| Track by Track Review
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CD1: Original Album (1996)
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Death of Me
Hughes and company rock it out right out of the gate. This is a killer stomper that's just packed full of classic rock sound. There is a bit of a metal edge to it at times, too. |
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Down
A bluesy rocker, this also has some hints of heavy metal built into it. There are some hints of Hughes' trademark funk built into this, too. Overall this is a mean rocker with a great balance between mellower and fiercer stuff. The guitar soloing on this is awesome. So is the powered up section later. |
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Addiction
The title track has a bit of a Living Colour vibe to it. It's another scorching hot rocker on a disc that's full of them. |
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Madeleine
Smoking hot hard rock merges with something near to heavy metal here. This is another fast paced and aggressive stomper with some great hooks. It's not far removed from some of the stuff King's X does these days. I dig the melodic guitar soloing. |
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Talk About It
This cut comes in mellower and more melodic. That's perfect timing because a changes was needed by this point on the album. There is a bluesy rock vibe to this thing. It's a classy tune that has a lot of emotion built into it. It definitely provides a nice bit of variety with a killer flavor. |
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I'm Not Your Slave
The opening of this cut makes me think of Van Halen just a little. There is more of that Living Colour thing built into this, though. It's another hot rocker that really works well. The instrumental section brings something that's almost like Belew era King Crimson meets Van Halen. |
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Cover Me
More of a hard blues rocking sound opens this. It drops to a balladic motif to continue. This is sort of a power ballad with the powered up movement landing near metal. It's the kind of thing Whitesnake made famous during the Coverdale era. |
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Blue Jade
Another that probably qualifies as a power ballad, this has such a classic sound. It leans toward progressive rock in some ways, particularly in the instrumental section. |
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Justified Man
Now this rocker has a classic sound to it. I suppose you could compare it to Bad Company in some ways. I like the vocals to this much better than that, though. besides, this has a harder edge to it. There is some particularly tasty guitar soloing here. |
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I Don't Want to Live That Way Again
This is a killer tune. It comes in mellower, with an evocative ballad approach. It works gradually upward. This is the kind of thing that makes an epic on a heavy metal album. In fact, from that point of view, I would say that this makes it over the border into heavy metal. However you label this, though, it's a real standout cut. It's dynamic, powerful and just so strong.
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Bonus Tracks
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Way Back to the Bone (Live)
This cut is screaming hot. It has a lot of hard rock and a lot of funk built into it. I love it. The guitar solo is incendiary. The cut segues into the next one. |
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Touch My Life (Live)
Here we get more of a bluesy rocker. This is another strong piece of music. There is some killer keyboard soloing on this number. |
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You Fool No One (Live)
This Deep Purple song is a powerhouse as performed here. It leans toward metal, but then again, DP often did. The extended instrumental sections take it toward progressive rock. This is a real masterpiece in this rendition. |
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CD2: Live in Holland 14/07/1995
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Stormbringer
They open things with a Deep Purple number and deliver in fine fashion. This rocks so well, and the recording quality, while not perfect, is pretty good. The cut moves toward progressive rock at times. |
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The Liar
Another screaming hot live performance, this has a bit of a Living Colour vibe to it. It's purely on fire. |
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You Fool No One
As strong as the performance of this was on the first disc, I think I like this one even better. There is a killer fusion element here along with plenty of prog rock elements. Both versions are great. I just happen to like the flavor of this one a little more. |
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Muscle and Blood
I dig the hard rocking sound of this number. It's accessible, but also meaty. It leans toward heavy metal, but has some funk in the mix. There is some stage banter at the end of this, including a parental advisory. |
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Push!
They seriously bring the funk here. This feels like a collaboration between Parliament and Prince. It's is high energy and a lot of fun. |
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This Time Around
This is a soulful tune. It gets a parental advisory when a heckler is told where to go. There is a lot of smooth jazz in the mix here. It doesn't work as some of the well here for me in terms of musical arrangement. The vocal performance really shines, though. |
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Coast to Coast
Here is another with a lot of jazz in the mix. It's perhaps a bit funkier and less soulful. It really feels more like fusion than rock music. Again, it's not my favorite thing here, but it has its charms. I dig the piano soloing later and the funky bass that plays behind it in particular. |
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You Are the Music
A song Hughes originally recorded with Trapeze, there is a lot of jazz and funk built into this. If you like funk bass (I do) you will love this. It's a killer fusion piece that really grooves. |
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Your Love Is Alright
Another loaded with funk, this lands more on the rock side of the equation. I don't like this as much as I do the previous one, but it definitely works pretty well. |
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Getting' Tighter
Those who are into that funky bass need look no further than this song. It gets a real chance to shine here. This is scorching hot funk that works really well. |
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Vocal Intro
While this is titled as a vocal intro, it's actually sort of a bluesy soulful ballad with just voice and keyboards. It's cool stuff. |
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You Keep on Moving
This does a nice job of merging the mellower, jazzier stuff with the more rocking material. It starts in that mellow mode, but gets more powered up as it goes along. There is a definite bluesy vibe to this thing. |
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Burn
They close the set as they opened it, with some Deep Purple. Hughes tells that crowd that he won't be doing Purple music the next year, only his solo stuff. They deliver this one with style, but it's not strong enough to rival the original. The instrumental section definitely rocks, though.
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