Gregory Rybarski aka Chip Z’Nuff has proven himself being one creative dude the last few years. Since Enuff Z’Nuff lead singer Donnie Vie bid his farewells to the band he helped to create, bassist Chip took Enuff Z’Nuff on his own – with Vie’s blessing, of course. Being the sole original member of said band and the driving force behind it, taking on song writing, rhythm guitar, bass and lead vocal duties, being creative has been his only option. Since 2016, Enuff Z’Nuff has released four albums – one was a covers album, though – so why not write and record a solo album while you’re at it? Said and done, a solo album it is – and now it’s here.
The brief intro “The Church” takes the album into the opening track and single “Welcome To The Party”, an upbeat Classic Rock tune with big influences from both Cheap Trick and The Beatles – in other words it sounds a great deal like Enuff Z’Nuff. It’s a quite infectious little pop-rock number with a distinct hook. It holds an organic, down-to-earth vibe with Chip’s slightly hoarse voice. A good tune. More of the same comes with the straight-forward pop-rocker “Doctor (I’m Going Down Can You Save Me?)”. It differs slightly as he brings in a touch of psychedelia and a glammy twist but all in all it’s a catchy pop number with a direct hook in the chorus. I like.
“Ordinary Man” takes us back to the late 60’s with more Beatles to come our way. It’s a bit trippy and holds a dreamy atmosphere on a floating rhythm. The main guitar-riff is more early 70’s Classic Rock laden and the vocal melodies is all power-pop with a catchy, Melodic Rock laden chorus on top. Good one. Co-written with Donnie Vie, the lead-off single “Heaven In A Bottle” is an Enuff Z’Nuff tune through and through. It’s a mid-tempo track, quite smooth with an 80’s twitch over the late 60’s/early 70’s foundation. A strong main-melody and a contagious chorus takes the song for the win. This is very good indeed.
“Roll On” holds some bluesy licks and even though the Pop melodies are all over the track, it’s based on 70’s Classic Rock with chunky grooves, very rhythmic yet highly melodic with an easily embraced chorus. “I Still Hail You” goes into ballad mood, quite mellow and melancholic with a spacey vocal-melody. It’s quite a cute tune, Beatles-esque with a cosy, feelgood vibe. Good one. “3 Way” takes on a more sleazy groove with an Aerosmith takes Rolling Stones on a date with Cheap Trick twist. It’s the most slammin’ hard-rocker on the album with a crunchy riff and an Enuff Z’Nuff reminiscent refrain. Very good.
To make the title justice, “Heroin” do have a druggy, late 60’s, Beatles-type atmosphere. Mellotron, harmonica, acoustic and electric guitars are thrown in with a both bluesy and Country-ish swagger to it. It’s a good tune for sure with a non-judgemental just-say-no lyrical theme. The album closes with the Mott The Hoople cover “Honaloochie Boogie” where the original 70’s boogie-rock style has been kept intact. It’s groovy, groundy and crunchy with a big live-swing, quite faithful to the original yet with Chip’s voice giving the tune the Enuff Z’Nuff push. Good job.
With a cool list of guests – Joel Hoeckstra (Whitesnake, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Cher) guesting on guitar with Steven Adler (ex- Guns N’ Roses), Daxx Nielsen (Cheap Trick) and Daniel Hill (Enuff Z’Nuff) holding drum-duties – the album is quite intersting just because of that but the fact it do hold water quality-wise as well. In my opinion, though, it sounds quite a lot like the Chip-fronted Enuff Z’Nuff does, so much that I can’t help wondering why he simply just didn’t release as a new Enuff Z’Nuff album instead. The album might not be spectacular or breaking new ground for Chip but it’s still enjoyable and if you’re a big Enuff Z’Nuff fan, this record’s a no-brainer.
6/10
Tracklist:
1. The Church
2. Welcome To The Party
3. Doctor (I’m Going Down Can You Save Me?)
4. Ordinary Man
5. Heaven In A Bottle
6. Roll On
7. I Still Hail You
8. 3 Way
9. Heroin
10. Honaloochie Boogie
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