Hands up everyone who owns Kiss Of The Gypsy’s self-titled debut – and only – album from 1991. Ok, now hands up everyone who has even heard of the band. I’m sure there are a few of us who can raise our hands on both. Being the music-geek I am, I went out and bought said album directly after spotting the video for their debut single “Whatever It Takes” back in the day – and I really dug the record. Still do. But in hindsight, 1991 wasn’t the best year to be a debuting Arena Rock/Melodic Hard Rock act. Grunge was lurking around the corner and even though older acts within said genre still did good business, very few – if any – debuting acts were able to find a fan-base of any signification. Sad, because there were many bands just like Kiss Of The Gypsy out there which never stood a chance to make it big. Kiss Of The Gypsy disbanded only two years later.
So what happened to the guys from Kiss of The Gypsy then? Damned if I know because I lost track. Also, I wasn’t familiar with the members of the band and hardly knew them by name. Turns out that leader/lead singer/guitarist/song-writer Tony Mitchell licked his wounds and formed Kingdom Of Dead Men who released their sole album Black Rhapsody in 2010 and then Death Rattle And Roll with Boneyard Zombies two years later. I’m not familiar with any of those projects and I only find out about them when I googled Tony’s name for this review. However, a promo-link of Mitchell’s second solo album – I was also oblivious to the fact that he had released an album called Beggars Gold back in 2018 – turned up in my mail-box and when I found out it was the same Mitchell who fronted Kiss Of The Gypsy, my interest level rose high. This I had to give a shot.
The album opens with the title-track. It kicks off with a big, dramatic and heavy pipe-organ and continues in a Classic Rock way that holds both a gospel-oriented choir, a Soul influence and a massive groove with a pumping rhythm and some crispy guitars. With shitloads of hooks everywhere, striking melodies and a massive chorus, this song deserves to be a big hit. Because it’s bloody awesome. The leading single “Living On The Run” follows and it is an uptempo pop-rocker with a clear nod towards Classic Rock and an early Bon Jovi influence inserted. Somewhat 80’s laden, it is a straight-forward rocker with more hooks, a positive outlook and a massive, slightly AOR-flirtatious chorus that sticks faster than super-glue. I love this!
On a stompy, bouncy and fat-grooved rhythm, “In And Out Of Love” mixes 80’s Melodic Rock, American Arena Rock and Classic Rock in the finest of ways. It’s an uplifting and stage-friendly, crispy rocker, melodically riff-driven with another spot-on refrain that holds more hooks than a fisherman’s hat. Three songs in and the album couldn’t have started any better. The brilliant Danny Vaughn of Tyketto fame guests Mitchell for a duet on the Classic Rock goes AOR stomping second single “The Mighty Fall”. It opens with a Bruce Springsteen sounding piano riff and continues with some more New Jersey outlooks as the early Bon Jovi influence returns within the melodies. With a massively catchy chorus with a nice dose of AOR-ish hook-lines, the tune is a winner – and this isn’t mawkish or cheesy at all, only infectious. Awesome!
On an edgier and more raunchy note, latest single “Electric” kicks up some dust with a bouncy and raunchy-grooved rhythm section complete with sparky and grinding guitar-riff. It moves on with a juicy swing and a big live-feel and I can easily imagine a rowdy festival crowd going bananas over this when bands can tour again. A striking, in-your-face refrain is the icing on the cake – a great rocker. A power ballad done like a Classic Rock ballad is what we’re given when “I Believe In Angels” shows up. It mixes an 80’s vibe with a more melancholic and down-to-earth twist which removes all risks of syrupy balladry even though the glistening and affable chorus is enormously catchy with some accompanying hugely arranged backing-vocals. Brilliant.
“Killing Me To Love You” opens with some ghostly “Aaaaaaaaa” chants before getting heavy and dark, bringing on some robust Heavy Metal inspired riffing – which actually reminds me some of Pretty Maids – and a solid, headbang-friendly beat. It also brings some dramatic synth arrangements to the table for dynamics sake. It’s a punchy and tough number but also very melodic with catchy melodies which hits hard both in verses and in the dark, sullen yet damn distinct and effective chorus. Great. “Never Wanted Love” is an upbeat Melodic Rock tune with a chunky Def Leppard like guitar ensconced. The verses are softer and laid-back which paves way for the AOR-laden chorus which in turn is slightly darker and edgy with a underlying pop-vibe. It’s majorly catchy and the whole thing just knocked me for six. Make this a single because it’s a hit to be!
Opening on a symphonic note, “One Good Reason” soon brings out the heavy artillery with some rowdy and gritty guitars and a solid, rough rhythm taking this song into edgy Hard Rock territory where clear Metal influences marries splendidly with Melodic Rock melodies and conspicuous hooks. The symphonic vibes is underlying throughout the songs but never takes over and the contagious refrain hits just where it should. Great stuff indeed. “Sacrifice” is another ballad, this time slow, stripped, naked and sparse but heavies up some along the way and it gets slightly bigger. The song is built on Classic Rock with a coherent Soul influence, some more gospel-twists and a massive chorus that squints at power-balladry. It works within a huge soundscape and despite all its catchiness, it never gets cheesy or sugary at all. Awesome.
“Shattered Dreams” brings along laid-back yet groovy verses but continues on an uptempo and heavier note where the striking melodies and super-catchy yet heavy and down-tuned guitar-riffing goes right for the throat. Also a bit synth orchestrated the tune still follows a Hard Rock driven direction which blends brilliantly with the melodic hooks and the direct and striking chorus, completely free from any mawkishness. Great! With a funky swing, the dark and heavy “Evil Woman” kicks my butt with some tough and beefy riffing and a thunderous rhythm section with a drum beat here to strike you down. It’s a punchy rocker, rough and raw yet with immense hooks and delightful melodies over a ballsy groove with yet another spicy and splendorous chorus. Magnificent.
Mitchell and his cohorts closes the album with “Heaven Is Falling”, a rhythmic Classic Rock belter that also holds a huge Stadium Rock vibe. The groove is meaty and fat on a propulsive rhythm and every melody is effective and captivating. The big keyboard arrangement is somewhat borrowed from Whitesnake’s “Judgement Day”, which in turn makes it borrowed from Led Zeppelin, with a slight Eastern touch and the solo part must be a loan from 70’s Rainbow. As a whole, this is an effective and mighty startling rocker with a beast of a chorus that hits right between the eyes without much hit-potential in the vein of being radio-friendly. It’s an album track and a damn brilliant one.
While the album isn’t musically revolutionary by any means – something tells me that wasn’t Mitchell’s goal anyway – it’s still quite unpredictable. Unpredictable in the way that even though Classic and melodic Rock is the base here, every song brings on a different influence and even though it’s nothing new under the sun genre-wise, the album never for a second gets dull – and the album never feels like a split-personality either. Also, the songs are just effing amazing – and great songs will always be great songs. The musicians on it does a great job and the production is faultless, going for a more organic sound but still polished – in a good way – enough to make it sound professional.
While I get my ass kicked from time to time for giving out high scores – to some of the pretentious audience, high scores can only be given to albums that are already classics or if you invent some new shit – but I don’t give a rat. If you release an album full of brilliantly written and performed songs, the score gets high no matter the genre and this is exactly what Mitchell has done here. If his debut solo album is only half as good as this, I really need to check it out yesterday. Well done indeed, Tony.
9/10
Tracklist:
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