PUSHKING – The World As We Love It (2011)

Russian purveyors of classic rock PUSHKING have become cult stars in their native country with 15 albums since their formation in 1994.
The band’s management, looking for a more global form of recognition, sent promo packages to producers in every corner of this rock ‘n’ roll world with one, L.A.-based Fabrizio Grossi whose credits include work with Alice Cooper, Toto, and Glenn Hughes, really taking to the band and suggesting that they should consider re-recording select songs from their back catalogue with true legends of the rock world in an attempt to raise the band’s profile.

The result of this ambitious idea is ‘The World As We Love It’, the first Pushking album to have an international release, a nineteen song that features a startling ‘who’s-who’ of hard rock and metal superstars.

Track one is a fourteen second intro that consists of the album title being sung on a full-on metal scream.
First song proper, “Nightrider”, is an upbeat Meat Loaf-style rocker that features vocals from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, as does track two, “It’ll Be OK”, which also features the guitar talent of Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt. Both tunes are easy on the ear and Gibbons does well – we’re off to a good start.
“Troubled Love” features Keri Kelli on guitar and his sometime boss Alice Cooper on vocals and it’s possibly the most commercial song that Alice has been involved with since the ’80s. Peppered with female backing vocals and barroom piano, this is a really cool track.

“Stranger’s Song” featuring vocals from John Lawton, formerly of Uriah Heep, is an anthemic mid-tempo with a melodious guitar by Steve Stevens.
On “Cut The Wire” the guest star is Paul Stanley. I am not sure if this was the best track choice for him. This song has a too low key to his voice, Paul sounds a bit forced here. But the work of Steve Salas on guitar is awesome.
“My Reflections After Seeing The Schindler’s List Movie” offers Pushking vocalist Konstantin Shustarev the chance to show his vocals to the world around the guest guitar of Steve Vai.

Another seminal voice appears on “God Made Us Free”; ex Rainbow Graham Bonnet. His raspy vocals fits good to this classic rock style tune.
The first of the 3 tracks featuring ‘The Voice Of Rock’ Glenn Hughes, “Why Don’t You?” could have been written for Hughes specially. That’s not strange because Pushking vocalist is influenced by Glenn. This is a soul-ish tune, something of a departure for the album general sound but essential for the vocal performance alone.

“I Believe” is a melodic rocker with a mid-tempo pace. Jeff Scott Soto’s vocals are consistent and tight as usual. The man is able to sing anything. One of the best tracks of this disc.
Another Glenn Hugues appearance; “Tonight” features the guitar work of Black Country Communion bandmate Joe Bonamassa and, again, slows the tempo but ups the quality.
“Private Own” sees Matt Filippini of italian rockers Moonstone guesting on guitar and Hughes yet again turning in a superior performance.

How do you follow a Glenn Hughes master class? By getting Mr. Big’s Eric Martin to sing the next song, I guess.
“Open Letter To God’ is a bit epic, a duo with Konstantin Shustarev, but Eric Martin steals the show.
Maybe you don’t like the gritty vocals of ex-Accept Udo Dirkschneider, but his performance on the hard rockin’ “Nature’s Child” is what you’d expect from him.
There’s still time for three more heavyweights of the rock world. Dan McCafferty of Nazareth might be the veteran of this collective but he rolls back the years with a couple of great vocal performances.
“I Love You” proves that the aged Scottish rocker could sing a greeting card and make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, whilst “My Simple Song”, refusing to really abandon the power ballad format of the aforementioned song, only strengthens my opinion of the man’s talent.
Masterplan frontman Jorn Lande, famed for last year’s Dio tribute album, brings the rock back to the record with “Heroin”, a track that owes a lot to the pre-poodle permed Whitesnake, and a good song it is too.

Finally, former Rainbow member Joe Lynn Turner lays down his vocals on a song, “Head Shooter”, that may not be particularly hair-raising but certainly gives the listener a chance to wig out in a classic rock stylee before the album’s end.
However, before the album is truly over we get “Kukarracha”, a party hardy tune that is the nearest that the album gets to hair metal with shared vocals from Turner, Stanley, Martin, Hughes and Bonnet, and guest six stringing from Toto’s Steve Lukather. This, seriously, is a really good track and a perfect way to close out the project.

With several major fanbases sure to be intent on checking out and dissecting this album old legends, the aim of the project has surely been achieved.
Pushking will certainly be at the forefront of classic rock obsessed minds for several weeks around and beyond the release of “The World As We Love It”.
A rock oddbox has been opened and, for curiosity value alone, I suggest that you take a look inside.

01. Intro
02. Nightrider (Billy Gibbons: vocals, guitar)
03. It’ll Be OK (B. Gibbons: vocals, Nuno Bettencourt: guitar)
04. Trouble Love (Alice Cooper: vocals, Keri Kelli: guitar)
05. Strangers Song (John Lawton: vocals, Steve Stevens: guitar)
06. Cut The Wire (Paul Stanley: vocals, Steve Salas: guitar)
07. My Reflections After Seeing the Schindler’s List Movie (S. Vai: guitar)
08. God Made Us Free (Graham Bonnet: vocals)
09. Why Don’t You (Glenn Hughes: vocals)
10. I Believe (Jeff Scott Soto: vocals)
11. Tonight (G. Hughes: vocals, Joe Bonamassa: guitar)
12. Private Own (G. Hughes: vocals, Matt Filippini: guitar)
13. Open Letter To God (Eric Martin: vocals)
14. Nature’s Child (Udo Dirkschneider: vocals)
15. I Love You (Dan McCafferty: vocals)
16. Head Shooter (Joe Lynn Turner: vocals)
17. Heroin (Jorn Lande: vocals)
18. My Simple Song (Dan McCafferty: vocals)
19. Kukarracha (All Stars: vocals, Steve Lukather: guitar)

Konstantin “Koha” Shustarev – Vocals
Nikolai Yegerev – Guitar
Dmitry Losev – GuitarValeriy Sadakov – Bass
Vicktor Drobysh – Keys
Andrey Kruglov – Drums

www.pushking.eu
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