Description
The Blood Red Flower lineup is completed with drummer Randy Cooke (ex-Kim Mitchell / The Four Horsemen) and bassist Stan Miczek (Sass Jordan). So I'd pretty much say that quality was expected on beforehand. But enough of the name dropping. Did the boys deliver then, you might ask!? Oh yes, this is an incredibly powerful and surprisingly modern album (at least to these ears who are used to music by old farts ;)). One can hear traces of some modern UK bands like Oasis and the likes, yet it has traces of Beatlesque melodies and crunchy guitars with a seventies rock feel.
Naro takes the songs in very unorthodox directions when it comes to the vocal melody lines on some tracks. So this album sounds very fresh and even groundbreaking yet there are familiar odd bits here and there.The simple recipe, yet so hard to implement, "take the best of the old, the best of the new and then add the some of your own personality" worked.
Naro has a good voice and he is using it to perfection. The vocal performance on the album is very personal and with loads of class. The way he writes the vocal melody lines, the way he phrases and the vocal arrangements are simply top notch. The songs are fairly complex at times but it never gets pretentious, not even when they bring in a string section complete with a cello and all as is the case in the intro of my fave track off the album, the spooky "Dogs Of Doom". That song has it all.
This is not an album for all occasions since it is sounding a bit dark and moody yet not aggressive.
PHIL NARO has been plugging the power of his voice into New York State bar bands before he was even technically allowed in a bar. He spent the 1980's honing his skills and his sensibility in a series of solo and group albums and is ready to make his mark in the charts. A prolific and diverse songwriter and blesses with a voice so distinctive it leaves critics floundering for accurate analogies.
Phil Naro played and recorded with many acts, namely Talas [with Billy Sheehan of Mr Big] and with Peter Criss of Kiss. The album features members of Harem Scarem, Mr Big, Von Groo. Phil is currently wih the group D Drive.
1. Cautionary Tale
2. Stand Inside Your Mind
3. Celestial
4. Dogs of Doom
5. Open Invitation
6. One Million Light Years Away
7. Yes It Pays
8. Love & Hate
9. Silent Partners
10. Break Free