The band features the amazing Bob Catley on vocals (I suggest you guys check out his solo material). A new addition to the band is Harry James from the massively overlooked (at least here in the US) band, Thunder. The album follows a path paved by countless rock bands throughout the 70’s and 80’s: traditional rock ‘n’ roll, excellent vocals, keyboards, solos, big hooks, and a little cheese. After the album opener you get that 70’s influence with “It’s Time To Come Together” and “We All Run,” the latter being the better track. They slow it down for “The Blue And The Grey,” which could technically be classified as a ballad, but a little more up-tempo than your typical ballad. The next two tracks, “I’d Breathe For You” and “The Last Goodbye,” are mid-paced rockers with some great hooks. The album closes with “Immigrant Song” (not the Led Zeppelin classic), “Hard Road” and “The Scarecrow,” the latter being a relatively slow-moving 10-minute opus, but all three being good, solid tunes.

All in all, this album—their 20th, by the way—has some great moments. The songs are well constructed, the hooks are big and memorable, the musicianship is top-notch, and it all comes together sounding great, but somewhere it does fall short of being a truly great album. Maybe it’s because of that cheese. Regardless, fans of 70’s and 80’s rock with leanings more toward that keyboard-driven 70’s melodic rock style with slight prog elements should definitely give these guys a listen. Very good rock(y) ‘n’ roll.

written by Ken Wood

Playing time: 55.23