Black Country Communion - 'V' Review

 

Black Country Communion - V

2024 sees the fifth release by the mega-rock group Black Country Communion. Surprisingly after the last album was BCCIV, they’ve gone with….and I know you’ll be surprised….V

The gang is all back, fighting fit and raring to go. In case you have been living under a rock, for the uninitiated, BCC includes the talents of Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Sherinian, and Jason Bonham. Also along for the ride is erstwhile collaborator Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley. For the sake of everything thats come before I think BCC 1-4 have had some really great songs that you could probably make up on hell of a single album with. But with V, and I don’t know if this is because the break between albums has been is greatest, but they have come back supercharged and with added ‘Ooomph!’

Founded in MMIX, BCC came out of the traps like a stabbed rat with 3 albums in 3 years, 2010-2012. This followed with BCCIV coming 5 years further down the line. A break up ensued in 2012 with Hughes stating that Afterglow might be the bands last album, blaming the bands lack of regular touring.  Things got heated, a gig in Wolverhampton was pulled, and Bonamassa wouldn’t let the other 3 use the name Black Country Communion.

However the fickle finger of fate always seems to raise its head when there good chemistry and money on the table (I.e.album sales). I might sound that I have a  bone to pick, but I honestly do not. Ive loved Hughes voice ever since I first heard Burn. Whilst I don’t own a single Bonamassa album, one of my fave BCC songs is The Last Song For My Resting Place. As far as Bonham and Sheridan go I was a fan of Airrace, Bonham, and Sherinians time spent in Dream Theatre and Platypus.

Some 7 years after BCCIX, comes, V. With V BCC have probably (definitely) released their best and most consistent piece of work to date. Hughes is an absolute beast of a vocalist. He has no right to sing this good. He is one of the few (if any) where their voice has got even better in their 7th decade. If you think that the opener ‘Enlightened’ blows away the cobwebs then wait until you get your lug’oles around the first 2 singles where Hughes brings the funk into ‘Stay Free’, with its roots coming from Wild Cherry, and ‘Red Sun’ has a riff that’ll loosen those fillings for you without even having to find a NHS dentist. I can only dream of a set that are like Glenns!

‘Restless’ sees Joe come to the fore for the blues soaked ‘Restless’. ‘Letting Go’ has a riff that AC/DC Bon Scott era would have been proud of. ‘Skyway’ has echoes of ‘Space Trucking’ courtesy of Sherinians opening salvo. In many of the songs it is a vocal and guitar riff trade off between Bonamassa and Hughes. Whatever Joe can play, Glenn can match him in vocal histrionics. Such so is the intro to ‘You’re Not Alone’ I half expect Joe Cocker to pipe up. The song soon melds into Black Zeppelin territory (it had to appear somewhere!) and Bonamassa steps up to the mic in the main. Its a fair trade off, and you have to have a certain amount of confidence to trade off with Hughes, and it works well, and should happen more frequently. 

Theres a thunder and lightning approach to the relatively short ‘Too Far Gone’. Hughes goes on a few vocal runs, whilst Sherinian whips out his Hammond. Finally we are up to ‘The Open Road’ and we are back in Hughes’ bedroom funking it out, but with Bonamassa taking over the reins for the explosive solo in the second half. (I wonder if in future Bonamassa will quit, quoting Blackmore that BCC was turning into a EXPLETIVE band). I certainly hope not.

So, the super-group moniker is used far too freely, but in the case of BCC it is very rightly so. All the gang bring their own game to V, making it one of the best rock albums if 2024, and the best in the BCC catalogue

Okay, so they cant tour for love or money, but is one hell of a legacy to leave behind. 

9/10 or should that be IX/X

Review by Paul Chesworth

Tracklisting - 

Enlighten

Stay Free

Red Sun

Restless

Letting Go

Skyway

You’re Not Alone

Love and Faith

Too Far Gone

The Open Road

BCC are

Glenn Higher - Vocals and Bass

JoeBonamassa - Guitar and vocals

Jason Bonham - Drums

Derek Sherinian - Keys

FM - 'Old Habits Die Hard' Album Review

 

Old Habits Die Hard

In an uncertain world where we are seeing wars being fought, economies crashing and Trump still being a massive bell, its good to know that some things never change - such as an album dropping every other year from AOR and British rock stalwarts, the mighty FM.

The album has been released to coincide with their 40th anniversary (1984-2024), which is a huge milestone because there are not that many AOR/melodic rock bands around, let alone producing new music especially with any consistency. In FM’s case prolific doesn’t describe them enough. Its no good being prolific if the quality isn’t there. Thankfully FM rip up the rulebook and in ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ they have produced some of their finest work since 2010s Metropolis.

Following 2022’s ‘Thirteen’ album, ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ was delayed slightly by keyboard player Jem Davis’ cancer diagnosis (thankfully he’s now received the all-clear) and then by the sudden passing of FM’s founding guitarist Chris Overland (Steve’s brother), which hit the band hard.

“Chris’s passing came out of the blue and it was devastating,” says Steve. To add insult to injury, close friend of the band and longtime collaborator of Jim Kirkpatrick, guitarist Bernie Marsden passed away just two days after Chris.”

The tragedies that plagued the band through the recording process only reinforced FM’s resolve and desire to make the best album that they could to represent their 40 years in the business. The new album is also a fitting tribute to Chris Overland.

On a first listen, it feels like Steve et al (sorry I went all David Coverdale for a moment there) have been Digging Up The Dirt on what used to be the standard offering back in the 80s where you could hear  more than a passing influence from the likes of Toto and Bad Company in particular.

Opening song ‘Out Of The Blue’ takes the Toto AOR/West Coast vibe and its a very smooth sounding track that bands like Toto and Chicago would kill for today. I hate the term Yacht Rock, but in Overlands case its more like Train Rock, as he is the Biff Byford of AOR who share a passion for trains (Crosstown, Runaway, and now, Midnight) which leads us to ‘Don’t Need Another Heartache’. The riff is in ACDC territory, but this song is so Bad Company, and Foreigner sounding, I had to check that they hadn’t got their mate Mick Ralphs in on the guitar solo. ‘No Easy Way Out’ digs deep into his bag of lyrics and comes up with lines that only SO can deliver without being sugar coated. It also has the FM huge hook (pat.pending). I still don’t know how FM aren’t filling stadiums with songs like these, especially with the trademarked 5 part harmonies they offer. 

I've seen a comment that FM are playing it safe with ‘Old Habits…’. No, they are not. I think its more early FM than reformed FM, but that doesn’t mean it been played safe. 

‘Lost’ is one of the smoothest songs they have ever done. If it was any smoother it would be a deluge of dewdrops (look it up). ‘Black Water’ is one of my favourite tracks on the album. It’s the kind of slow burn that gets under the skin after repeated listens and makes FM stand out from the rest of the bunch, and it gives Jim Kirpatrick the reins to play his heart out. Its a fire-cracker of a song.

Leap Of Faith comes out of the traps like a stabbed rat. It's the heaviest song on the album, and proves that FM can rock as much an anyone else, only with infinitely better vocals and harmonies, with Overland singing his arse off. Plus I’m a sucker for a bit of Hammond (B-3, not Alison). Once you see a song called ‘California’ you know what is to come. It is also the perfect companion piece to 2015’s ‘Life Is A Highway’. We are very quickly at the sharp end and ‘Blue Sky Mind’ comes from the pen of Jem Davis who wrote about his cancer diagnosis. The a cappella beginning gives me goosebumps. 

Many, many bands have reformed from the 80s, but none of them are doing it better or more consistently than FM. ‘Old Habits..’ was self produced, and it’s one of the best sounding albums of their career.

Without a shadow of a doubt, it is the best album since Metropolis. Old Habits certainly do Die Hard (with a vengeance)

Score 9/10

Paul Chesworth

Tracklisting - 

Out Of The Blue

Don’t Need Another Heartache

No Easy Way Out

Lost

Whatever It Takes

Black Water

Cut Me Loose

Leap Of Faith

California

Another Day In My World

Blue Sly Mind