Artist: Ken Hensley & Live Fire
Title: Faster
Genre: Hard Rock
Release Date: 20th May 2011
Label: earMUSIC / Edel
Album Review
Ken Hensley is among the legendary figures of Rock. As a member of the URIAH HEEP and BLACKFOOT, be it as a songwriter, singer, keyboards player and guitarist for several years, and occasional collaborations with CINDERELLA, WASP and THERION among many others he established his myth among the Rock scene. Yet, in Rock there are no holy cows. In this 50th (or is it the 52nd album he has created in his solo and band career?) he returns with an uninspired Hard Rock album with his live band the LIVE FIRE. Everything would be easy for me if there weren’t two songs in particular in it; ‘Set me Free (from yesterday)’ and ‘Fill your head (With Rock)’.
The latter is a hell of a Rock anthem, I’ve listened to it many times and it didn’t tire me up at all. Fantastic energy and flow. The former is more peculiar. At times it brought to my mind URIAH HEEP’s ‘Sunrise’ but what makes it so interesting is surely the keyboards in the beginning of it, they have a weirdly lyrical but heavy aspect. I think that this is a musician’s song; it has the potentials to be a basis for a new subgenre to be developed. The typical Hard Rock in it is fused with, hmm, how to put it, almost Goth keyboards. I have no clue at all if there are bands out there which play like that. If the album had only these two songs I’d have put a 10. Unfortunately there are 9 more songs. I believe that someone with the genius of Hensley needs someone with the same kind of genius in order to shine. Maybe his approach is my-way-or-the-highway but this doesn’t help him much. He will either shine or he will sink.
Tracklist
01. Set me Free (from yesterday) – 6:44
02. The Curse – 6:21
03. I cry alone – 5:18
04. Katrine – 4:32
05. Faster – 3:11
06. Slippin’ away (The Lovers Curse) – 3:56
07. The end of never – 3:26
08. Beyond the Starz – 6:58
09. (At) The last minute – 3:09
10. Somewhere (In Paradise) – 3:43
11. Fill your head (With Rock) – 5:37
Line-up
Ken Hensley – Vocals, keyboards
Eirikur Hauksson – Vocals
Ken Ingwersen – Guitar
Sid Ringsby – Bass
Tom Arne Fossheim – Drums
Websites
http://www.ken-hensley.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/thelivefireband
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 6
Sound: 8
Total: 7 / 10
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