Steve Newman, that quintessential English melodic rocker, who had an awesome release with “Heaven Knows”, is back, this time without the backing of the Escape label. Would this lack of backing prove to be a major sticking point? Who knows? I know how hard bands fight to get themselves signed to major labels so that they can get their music heard, so is ‘going it alone’ the right thing for Steve to do? Only time and sales will tell. 

I had been looking forward to this release for a long time, since hearing of its progress at Firefest III last year, when I was fortunate to speak to Steve after his slightly problematic set at the pre-show party. I was, and still am, a huge fan of “Heaven Knows” and felt at the time that Steve had possible reached a pinnacle and could go no further – so lets press the play button and jump in with both feet. 

The first track “Heading For Your Heart” starts off with a really slow spine tingling mellow and moody guitar riff that acts almost like a relaxant before the tempo changes and the guitar bursts into a rocky, heavily distorted up-tempo beat which drags you full on into the track proper. With “Heading For Your Heart” Steve has once again managed to find an awesome opener, just as he did with “Heaven Knows”, the right track in the right place to achieve the right effect.

The title track, “Primitive Soul”, is a rocker from start to finish. Building up from a beaty, almost tribal beginning, to a real head-banging, toe-tapping chorus that doesn’t need much before you start singing along. Following on from this is “Still Cant Find The Words” which turns the ‘beat dial’ from 10 right back down to 1 and is a real ‘last dance’ ballad.

As you all know I am not one to break releases down and comment track by track, I like to look at the bigger picture. So, here is the bigger picture. This is an impressive release that is filled with impressive tracks, one of the rare occasions that you can state that “the sum of the one is equal to the sum of the whole”. “Primitive Soul” once again highlights the talents that Mr Newman possess (I call him ‘Mr’ as a sign of respect), especially when you

realise that he has done this all on his own again, all guitars, bass, keyboards and vocals. The only parts he didn’t do were the drums, and I bet if he had more time he would give them a go as well. What is plainly obvious, when you look at Steve Newman’s back catalogue, is that he keeps getting better and better with each release – even our illustrious Dougie at hardrockhouse.com felt the need to eat humble pie when he reviewed “Heaven Knows” previously. This album follows the trend, and is, in my opinion, even better than “Heaven Knows”

As I mentioned previously, this release has been done without the backing of a major label, and if I may be so bold, I do think that it is noticeable. Gone is the almost urgent nature which is necessary to meet deadlines set by record labels, the pressure to create and deliver has gone. This has been replaced by a more personal touch, you can almost sense the sigh of relief at being able to take time over writing the songs, and I feel that this shows in the quality of the songs on this album.

Once again, Steve has moved the bar up another few notches and laid down an album of unquestionable quality, an album that will stay on the MP3 player for a long time (at least until his next release) and is a MUST BUY for all melodic rock fans.

I wanted to give this release top marks, but if I did that then Steve may feel he could rest on his laurels, and that would not be good enough I’m afraid. We want and need more of this quality from our British rockers, and with some more inspiration he could get even better (if that is possible!) So, bearing that in mind I feel justified in giving “Primitive Soul” a well deserved 9.8/10 and my unconditional recommendation to buy this release. My main contender for album of the year so far. Well done Steve.

Let us know your views on 'Primitive Soul'

Track List

Heading For Your Heart
15 Minute Revolution
Primitive Soul
Still Can't Find The Words
Last Flight
Falling Like Stone
For The Man I Am
Cold Day In Hell
I Get Torn
Rapture
Give It All You Got
Mystery To Me