With the release of “Hooked,” at the dawn of 1991, Great White erected a titanic monument aimed at glorifying the raw harmony of blues scales (which, from a predominant source of inspiration, becomes the sole pulsating essence of the legendary American band).
Recorded between September and November of 1990 and produced under the skillful guidance of the adept songwriter Alan Niven, “Hooked” achieves the arduous feat of easily climbing the U.S. charts, allowing the fortunate listeners of the time to avidly grasp the last sips of neoclassical art still available from the purest spring of rock tradition, before the definitive contamination by the dirty and polluted grunge stream.
Competing for a long time with genuine bestsellers of that season such as “Use Your Illusion I & II” by Guns N’ Roses, “Slave To The Grind” by Skid Row, and the self-titled platter by Metallica, the new album by Great White quickly obtains the Gold Record certification (04/18/1991), smoothly surpassing 500,000 copies sold in the U.S. alone.
The year 1991 is an extremely significant year in the evolutionary history of hard rock: the advent of the gray Seattle bandwagon and the meteoric rise of the album “Nevermind” by Nirvana in overseas charts vigorously reshuffle the cards, indelibly altering the market strategies of major labels. The “cultural revolution,” however, does not only involve the top of the music industry but acts subtly and seemingly irreversibly on the consciences of the musicians themselves. Many bands that were prominent in the eighties alter their sound in a vain attempt to endear themselves to a fundamentally changed audience, having the only disastrous effect of disappointing old fans and perplexing the followers of new cult names like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
Motley Crue, having once enlisted the new singer John Corabi (formerly of Union), will release in 1994 an eponymous album that is interesting but completely detached from their musical legacy; Skid Row will return to the scene with “Subhuman Race” (1995), an album equally indebted to the sound of Pantera and Alice In Chains; Warrant will definitively sink their remaining credibility with the mediocre “Ultraphobic” (1995), and on the same path, Slaughter, Poison, and Faster Pussycat will sadly get lost. The only ensemble perfectly capable of continuing on a wholly personal path, the result of a gradual stylistic evolution matured over a decade, is that of Great White: the album “Hooked” (splendidly introduced by the refined cover art of photographer John Scarpoti) will be the last great hard rock album that dares to confront with its grandeur the minimalistic and primitive approach of the Seattle acts, challenging with solos as sinuous as soft feminine curves the leaden sky of the new era at hand. Jack Russell's band definitively sheds the thin classic metal patina that had accompanied it since the distant self-titled debut (dated 1983 and produced by Don Dokken), making room for the vibrant and evocative sound of its blues soul, always shown sparingly and now flaunted in all its splendor.
Displaying his usual technical prowess, Mark Kendall rejuvenates the glory of the legendary Robert Johnson, proving to be a high-class bluesman while keeping intact the purity of the sharp and intense riffing inherited from master Jimmy Page. The sound unleashed by the group is a clockwork mechanism: Jack Russell's voice soars elegantly over the mighty strokes of the impeccable rhythm section of the duo Audie Desbrow – Tony Montana, blending with the Hammond incursions of the virtuoso Michael Lardie (also engaged in rhythm guitar and piano). The opener “Call it rock n’ roll” is a song of great impact that adequately introduces the powerful single “The original queen of Sheeba,” yet another diamond set in the long discography of the White Shark: boasting a predominantly blues structure, the song is enriched by an irresistible refrain that further enhances the track. The whirlwind of emotions also involves the subsequent “Cold hearted loving” and the intense “Can’t shake it,” a sublime prelude to the languid ballad “Loving kind,” another high-class slow piece to be handed down to posterity. The creative vein of Great White seems inexhaustible, and the purely rock energy of “Heartbreaker” provides further proof of this thesis. The overall granite quality of the work does not necessarily entail the absence of true hit singles within it: the seductive blues that permeates the masterpiece “Congo square” (with masterful use of the Hammond at the heart of this composition) and the rocky hard rock charge detonated in “Desert moon” demonstrate the exceptional ability of the five musicians to create exquisite melodic solutions without conceding anything to the sordid standards of easy listening. Just a handful more tracks, and Jack Russell’s singing, also well showcased in “South bay cities” (which features the special appearance of Terry Sasser as a second voice), bids us farewell with the ballad “Afterglow,” an excellent reworking of a 1969 classic by Marriot & Lane.
The visceral energy of the blues, launched in an unstoppable race along steep and unknown paths, plunges into the most hidden depths of the rock ocean, finding a lifeline in the emotions and feeling exuded by the music of the Great White Shark.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
07 Congo Square (06:57)
(Kendall, Niven)
there she goes miss heart attack
that girl is gone ain't coming back
the love we had call it yesterday
but now is now today's today
and when the sun is shining i still feel the same
and when the rain is coming down i'm hurting with the pain
i've been here before no love no way no more am i just a fool to fall for love?
put my heart in gunnysack
dress it up in black on black
take it down to congo square
raise it from the dead down there
and when the sun is shining i will feel no pain
and when that rain is pouring down i'm on my feet again
watch me walk
i've been here before no love no way no more am i just a fool to fall for love?
and when the sun is shining ain't going to feel no pain
and when that rain is pouring down i'm on my feet again
i've been here before no love no way no more am i just a fool to fall for love?
10 Afterglow (05:49)
(S. Marriot, R. Lane)
Your love
Love is all around me
Everywhere
Love has come to touch my soul
With someone who really cares
No one can deny us
People who once passed me by
Will turn their heads
I'm happy just to be with you
And lovin' you the way I do
Is everything I need to know
Just restin' in the afterglow
You
Yes, you have always been here
A feelin' deep inside
A feelin' that I could not see
Or touch, or try to hide
My love is in and without you
I bless the day that I found you
So listen baby
I'm happy just to be with you
Love is like a voice in my head
Keeps turning out the things that we said
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Other reviews
By Falloppio
Here the Great White offer the best of the best available around.
Beautiful, beautiful, gorgeous. Pumped-up Bass and Drums with prominent vocals.