Darkhorse
Let It Ride
Fuel The Jet Records
2014
Turning back time in the 90s, I remember the anguish of the hair metal fans when the singer of legendary band Danger Danger, Ted Poley, left the band and was replaced by Paul Laine. Fortunately Laine proved to be a worthy replacement and rose to the occasion and the New York hard rockers released some pretty good albums with him.
I remember back then that Laine was a charismatic singer with a melodious crystal clear voice, full of warmth and a pure accent. This year Paul Laine stars in Darkhorse, a new band, along with Steve Ohe (guitars), Jason Bonnell (bass) and John Stoltz (drums). In order not to confuse you I’m telling you that because of Paul Laine’s involvement in Darkhorse, there is not music affinity to Danger Danger, because this band’s effort is moving into country rock style. The album is entitled “Let It Ride” and consists of 10 songs. At first I was very offish with what I heard because country rock genre is something completely unknown for me, but after listening to the whole album 3 times I could draw a much safer conclusion.
“Let It Ride” is mature enough musically and someone can find that out by listening at least two or three songs at random. There are some scattered elements of Westcoast/AOR and pop in the compositions, indicating that the band’s target maybe is to be heard from audiences outside the rock music genre and of course their music is very commercial, beautifully structured, a fact that will relax you and also will convey some very positive feelings.
The compositions are simple, without much fanfare and are flowing gently in the ears of the listener. Laine shows once again what a gifted singer he is reminding the glamor of the past and takes the songs to a high level. He is flawless throughout and especially good on the ballads of the album and also the faster compositions as well.
The songs that stood out are the excellent “Heaven Tonight”, “Strong”, “Let It Ride” and the rather nice “Better Days”, “I Wouldn’t Have Missed it For the World”, “In the Country” and “You Were the One I Waited For”. This album is musically comparable with Bon Jovi’s “Lost Highways” from back in 2008 and I would like to emphasize that what we got here is a quality musical effort, so if you are fans of country rock you know better what to do…
I remember back then that Laine was a charismatic singer with a melodious crystal clear voice, full of warmth and a pure accent. This year Paul Laine stars in Darkhorse, a new band, along with Steve Ohe (guitars), Jason Bonnell (bass) and John Stoltz (drums). In order not to confuse you I’m telling you that because of Paul Laine’s involvement in Darkhorse, there is not music affinity to Danger Danger, because this band’s effort is moving into country rock style. The album is entitled “Let It Ride” and consists of 10 songs. At first I was very offish with what I heard because country rock genre is something completely unknown for me, but after listening to the whole album 3 times I could draw a much safer conclusion.
“Let It Ride” is mature enough musically and someone can find that out by listening at least two or three songs at random. There are some scattered elements of Westcoast/AOR and pop in the compositions, indicating that the band’s target maybe is to be heard from audiences outside the rock music genre and of course their music is very commercial, beautifully structured, a fact that will relax you and also will convey some very positive feelings.
The compositions are simple, without much fanfare and are flowing gently in the ears of the listener. Laine shows once again what a gifted singer he is reminding the glamor of the past and takes the songs to a high level. He is flawless throughout and especially good on the ballads of the album and also the faster compositions as well.
The songs that stood out are the excellent “Heaven Tonight”, “Strong”, “Let It Ride” and the rather nice “Better Days”, “I Wouldn’t Have Missed it For the World”, “In the Country” and “You Were the One I Waited For”. This album is musically comparable with Bon Jovi’s “Lost Highways” from back in 2008 and I would like to emphasize that what we got here is a quality musical effort, so if you are fans of country rock you know better what to do…