KELLY KEELING – Mind Radio (2015)
KELLY KEELING, the respected singer whose husky, bluesy vocal tones have graced a range of projects over the years, returned a three years ago with his first solo album in over a decade, “Mind Radio“, released by Frontiers Music. One of you, fellow readers, asked for a full physical CD version of the album.
Kelly Keeling isn’t a rookie. The singer had already enjoyed success in the ’90s with great hard rockers Baton Rouge before he was part of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in the mid of 2000. Also his time with Michael Schenker and John Norum brought the singer more into the focus.
Next to all this, Keeling released two solo records, being “Mind Radio” his third and sees the vocalist in top form.
Pairing him with Frontiers’ all-Italian in-house musicians, led by keyboardist Alessandro Del Vecchio and guitarist Mario Percudani, the music on the new album is typically Melodic Rock with clean guitar solos and keyboards to the fore, and occasionally they go off mid-song into almost a Kansas or Seventh Key direction with some quite progressive sounds.
Overall, “Mind Radio” is ruled by a high entertaining factor.
Sometimes more settled in AOR, like “Frozen in Time” and “Isolated man”, sometimes more rocking like on opener “This Love Our Paradise” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, Keeling finds the right balance between melodic and hard rocking waves.
The star of the record is, obviously, Keeling’s performance which is rich and lush throughout, carrying the album with its power and flawlessness.
With songwriting contributions from melodic rock guru Robert Sall (Work Of Art), Michael Shotton (Raintimes, Von Groove), Percudani (Issa, Hungryheart) and Del Vecchio himself, “Mind Radio” is an extremely strong melodic hard rock album which draws on all the traditions of the genre.
The songs are clean – without being clinical – and superbly constructed, pulling together elements of Keeling’s hair metal heritage with well-crafted AOR/MOR sensibilities and even some light progressive touches.
Like the vast majority of the albums we see released by Frontiers, this is an album which harkens back to the golden era of AOR / hair metal / melodic hard, and does so with affection while at the same time bringing the sound smack up to date with a modern punch.
It is also another of those albums which serves as a showcase for a truly great singer who at last, after a quarter of a century, may finally have the media and fan spotlight switched very firmly in his direction.
Highly Recommended.
01. This Love Our Paradise
02. Isolated Man
03. Sunshine Over Me
04. Still Need You in My Arms
05. Written in Fire
06. Take Me to the Limit
07. Love Will Tear Us Apart
08. No Man’s Land
09. Frozen in Time
10. Monkey House
11. Ride Out the Storm
12. Who Do You Run To
Kelly Keeling – lead vocals
Alessandro Del Vecchio – keyboards, backing vocals
Mario Percudani – electric and acoustic guitars
Anna Portalupi – bass, fretless bass
Alessandro Mori – drums
Produced by Alessandro Del Vecchio
BUY IT !
www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Radio-Kelly-Keeling/dp/B00WN5157M
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