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Akira Kajiyama + Joe Lynn Turner Fire Without Flame |
AOR Heaven 00024 |
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I'm glad to see that AOR Heaven has picked this up for Europen release as fans of Joe Lynn Turner deserve to have access to this without the exorbitant Japanese import price. And secondly – while this is an enjoyable record – I don't think it's a classic worthy of that Japanese price tag. So, the European release is a much better proposition and is something that all JLT fans should pick up. Joe is definitely the key to the enjoyment of this record. He supplies much of the album's music – all lyrics and melodies and Akira supplies the musical backing and structure. The music is of a style JLT fans will certainly be comfortable with – very commercial, 80s influenced melodic rock. Akira previously played with Joe and Glenn Hughes live with HTP, so he knows Joe's vocal moves well and therefore this record covers a little of everything we know Joe for – melodic rock, HTP style blues and some classic hard rock. The albums rocks in places – the opening track One Day Away, Looking For Trouble, Down & Dirty the Rainbowesque double time pace of Survival; then there are also a couple of fine ballads in Heart Against Heart and Forever Changed and a mid-tempo melodic rocker in the title track Fire Without Flame. Of course there is a little showcase for the blues with Bad Feeling and the boogie of License To Kill. The one thing I don't like about the record is the guitar tone. I don't think it does the material justice and sounds pretty hollow in places. When the record is more or less a solo album for a well-known guitarist, it might be a good idea to ensure that part of the record sounds as good as is possible.
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23/08/06: Gregg - gmcpa@optonline.net
07/06/06: SAVA - svemirski_modulator@yahoo.com
02/06/06: Michael - angra55t@yahoo.com
09/05/06: 5150 - alexanderbruce@hotmail.com
09/05/06: Michael Ashworth - luckyash@optusnet.com.au
Rating: 82
Good. Nothing Great except for the title track which is
among Joe's best solo hits.
Rating: 82
I don't like production on this album, but most of songs are great! JLT did awesome job as always - my top 20 singers EVER! So, it's very good release for fans of JLT-era Rainbow, HTP and his solo works!
Rating: 99
I love Japanese hard rock/heavy metal and Kajiyama-san is a huge talent on the scene. This album is no exception - I highly enjoyed the fact that Akira is in control of production and mixing. A top-class album of the year!
Rating: 2
Disappointing album. I loved the last two albums with JLT and Akira Kajiyama (Holy Man and Slam). Likewise, I've the last few JLT solo albums. But this time, Akira Kajiyama is in control of the music, mixing and producing. And he's created a very dull and uninspired album. The music and production are flat and lifeless. Not event the guitar work is very good. Don't waste you money on this one.
Rating: 90
To me, it's just another wonderful album for J L T. Maybe it's not the masterpiece I thought 'The Usual Suspects' was, maybe in time it will be.. but it does join the list of extremely high quality J L T albums.. i honestly do think that since 1995's 'Nothing's Changed' he's been my favorite recording artist.. Whether solo or with Glenn, Akira or Mother's Army, his albums have been great and he's one of the few artists I just have no hesitation about when a new album is released..
It's a nicely varied album.. if i had one complaint it's that i wish there'd be more of a showcase for the blues, because Joe sounds absolutely wonderful in that enviroment.. other than that, great album.. strong melodic rock songs and ballads that have real emotional impact.. i can see it picking up newcomers though, my nephew who is 13 is hooked and we especially love 'Survival', very energetic and energizing song.
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