HERMAN RAREBELL & Friends – Acoustic Fever (2013)
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German HERMAN RAREBELL hit the drums in Scorpions during the band’s most commercially successful era, and since he left the band in 1996 founded a music label, set up a recording studio and has been releasing sporadic solo albums.
Now ‘Herman-Ze-German’ released yesterday “Acoustic Fever” under the moniker HERMAN RAREBELL & FRIENDS, containing all-acoustic versions of 12 Scorpions songs Herman co-wrote while in the band, each one featuring different singers from the Hard Rock Olympus.
The idea for “Acoustic Fever” started in 2011 when Rarebell contacted long time friends Don Dokken, Jack Russell (Great White) & Michael Voss (MSG, Mad Max) and all said ‘yes’, they would like to be part of the project.
Voss has been lately heavily involved in production, meeting important people, and invited legendary singers Alex Ligertwood (Santana, Average White Band), Tony Martin (ex- Black Sabbath), Paul Shortino and Johnny Gioeli (Axel R Pell, ex- Hardline) who he worked with before.
Also involved are Toto’s Bobby Kimball, John Parr, Doogie White, Gary Barden (MSG, Praying Mantis) and more.
The result are really cool versions finding great vocalists performing songs that you wouldn’t expect to sing ever. Did you imagined hear Bobby Kimball singing “Rock You Like A Hurricane”?
Although acoustic, these are rockin’ tunes, and we have quite fine takes here.
Voss performs a completely re-worked “Loving You Sunday Morning” (if you don’t pay attention, you can’t recognize the song ’til the chorus). Parr is in excellent form on the lesser known “Passion Rules The Game”, one of the highlights.
Ligertwood adds his tasteful classic rock pipes to “Is There Anybody There”, Doogie White enhances “Make It Real”, while Johnny Gioeli does a solid job in “Dynamite”, arranged in a speedy way.
There’s also a tuneful performance by Gary Barden on “Falling In Love (another favorite) and Shortino’s rasp works like a charm during “Love Is Blind”. We find some unknown singers like George Daniels (discovered by Rarebell) who delivers an energetic version of “Arizona”, whilst Michael Nagy (from California) offers an accomplished, atmospheric version of “Animal Magnetism”.
Perhaps the weakest tracks (and a bit of a disappointment) are “You Give Me All I Need” where Don Dokken sounds slightly tired, and “Another Piece Of Meat” by Tony Martin, but it’s not his fault, in my opinion the arrangement does not suit his register.
“Acoustic Fever” is a nice ‘n cool, well recorded and performed album by a competent band including Herman Rarebell behind the skins, Robby Lochner (Rob Halford’s Fight, Eddie Money) on guitars and Dario Seixas (Firehouse, Crown Of Thorns, Great White) playing acoustic bass.
Musically, the good thing is that these songs doesn’t sound banal at all, not in camp-fire easy way. Part of this success are the excellent spanish / flamenco solos provided by Spain-born José Antonio Rodríguez (Alejandro Sanz, Marc Anthony) and American classical-crossover player Corey Whitehead, both contributing stupendous nylon-string passages.
Really Good, enjoyable stuff.
01. Loving You Sunday Morning (vocals by Michael Voss)
02. Passion Rules The Game (vocals by John Parr)
03. Is There Anybody There (vocals by Alex Ligertwood)
04. Rock You Like A Hurricane (vocals by Bobby Kimball)
05. You Give Me All I Need (vocals by Don Dokken)
06. Make It Real (vocals by Doogie White)
07. Dynamite (vocals by Johnny Gioeli)
08. Falling In Love (vocals by Gary Barden)
09. Don’t Make No Promises (vocals by Jack Russell)
10. Love Is Blind (vocals by Paul Shortino)
11. Arizona (vocals by George Daniels)
12. Another Piece Of Meat (vocals by Tony Martin)
13. Animal Magnetism (vocals by Michael Nagy)
Herman Rarebell (ex-Scorpions) – drums
Robby Lochner (Rob Halford’s Fight, Eddie Money) – steel string guitars
Dario Seixas (Firehouse, Crown Of Thorns) – bass
José A. Rodríguez (Alejandro Sanz, Marc Anthony) – spanish guitar
Corey Whitehead – spanish guitar
BUY IT !
www.amazon.de/Acoustic-Fever-Herman-Rarebell-Friends/dp/B00DL0QG1I
