PROPHET'S ROSE - review added 18th March 2009
Album Review: Paranor (2008)
For fans of: hard rock... and the best song you'll probably never hear
Right, let's get straight to the point. 'Guns A Blazin' is one of the best songs I have heard for bloody ages. Okay, much like the rest of the album, the production values aren't going to get Dennis Ward green with envy, but the song is so strong it barely seems to matter.
The track builds from a doomy piano intro into something as epic as a poem by Homer. The drums sound fantastic throughout and give it an edgy feel that'll have the hairs on the back of your neck twitching in fear. The chorus is suitably vast, and the guitar soloing is so sublime it'll take those twitching hairs and yank them the hell out.
Anyway...
Prophet's Rose is a UK based band consisting of Lee Pickett, Gaz Pickett and Dave Madge. They have existed in essence for a number of years, but have only recently had the chance to come together and produce a full album. When you hear what they have created, it's a shame they've taken so long to get their act together.
The performances are mightily impressive. There are strong hints of Ten and Dare throughout, but there's certainly no ground lost in terms of raw talent. Okay, the vocals may lack technical excellence, but they radiate character and give the album a truly endearing personality. The musicianship, especially the integration of fanciful keyboard musings in the background, is a league above what you'd expect from an unsigned act. It's better than a lot of 'big' bands.
The writing is the stand out feature however. There's no claptrap in the lyrics on Paranor that makes you laugh in embarrassment. The majority of the wordage is beautiful, soulfully intelligent and devoid of pointless rhymes. The compositions are well thought out too. Every song offers something different and there's rarely a hint of descending into a creative rut.
Paranor by Prophet's Rose is a sublime album... in principal. As previously mentioned, the production values are unfortunately very low and do spoil the end result. This matters more in some songs than others. What the band really need is for a record company to grab hold of them and get this album re-recorded. With a top-spec production job, multi layered harmonies, string sections and a few other arrangement tweaks, this could be categorically mind blowing.
Check out... 'Guns A Blazin', funnily enough.
Track List:
1. The Wind And The Rose
2. In A Prophet's Eyes
3. Follow The Storm
4. Guns A Blazin
5. Heaven Sent
6. Where Have You Gone
7. Fallen Hearts
8. Italian Nights
9. Take It Easy
10. Tear Me Apart
Artist's websites: MySpace
