IAIN ASHLEY HERSEY – Vintage Love ; The Best (2011)

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Growing up in New England, Iain Ashley Hersey cut his teeth on the heavier British Rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Bad Company and guitar players like Jeff Beck, R. Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix.

“Vintage Love” is the name of his brand new release, a compilation including the best of Iain’s previous work plus a a previously unreleased track.

Certainly influenced by the voices from the past he always strived to grow musically and develop his own style. Seeking to increase his musical vocabulary Iain studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston where he expanded his realm into many genres and styles, eventually though he returned to the fold of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

“Vintage Love” is a great compilation including the best of Iain’s previous work.

Iain Ashley Hersey’s first album was entitled ‘Fallen Angel’. For this record, he was joined by singers Dante Marchi (“Goin’ Down And Dirty”, “Distant Memories”), Paul Shortino (“Hold On”) and Mike Stone on the previously only in Japan available bonus track “The Outcaste”. The latter two tracks were produced and mixed by Pat Regan (Rainbow, Gotthard, Deep Purple, Kiss).

Iain’s sophomore record ‘The Holy Grail’ was released in 2005, the first featuring Carsten Schulz (Evidence One) on vocals. Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, Alcatrazz, MSG), David Montgomery and Randy Williams completed the line-up of vocalists.

According to Iain, this is the release which shows him finding his own signature and style. Five tracks on “Vintage Love” originate from this CD: “Blood Of Kings” (Montgomery), “Walking The Talk” and “The Holy Grail” (Bonnet), “Calling For The Moon” (Schulz) and “Blink Of An Eye” (Williams). This time, the whole record was produced and mixed by Pat Regan.

Released in 2008, “Nomad” is Iain Ashley Hersey’s most recent studio album. This time singer Carsten Schulz can be heard on the majority of songs. The ones featured on “Vintage Love” are: “Voodoo Spirits”, “Sacrifice The Sun”, “Vintage Love” and “When Will My Love Fade”.

Former Rainbow singer Doogie White took over the lead vocals on the Rainbow cover song “L.A. Connection”, which also features Paul Logue (Eden’s Curse) on bass.

“Vintage Love” is completed by an unreleased song called “Red Head Rampage” which once again features Schulz on vocals.

For those of you who’ve never encountered Hersey’s music before, the blueprint comes in the form of all things early Rainbow and Gillan era Deep Purple, with Ritchie Blackmore-like riffage toppling out of Hersey’s Strat, but also with some traditional Classic Rock elements to enjoy.

“Vintage Love; The Best” is a nice opportunity to listen a collection of his strongest material, and confirm that he is a hugely talented guitarist and songwriter.

The vocal cast list across this release is of the highest calibre, with not one, but two ex-Rainbow chanters contributing. Graham Bonnet graces the “Walking The Talk” and “The Holy Grail” and Doogie White shows up for a great keyboard driven version of “L.A. Collection”.

“Vintage Love; The Best” will without a doubt appeal to fans of the aforementioned Hard Rock, Melodic Rock and Classic Rock bands.

Nice one.

01. Goin’ Down And Dirty (Vocals: Dante Marchi)

02. Distant Memories (Vocals: Dante Marchi)

03. Hold On (Vocals: Paul Shortino)

04. The Outcaste (Vocals: Mike Stone) [previously Japan only]

05. Blood Of Kings (Vocals: David Montgomery)

06. Walking The Talk (Vocals: Graham Bonnet)

07. Calling For The Moon (Vocals: Carsten Schulz)

08. Blink Of An Eye (Vocals: Randy Williams)

09. The Holy Grail (Vocals: Graham Bonnet)

10. Voodoo Spirits (Vocals: Carsten Schulz)

11. Sacrifice The Sun (Vocals: Carsten Schulz)

12. L.A. Connection (Vocals: Doogie White)

13. Vintage Love (Vocals: Carsten Schulz)

14. When Will My Love Fade (Vocals: Carsten Schulz)

15. Red Head Rampage (Vocals: Carsten Schulz) [previously unreleased track]

All songs remastered by Alessandro Del Vecchio

Guitars, Bass, Hammond: Iain Ashley Hersey

Bass: Paul Logue, Jochen Mayer, Marvin Sperling, Dave Sutton

Drums: Sam Aliano, Jimmy Griego, Bernd Herrmann, Frank Kraus

Keyboards: Jim Austin, Pat Regan, Alessandro Del Vecchio

Lead Vocals:

Graham Bonnet

Dante Marchi

David “Swan” Montgomery

Carsten “Lizard” Schulz

Paul Shortino

Mike Stone

Doogie White

Randy Williams

BUY IT !

www.amazon.com/Vintage-Love-Iain-Ashley-Hersey/dp/B0068DINRA