Black Country Communion - Afterglow

Black Country Communion
Afterglow
J & R Adventures
2012
5.5
Act number three for this 70s rock super group and now we see the renowned Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner, etc.) behind the drum kit and the eminent Derek Sherinian (Dream Theatre, Billy Idol, Alice Cooper) on keys. This band gets bigger and bigger when it comes to names involved.
 
The album once again was produced by the celebrated Kevin Shirley (Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, etc.) and it moves on the well-known bluesy rock, hard rock & classic rock paths of the 70s. Glenn Hughes gives sometimes the impression that he’s 30 years old again and Joe Bonamassa does an exceptional job on the guitars. So far so good… but I think that something vital is missing here. It’s the vast lack of fresh ideas and memorable hooks. As the album goes on, you’ll find yourself having forgotten the previous songs while focusing on the current ones. That’s a fatal mistake that the super groups mostly do. You can “sell” the members’ names, but at the end of the day you’ll need something more than that to go on… you will need big songs like all the 70s hard rock bands used to have… that’s why they’ve been around since 40 plus years.
 
There are some tunes which are trying to save the day like the absorbing “The Circle” but out of the 11 songs and almost 57 minutes of music, it ain’t good to separate just a handful of fine tunes. Moreover, the songwriting is too safe for my liking. Surely, musicians like them can do way better than this album and those who praise such works only harm them. This is an OK release and nothing more… by fawning and giving kudos to such albums, we give the musicians the right & the alibi not to work harder or deliver anything better in the future… I won’t be a part of that…