Let it heavily shine
Glenn Hughes – Resonate
Glenn Hughes – Resonate
In the pre-release press much was made of Resonate being one of the heaviest albums of Glenn Hughes’ solo career and one of the heaviest records Glenn Hughes has produced, full stop, across more than forty-five years of musical and vocal history including a renowned Purple patch, a number of noted band projects and a solo catalogue that has delivered successfully in AOR, hard rock and soul-funk.
Which is all well and good as long as you have the songs, the melodies, the sound and the sonic punch to back up the volume and the Marshall stacked weight.
As it turns out Resonate doesn't just tick all those musical boxes, it also features the best band line-up to ever grace a Glenn Hughes solo record – Hughes (vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar), Soren Andersen (guitars), Pontus Engborg (drums) and Lachy Doley (keyboards).
'Heavy,' the lead-off single and perfectly titled opening number, sets the album’s stall out early in fine staccato styled verses and power-beat style (guest drummer Chad Smith is behind the kit for 'Heavy' and closing track 'Long Time Gone').
Soren Andersen power chords the song along while Lachy Doley fills out the sound of the big voiced choruses with his fully reverbed Hammond B2.
The punchy bass, drum and guitar pound of 'My Town' is equally ballsy, the sonic force of the song tempered only by a couple of very short vocal and mellotron passages.
"This is my town... this is my soul, oh can’t you see!" screams Hughes with such vocal passion that you can't help but believe him.
'Flow' wouldn’t be out of place in a grungier band environment; a dirty great guitar sound and Hammond organ drive the song along before a short and melodic 70s styled interlude sets up the organ and flurry of bass notes finale (given the vocal credentials of Glenn Hughes it’s sometimes easy to forget what an exceptional four-stringer he is; Hughes doesn’t just deliver those signature vocal highs, he also provides the four-string groove and mid-range punctuation).
'Let It Shine' hearkens back to the mid-tempo heavy rock with hooky, soul-vocal chorus that has become such a staple of Glenn Hughes’ work, certainly since the early 90s.
'Steady,' an atmospheric heavy AOR meets soul-rock number, then takes centre stage and showcases the talents of Lachy Doley. It also features a fleeting but noteworthy Hammond intro, Doley’s fingers flitting across the keys a la the late great Jon Lord (you can’t help but think it’s an intentional touch, and nod, from Doley).
It’s hard to explain in review text just how much Australian Lachy Doley (an outstanding player who fronts his own blues-soul-funk band) brings to the table – or more accurately brings to the Hammond B2, a (triple tracked) Mellotron and his Hohner D6 Castlebar Whammy Clavinet (which doubles many of the guitar parts, giving some of the songs a very individual, thicker sound).
With such an outstanding five song start, it would be hard to keep up the same sonic intensity and quality and while 'God of Money' and 'How Long' bring mid-tempo, brooding power and a pacier edge to proceedings resepectively, neither truly sparkle in the way the opening quintet do.
But then even the heaviest of albums, if melody is to play its part, need to provide contrast – and that’s just what Resonate does across the latter half of the album.
'When I Fall' is a glorious, spacey blues-soul Glenn Hughes number that again features the talents of Lachy Doley, this time in a far more understated manner.
'Landmines' follows, and funks its way across four and a half minutes of choppy guitars and heavy soul vocals.
The riffy 'Stumble & Go' throws in short, sharp melodic interjections that give it an atypical feel before 'Long Time Gone,' a song that quickly develops from its acoustic and vocal opening to blossom into a chunky and funky rock number, closes out what is unquestionably one of the strongest albums of Glenn Hughes’ solo career.
Since being told we were the music and Trapeze were just the band, Glenn Hughes has gone on to be part of classic rock releases such as Deep Purple’s Burn and Stormbringer, one half of Hughes-Thrall (who delivered one of the greatest AOR releases of the 80s), co-formed Black Country Communion, a super-group that was just that (in both senses) and enjoyed a successful, twenty-five years and counting recording and touring solo career.
And with solo album number thirteen The Voice of Rock has an album that will Resonate with not just the Glenn Hughes fans, but those who like their rock with two lumps of heavy and just a splash of soul.
Let it Shine, baby.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Which is all well and good as long as you have the songs, the melodies, the sound and the sonic punch to back up the volume and the Marshall stacked weight.
As it turns out Resonate doesn't just tick all those musical boxes, it also features the best band line-up to ever grace a Glenn Hughes solo record – Hughes (vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar), Soren Andersen (guitars), Pontus Engborg (drums) and Lachy Doley (keyboards).
'Heavy,' the lead-off single and perfectly titled opening number, sets the album’s stall out early in fine staccato styled verses and power-beat style (guest drummer Chad Smith is behind the kit for 'Heavy' and closing track 'Long Time Gone').
Soren Andersen power chords the song along while Lachy Doley fills out the sound of the big voiced choruses with his fully reverbed Hammond B2.
The punchy bass, drum and guitar pound of 'My Town' is equally ballsy, the sonic force of the song tempered only by a couple of very short vocal and mellotron passages.
"This is my town... this is my soul, oh can’t you see!" screams Hughes with such vocal passion that you can't help but believe him.
'Flow' wouldn’t be out of place in a grungier band environment; a dirty great guitar sound and Hammond organ drive the song along before a short and melodic 70s styled interlude sets up the organ and flurry of bass notes finale (given the vocal credentials of Glenn Hughes it’s sometimes easy to forget what an exceptional four-stringer he is; Hughes doesn’t just deliver those signature vocal highs, he also provides the four-string groove and mid-range punctuation).
'Let It Shine' hearkens back to the mid-tempo heavy rock with hooky, soul-vocal chorus that has become such a staple of Glenn Hughes’ work, certainly since the early 90s.
'Steady,' an atmospheric heavy AOR meets soul-rock number, then takes centre stage and showcases the talents of Lachy Doley. It also features a fleeting but noteworthy Hammond intro, Doley’s fingers flitting across the keys a la the late great Jon Lord (you can’t help but think it’s an intentional touch, and nod, from Doley).
It’s hard to explain in review text just how much Australian Lachy Doley (an outstanding player who fronts his own blues-soul-funk band) brings to the table – or more accurately brings to the Hammond B2, a (triple tracked) Mellotron and his Hohner D6 Castlebar Whammy Clavinet (which doubles many of the guitar parts, giving some of the songs a very individual, thicker sound).
With such an outstanding five song start, it would be hard to keep up the same sonic intensity and quality and while 'God of Money' and 'How Long' bring mid-tempo, brooding power and a pacier edge to proceedings resepectively, neither truly sparkle in the way the opening quintet do.
But then even the heaviest of albums, if melody is to play its part, need to provide contrast – and that’s just what Resonate does across the latter half of the album.
'When I Fall' is a glorious, spacey blues-soul Glenn Hughes number that again features the talents of Lachy Doley, this time in a far more understated manner.
'Landmines' follows, and funks its way across four and a half minutes of choppy guitars and heavy soul vocals.
The riffy 'Stumble & Go' throws in short, sharp melodic interjections that give it an atypical feel before 'Long Time Gone,' a song that quickly develops from its acoustic and vocal opening to blossom into a chunky and funky rock number, closes out what is unquestionably one of the strongest albums of Glenn Hughes’ solo career.
Since being told we were the music and Trapeze were just the band, Glenn Hughes has gone on to be part of classic rock releases such as Deep Purple’s Burn and Stormbringer, one half of Hughes-Thrall (who delivered one of the greatest AOR releases of the 80s), co-formed Black Country Communion, a super-group that was just that (in both senses) and enjoyed a successful, twenty-five years and counting recording and touring solo career.
And with solo album number thirteen The Voice of Rock has an album that will Resonate with not just the Glenn Hughes fans, but those who like their rock with two lumps of heavy and just a splash of soul.
Let it Shine, baby.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ