Wow! Another reunion from a band from the early nineties. Nowadays, everybody and their mother reunites, no matter if you once sold albums by the pound or if you hardly shipped a copy back when. But a part of me, the part that really misses all those great rock bands from the mid eighties to the early nineties, the part that believes that Grunge destroyed everything that was fun with rock ’n’ roll, that part really embraces all these reunions – when done right. Because it feels great to have all those bands back again. And Little Caesar was one of them. Their self titled debut album came out in 1990, was produced by Bob Rock and was full of high energy, raw, down to the bone rock ’n’ roll, but with a big melodic twist that, in a perfect world, should have sold millions. It didn’t. Neither did the follow up Influence (1992), no matter that they brought in Earl Slick as a guitar player. So the world isn’t perfect, huh?
Now they’re back with a new CD (they actually released a half assed record, called This Time It’s Different (1998) an album full of reworked demos that no one knew or cared about, but that one doesn’t count, because they really weren’t a band at that point) and apparently, this reunion is for real and not just a one album stunt. So, will this new record get them anywhere? Well, probably not. Not because it’s bad, because it isn’t, but because Little Caesar weren’t that big to begin with. No matter how great this album is, it would take a smaller miracle for this album to sell any large quantities. And there is another problem – The album isn’t great – It’s good. Sometimes very good, but as a fan of their brilliant debut, I had expected more. I can’t find any bad tracks on here, but there are too many that pass me by unnoticed. Luckily enough, there are a bunch of great songs as well. The title track is great, bluesy and soulful, ”Same Old Story”, ”Supersonic” and ”Real Rock Drive” are masculine, testosterone driven hard rockers, ”That Was Yesterday” is a brilliant blues ballad and the Rod Stewart / Rolling Stones cover medley ”Every Picture Tells A Story / Happy” is a killer. On top of that, Ron Young is a great singer with a soulful and raspy voice with a wide range. These guys know their rock ’n’ roll, but it’s a shame that all of the songs aren’t in the same league as the ones just mentioned. With a bundle of great songs and some promotion, there really should be a place for a band like Little Caesar in the music world of 2010 – no matter how you see it, they are way to good to just disappear once again.
Jon Wilmenius (7/10)
Tracklist:
01. Same Old Story
02. Supersonic
03. Loving You Is Killing Me
04. Witness Stand
05. Redemption
06. Sick And Tired
07. Real Rock Drive
08. That Was Yesterday
09. Every Picture Tells A Story – Happy
10. Just Like A Woman
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