  
Frontiers/Playground
Frontiers project THREE LIONS sure kick-started the career of front man Nigel Bailey, who’s solo debut this is. The record company hooked him up with guitarist Mario Percudani and drummer Alessandro Mori, while keyboards were supplied by Frontiers stalwart Alesandro del Vecchio and Andy Bailey. The latter is part of the band´s touring line-up as well as guitarist Vinny Burns (THREE LIONS). The info promise an album filed with classic British hard rock, slightly heavier than THREE LIONS. Let´s get on with it!
The average here is mostly slightly above average with a few blazes of real British fury. Opener “Feed the Flames” is almost spot on; a lot of eighties hard rock, British to the core, but not quite the major refrain it deserves - a good choice of opener nevertheless. The heavy riffing of “In the Name of the King” might lack an inch of refrain too but would have been my choice for the opening spot. The songs all have that ring of THUNDER, WHITESNAKE or even THIN LIZZY as in the excellent guitar work of the cosy “Somewhere in Oslo”. “Stay” also has LIZZY touches, while “Bad Reputation” ironically is THUNDERSNAKE in the mix. The titke track could also have been an excellent opener with a heavier riff and a style similar to the opening three songs. The emotional side of the album sure fit Nigel´s voice, as in “Spend the Night”, and they could have included one more soft song. The steamy rock audience gets their money´s worth in “Dirty Angel”, which is about as hard as it got back in Blighty in the eighties. An excellent album closer that will do them favours live. All in all I can´t decide which is the best, this or THREE LIONS. I quite like them both and if you´re penchant to a bit of UK eighties hard rock, with or without the AOR-touch, you´d better get them both!
Track List
Feed the Flames
In the Name of the King
Dirty Little Secret
Bad Reputation
Stay
Somewhere in Oslo
Long Way Down
Spend the Night
Love Falls Down
Ticket to Yesterday
Dirty Angel
www.frontiers.it www.baileyrocks.com
|
