineup
Graham Bonnet – vocals
Conrado Pesinato – guitar
Jimmy Waldo – keyboards
Beth-Ami Heavenstone – bass
Mark Zonder – drums
Production
Graham Bonnet
Track list
CD1 “The Book“
1. Into The Night
2. Welcome To My Home
3. Earth’s Child (I Am Your Son)
4. Rider
5. Dead Man Walking
6. Strangest Day
7. The Dance
8. Where Were You?
9. The Book
10. Everybody Wants To Go There
11. California Air
CD2 (re-recorded classics)
1. Eyes Of The World
2. All Night Long
3. Lost In Hollywood
4. Since You Been Gone
5. Night Games
6. S.O.S.
7. Assault Attack
8. Dancer
9. Desert Song
10. Island In The Sun
11. Hiroshima Mon Amour
12. God Blessed Video
13. Will You Be Home Tonight
14. Witchwood
15. Stand In Line
16. Here Comes The Night (Down Without A Fight)
