VINNY BURNS – The Journey (2025 Reissue) *HQ*
Awesome English guitarist & songwriter VINNY BURNS has recorded some of the greatest melodic hard rock / AOR albums in history as member of TEN, Dare, Gary Hughes, Hugo, Bob Catley, and many more. By the end of the Nineties he had the chance to record his debut album “The Journey”.
Originally released by Frontiers Music in 1999, now it’s being reissued 2025 by Escape Music, a welcomed re-release as the album was out of print for years.
For the project, Burns enlisted impressive singer Sam Blue (Ya Ya, GTS, Phoenix Down) for the lead vocals – both will form later the excellent band “Burns Blue” – his bandmate in TEN Greg Morgan on drums, with collaborations from keyboardist Colin McLeod (Skin) and the great Gary Hughes providing vocals on 2 tracks.
Of course, ”The Journey (2025 Reissue)” sounds a lot like TEN with all members involved, and Vinny being a songwriter there. But here all songs, except the two strong instrumentals, are co-written by Sam, providing a different lyric approach.
Additionally, Vinny finds much more room for his guitar licks, and while the material is Melodic Hard Rock / AOR oriented, there’s a welcomed edge on many tracks with emphasis on ‘Hard’. “Fire Burning”, “Superstar”, “Freedom”, “Falling” are killer numbers, while Gary Hughes’ vocals shine on “Already Gone”, and Vinny delivers an outstanding instrumental, the title track, to close the album with style.
Highly Recommended
01 – Irish Eyes
02 – Superstar
03 – Fire Burning
04 – Freedom
05 – This World
06 – Where You Gonna Run
07 – I Believe
08 – Live the Dream
09 – Lonely Man
10 – Already Gone
11 – Falling
12 – The Journey
Sam Blue – lead vocals (except tracks 5 & 10)
Gary Hughes – backing vocals, lead vocals (tracks 5 & 10)
Vinny Burns – guitars, bass, keyboards
Greg Morgan – drums
James SK Wān – saxophone (tracks 5, 7 & 8)
Colin McLeod – Hammond organ (tracks 3, 4, & 6)
Craig Fletcher – fretless bass guitar (track 8)
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www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1Z273ND
