I have always had a soft spot for Axel Rudi Pell and his individual brand of hard rock. I owe it all to a lady from yesteryear who turned me on (literally) to his “Bad Reputation” album and tracks like “Call Her Princess”. I loved the way he attacked his guitar as if every note might just be his last and the sense of drama that ran through his compositions. That, however, was more years ago than I would care to dwell on.

Now here in the present we have a new Axel Rudi Pell album to savour and it's an album with a twist. Every track is a cover version. At first this did have me a bit worried as there seems to be a bandwagon of artists bringing out albums of this ilk (Def Leppard, Tesla, Toto and the soon to be released Queensryche). If I had the choice I would rather have an album of originals from my musical heroes rather than re- worked covers. However before anyone thinks I have a phobia against covers albums I have to say, “I honestly don’t”. I loved Tesla’s “Reel To Reel” albums and felt they really did the originals a lot of justice. I just feel that the covers album genre may actually hinder the progress of some bands. If the public see covers albums they might think the artist is running out of creative ideas and in this fickle age we live in some bands might find their public wandering away to find their musical thrills elsewhere.

Leaving that thought behind let me get back to telling you about Axels new album “Diamonds Unlocked” .It features eleven tracks one of which is an original instrumental called “The Diamond Overture” which ushers in the album. The remaining ten cover versions, one has to say, bring up a few surprises. A glance at the bands covered herein shows that Axel has gone for songs that move him, he hasn’t simply picked songs which you may expect a “guitar hero” to normally choose. The way I see it is that Pell has picked songs and bands that he is a fan of. Lets face it great music is great music, which ever way you look at it.

The first cover is “Warrior” by Riot, which ably demonstrates Axels fiery, but melodic playing as it charges along with unstoppable energy. Johnny Gioeli reaches all the big notes with ease and shows why he is one of rocks most talented singers.

Next up is a track, which will raise a few eyebrows, U2's “Beautiful Day”. I couldn’t wait to hear what Pell had done with this superb song (which my wife and I started the second half of our wedding reception with). As the guitar chords ring out the introduction one is left in no doubt that Pell has “rocked up” this fabulous song. The guitars are fat and fruity and the song has, amazingly, kept its charm yet been transformed into a surging rock monster. It was an anthem in its original form and yet in Pell's re-rocked version it sounds indestructible. It’s tasteful and great fun and the guitar solo is exhilarating.

Next up is “Stone”. Pell states that he came across this song via The Law, which as chance would have it is exactly how I discovered it despite it being originally recorded by Chris Rea. Stone is the perfect vehicle for Gioeli’s voice and he really digs in and gets into the sentiment of the song. The chorus in this song is very strong and suits Pell’s larger than life style, we get a solo which sounds spontaneous and rich in emotion and if one listens carefully you will be rewarded by a sensational play out solo.

“Love Gun” is up next, originally on the album of the same name by Kiss. In its original format Love Gun was a surging rock song, but here Pell takes a left turn and transforms it into an acoustic ballad. I have to say it really works and, if anything, will have people admitting that Kiss really do write great songs. The key to this song is the melodies, which are strong, and as mentioned earlier it shows that a good song is always a good song.

The next surprise is Michael Bolton's “Fools Game”. If you are like me and in the foothills of your forties you will know that Bolton, before "growing up", was originally quite a rocker in his early days. This song is one of his best and in its original form is a cracking rock song. Pell’s version is beefed up and refreshingly tougher and has one of his trademark metal solos. The whole effect just screams “fun” and I have lost count of the amount of times I have blasted this song in my car.

“Heartbreaker” is the classic slow burning blues number by Free. Pell’s version really does this proud song justice as he wrings emotion from his guitar in the spirit of Paul Kossoff.

“Rock The Nation” is up next, originally recorded by Montrose. Without a doubt Montrose have to be one of the most influential hard rock bands of their generation. Gioeli doesn’t steal his vocal licks from Sammy Hagar though; he doesn’t need to as he stamps his own wonderfully strong vocal delivery on proceedings. Pell’s guitar is again rich and fat and guitarists everywhere will nod with approval as he digs in and milks the riff. It’s glorious stuff.

Maybe the biggest surprise of the album is the cover version of Phil Collins “In The Air Tonight”. Pell does a marvellous job on this atmospheric number. He also puts his own twist on the song by speeding up the tempo at the end, adding even more drums and of course one of his from the heart guitar solos.

“Like A Child” is a cover of the song by The Mission. The lyrics of this song are touching at the best of times and Pell retains the romantic mood and delivers a tasteful take of this song.

The final song of the album is a real barnstormer,” Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who. Pell isn’t the first person to see the potential of this song in the hard rock world .Who can forget the superb live version that Van Halen used to include in their live set. Anyone who plays guitar will know Pete Townsend was a massive influence on a wholegeneration of six stringers, the wonderful sense of freedom that is achieved by going from A to G is something that everyone should experience at least once (particularly through a Marshall stack). Pell keeps the power and excitement levels high in this track, but also adds his own touches to a wonderful middle section in which he plays some incendiary licks in the guitar solo which resulted in me punching the air with glee. Once again this track has burst forth from the car stereo a lot recently.

“Diamonds Unlocked” joins the ever growing list of cover albums by established artists but, as a musical statement, it will stand the test of time as Pell has put a lot of thought into the arrangements and overall delivery. His versions of “Beautiful Day”,” Rock The Nations” and “Fools Game” are absolute crackers and will have even the most jaded rock fans smiling with approval.

You can’t help but feel that Pell has put this collection together from the perspective of a fan of music. Lucky for the rest of us Pell has recorded them in a way that only he can and the result is a thoroughly entertaining and stimulating release, which at the end of the day shows us “great music is always great music”.

Let us know your views on Diamonds Unlocked

Track Listing

Diamond Overture
Warrior
Beautiful Day
Stone
Love Gun
Fool's Game
Heartbreaker
Rock The Nation
In The Air Tonight
Like A Child Again
Won't Get Fooled Again

Line Up

Johnny Gioeli - Vocals
Axel Rudi Pell - Guitars
Ferdy Doernberg - Keyboards
Volker Krawczak - Bass
Mike Terrana - Drums