DAVID MARK PEARCE – Strange Ang3ls (2011)
DAVID MARK PEARCE is a guitarist, songwriter, sound engineer and producer from Cornwall, UK.
David’s band affiliations include the british melodic rock band Union Jane and the Cornwall based group Naked Feet.
He’s most known for his work with YES keyboard player Oliver Wakeman (Rick’s son) as stable member of his band, recording 4 albums and a live DVD. Also for his contribution to Arjen Lucassen’s Stream Of Passion project.
David wrote and recorded his own EP, ‘Shelter Me From The Rain’ in 2007, and more recently, he co-produced and was sound engineer, also providing guitar support, for keyboard player Lisa LaRue on her album ‘Lisa LaRue Project 2K9 World Class’ which was released in 2009.
But now it’s time for his own solo full length album “Strange Ang3ls”.
The first thing that really impress is the line-up: Göran Edman (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum and Talisman amongst others) and John Payne (Asia) on vocals, C S Brown (Ghost Circus) on bass; and Mikael Wikman (ex- Vindictiv) on drums, with a special guest appearance by Oliver Wakeman on keys.
The second; the quality of the material on offer and the good production.
After the short ethereal intro “Ang3ls (Help Us)”, the album explodes into a classic hard rocker with “Alone I Cry”. This is a very melodic song with classy keyboards, where David proves his abilities as guitarist with a great playing and terrific guitar sound. His style has influences from Blackmore, Jake E Lee and Nikolo Kotzev (Brazen Abbot). In fact, this album is pretty similar in style to Brazen Abbot. Göran Edman shines as usual with his unique set of pipes.
“Shelter Me Form the Rain” sits more into the melodic rock territory, with a nice chorus.
“Tell Me Why” is the first track featuring John Payne from Asia on vocals. We can hear some progressive overtones and an ‘epic’ feel, always sounding ‘classic rock’. Great riffs, vintage keyboards and an extended guitar solo makes this song one of the highlights.
“Every Time it Rains” is a very interesting instrumental where Pearce plays an arsenal of solos with taste and melody. He’s not a shredder, every note has sense and emotion.
On the itle track “Strange Ang3ls” Goran returns to the mic. This song has a little neo-classical scent and reminds you when Yngwie used to record good, commercial tunes.
Next, “To Live Again” features the best Payne vocal on this album. A classic rock song with a great refrain, catchy and melodic.
“Save Your Prayers” is a mid-tempo friendly ballad with nice keyboard arrangement, superb vocals by Edman and a ‘sustain’ guitar solo. Very Good.
“Eden Is Burning” rocks but not too hard, and last track, the quicker “So Far From Heaven” adds again a prog touch, specially by the keyboards and Payne’s performance.
“Strange Ang3ls” is a real surprise, presenting skillfully written songs in the best classic hard rock / melodic style.
Thanks to the presence of two vocalists (and two heavy weights in the business) you never get bored, John Payne and specially Göran Edman have done a very good vocal job on all tracks.
David Mark Pearce has class and acquired taste on the six strings, always contributing to the song skeletons with precise arpeggios & solos.
As mentioned, good mix and production (except on some parts where the drums are a bit thin), with a rich and fully rounded overall sound.
Recommended.
01 – Ang3ls (Help Us)
02 – Alone I Cry *
03 – Shelter Me Form the Rain *
04 – Tell Me Why +
05 – Every Time it Rains -Instrumental-
06 – Strange Ang3ls *
07 – To Live Again +
08 – Save Your Prayers *
09 – Eden is Burning *
10 – So Far Form Heaven +
Göran Edman – Lead Vocals *
John Payne (Asia) – Lead Vocals +
David Mark Pearce – Guitars
C S Brown (Ghost Circus) – Bass
Lisa LaRue – Keyboards, Bkg Vocals
Mikael Wikman (ex- Vindictiv) – Drums
Oliver Wakeman – Guest Keyboards
David Pearce is looking for a vocalist to his upcoming live shows, if you’re interested, go here:
www.starnow.com/listings/ListingDetail.aspx?l_id=249464
BUY IT !
Info, Samples and Purchase options:
www.davidmarkpearce.com
