JIM CREAN – The London Fog (2019)
Vocalist extraordinaire JIM CREAN (Appice Drum Wars, Hair Nation, A World With Heroes KISS Tribute, Tango Down, et all) is back with a new solo album titled ‘The London Fog‘. Here Crean boasts a killer hitlist of special guests, including Carmine & Vinny Appice, Mike Tramp, Rudy Sarzo, ex-W.A.S.P Chris Holmes, Carl Canedy, Frank DiMino (Angel), Tony Franklin, and plenty more.
“The London Fog” goes wide open from the start with the excellent “Scream Taker” (tribute to Ronnie James Dio) and the riffy “Conflicted”. “Scream Taker” features Dio alumni Vinny Appice and Rudy Sarzo. These tracks follow the traditional blueprints of classic 80s metal / hard rock, particularly “Conflicted”.
Want more classy melodic riffs? Then get “Broken”. There’s a great chorus here: melody and power, with some tasty licks from Steph Honde (Hollywood Monsters). “Aphrodisiac” takes things to a more nocturnal place, but more menacing.
Still, there’s always room for some dirty rock, and that would be “Lady Beware”. If Dokken’s classic lineup released another song today, it would probably sound a lot like “Lady Beware”. This is the kind of rock we all miss, and have a hard time finding today.
Jim Crean is equally at home on rockers and ballads. “Let It Go” (with Honde on piano and keyboards) has an epic quality for a ballad. It might be a bit Scorpions, Whitesnake (circa 1987) or Guns N’ Roses… the comparisons are up to the listener. The keyboard solo is a cool touch.
Then heavy sounds circulate on “Loaded”, but yet Crean maintains a knack for melody.
A familiar voice welcomes you on “Candle”, a Mike Tramp / Freak Of Nature cover featuring Tramp himself in a duet. I like how the parts shift and change moods.
A riff for the ages follows, on an original track called “1981” where drummer Colleen Mastrocovo (Hair Nation) the song a serious kick. Again I’m reminded of Dokken, the classic era. It’s hard to recapture a time period with such clarity, but Jim Crean has a talent for writing that way. Some of his originals could very well be from another time.
Another obscure cover: Robin Zander’s 1993 solo track “Time Will Let You Know”, a classy ballad from an underrated album. Jim doesn’t try to sound like Robin Zander, and makes the song very of his own.
Then it’s Rod Stewart’s dance classic “Passion”. Very few singers have the right rasp to do Rod Stewart justice, but Jim Crean is one of them. That’s the always slick Tony Franklin on bass. And get this! Franklin’s Blue Murder bandmate Carmine Appice, the same Carmine who played on the the original “Passion”, also plays on this cover. He approaches both versions very differently. Rod’s version is slick dance rock, and this is more like metal that you can dance to. Same song; familiar but a completely different arrangement. If John Sykes ever played with Rod Stewart, maybe this is what they could have sounded like.
For the end we have “Tears” featuring Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.). The contrast between the heavy riffs and Jim’s melodic vocals is what makes this style work so well for him. The riff has a W.A.S.P. vibe, but Crean takes it in a totally different direction.
From its title, “The London Fog” is classic stuff. A really good collection of songs from Jim Crean and his talented friends.
Fans of hard rock “the way they used to make it” will thoroughly enjoy.
Highly Recommended
01 – Scream Taker
02 – Conflicted
03 – Broken
04 – Aphrodisiac
05 – Lady Beware
06 – Let It Go
07 – Loaded
08 – Candle
09 – 1981
10 – Time Will Let You Know
11 – Passion
12 – Fool
13 – Don’t Take Your Love
14 – Tears
Jim Crean – vocals
with:
Carmine Appice (Ozzy Osbourne / Blue Murder)
Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath / Dio)
Mike Tramp (White Lion / Freak Of Nature)
Frank DiMino (Angel)
Tony Franklin The Fretless Monster (The Firm / Blue Murder)
Robby Lochnerr (J. Russell’s Great White / Rob Halford’s Fight)
Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot/ Whitesnake)
Rik Fox (W.A.S.P / Steeler / Sin)
Steph Honde (Paul Dianno / Hollywood Monsters)
Chris Holmes Official (W.A.S.P )
Raymond Tabano (Aerosmith)
Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian / Zakk Wylde )
Colleen Mastrocovo (Hair Nation)
Ronnie Robson (Hollywood Monsters / Dover)
A.D. Zimmer (Lou Gramm Band / Hair Nation)
Eric Lebailly (Stu Hamm / Adagio)
Chris Tristram (J. Russell’s Great White / House Of Lords)
Christopher Konys (Tango Down)
Freddy Villano (Dee Snider’s Widowmaker / Quiet Riot)
Artie Dillon (Appice / Carmine Appice Slamm)
Carl Canedy (The Rods)
Mitch Perry (Talas / MSG / Cher / Lita Ford)
BUY IT
www.jimcrean.net/purchase-the-london-fog-gotcha-covered-cd.php
Could we get an upload of the 2009 Yesterrock remaster / reissue of the 1988 self-titled by Think Out Loud? It’s great Hi-Tech AOR / Westcoast with an all star cast and great songwriting.
Done