Back in the late eighties there was a band called Jagged Edge, formed by English guitar wizard Myke Gray and Swedish lead singer Matti Alfonzetti. They released one album, Fuel To Your Soul to critical acclaim, but the album didn’t go anywhere so they split.
Gray and the other members, bass player Andy Robbins and drummer Dicki Fliszar then formed Skin with singer Neville MacDonald. Skin’s debut album was a hit, but grunge came and Skin jumped on that wagon and failed miserably, which led to their demise after just three albums. Skin recently reunited for a tour and a great new album, but then called it quits again. Which led to the reunion of Jagged Edge, only this time they changed the name and became Red White & Blues. Now their debut is here and after one spin of the record it’s clear why they changed the name. The melodic poppy sound of Jagged Edge is more or less gone and as the name reveals, this time they went for a more bluesy style. Sometimes not a far cry from how Skin sounds. ”Stand Up For Rock ’n’ Roll” is a killer opener that sounds like AC/DC goes melodic rock, ”Rescue Me” is a great groover with a gospel feel that sounds like a hit to my ears and ”Red, White And Blues” is a brilliant Rhythm & Blues rocker.
Both ”A Little Too Late” and ”Counts For Nothing” are ballads and they’re great, bluesy with a killer melody. No cheese here. ”Long Way From Home” is
an uptempo pop-rocker and the only song here that reminds of the Jagged Edge days, ”Girls And Guitars” is a groovy chliché, although a good one, ”The Best Is Yet To Come” is a catchy pop song and on ”The Road To Hell” they’re back on AC/DC territory, but with a twist of both Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses. A true winner.
This is a brilliant album for anyone out there that have their hooks in the seventies and loves rock ’n’ roll. In all honesty, this sounds more like a Skin album with Matti Alfonzetti on the mike and that, my friends, is only a good thing.
01. Stand Up For Rock And Roll
02. Shame Shame
03. Rescue Me
04. Red White & Blues
05. Let It Shine
06. A Little Too Late
07. Good Times
08. Get It On
09. Counts For Nothing
10. Set My Sights On You
11. Long Way From Home
12. Girls And Guitars
13. The Best Is Yet To Come
14. The Road To Hell
Jon Wilmenius (8/10)
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