John West, the man who many claim to be one of the most talented vocalists of the whole international Hard Rock scene has a new Solo Album due for release soon, his 4^th solo studio album to be precise (for the purists amongst you).  The man whose voice provides a front to the heavy, ear thumping, fast paced Progressive Hard Rock that fans of Royal Hunt have come to love over the years, the man that fans of Artension revere etc etc……… and guess what…..I have got a pre-release copy of this latest album, “Long Time.... No Sing” to listen too and review.  Boy, am I in for a treat. 

Sit back, open a can of Johns Smiths, press play on the CD player and here goes.  Aaaaaah, the build up intro track starts, classic Royal Hunt, just what I was expecting.  The first track, “Let Us Pray”, almost made me feel like clasping my hands together, getting on my knees and saying “for what I am about to listen too, I thank you God”! 

But hang on, where’s the thumping base gone?  Who has nicked the 24 beats per bar drumming?  This isn’t what I was expecting!!!!!!!! 

To be truthful this latest production is a bit of a step away from what some would consider the “norm” for John West.  For this album it would seem that John has decided to go for the more melodic sounds and at first I will admit that I was disappointed. My preconceived idea of how this album would sound was washed away straight after the first track.  However, being an open minded type of guy I carried on listening and as the album progressed things started to come more into focus.  You suddenly pick up on subtle highlights of Royal Hunt every now and then, you hear a few smidgens of Artension mixed into the riffs, and if you listen very, very carefully you can hear little progressive nuances mingled in with the strong AOR chorus’ (Progressive Twiddle Twaddle as a good friend of mine would say).  John has managed to put together an extremely good mix of his Hard Rock influences, made them more melodic, and tied them all together with his fantastic voice and some really strong performances by all the musicians involved.  Surprisingly, it works. 

This album, IMO, isn’t one of those albums that grabs you by the balls and drags you into the music kicking and screaming.  It is, however, one that gently tickles you into submission.  You find that when you have finished listening to it you think to yourself, “OK, just one more time” almost as if subliminally you realise that the more you hear it the more it is going to excite you.  You suddenly notice that you are tapping out the rhythm, singing along to the chorus, and before you know it you have opened up another can and you have sat back down to really enjoy it.   

On reflection I like this album, I like a lot, and it will undoubtedly appear as one of the “most played” albums on my generic MP3 player for at least the next few weeks.  However, I do feel that John’s forte is with the faster paced Progressive Hard Rock/Progressive Metal/Hard Rock that we all know and love him for. 

Let us know your views on 'Long Time..No Sing'

Track List

Let Us Pray
Fade
Set Me Free
Give Me A Sign
Highway Roppongi
Over My Head
The One That Got Away
Falling Down
Slipping Away
One More Lie
Better Believe
Puerto Amor

Line Up

John West - Vocals
Lonnie Park - Keyboards
Chris Caffrey - Guitars
Jeff Plate - Drums
Kevin Hampton - Guitars