Released by: Independent
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Classic Rock
Links: http://resurgenceofrock.com
Tracklist:
Resurgence of Rock (Paul Shortino)
One For the Ages (Jeff Paris)
Your Boyfriend is Lame (Terry Ilous)
Take Me Back (Jeff Paris)
Livin’ It Up! (In A Mexican Bar) (Paul Shortino)
Still Turnin’ Heads (Lorraine Lewis)
Another Hotel Bar (Jeff Paris)
Hundred Years War(Lorraine Lewis)
Woman Side/ Famous Last Chords (Paul Shortino)
The nostalgia of the old school “Rock” sounds is what I’m talking about, you know what I mean? If you’re a child from the 80’s then you know that the world that you lived and breathed was slowly fading towards the dark horizon. Whatever happened to the good old days, huh? We live in a new age of digital media that controls the market and drowns any type of “real” music that used to be called good back in the day. Any regular joe can go into a studio and press a couple of buttons, use some auto tune and become a millionaire, but the reality is that the music business sucks now-a-days. Many labels are going down in drain, artists are moving farther and further away from the model that made bands so great long ago; is a crying shame but it’s true. Radio stations are controlled by pop and hip hop music and any most commercial rock bands are as talent-less as someone who thinks they can sing, only to be told the hard truth by some. Eventually if you drink the coffee you end up buying your own bullcrap.
Luckily they are still a sector of what we like to call real rock bands, mainly what is left of the 80’s revolution trying to hold on to a moment in time where things where all about having fun, the music and the lifestyle was like a freight train running all the time but the music was more fun than ever and fans actually united together to go see bands like KISS, AC/DC, Van Halen, and the names go on and on.
Blanca White is a labor of love from it’s creators Ken Savage and Austin Schell, who like to remind all of us that they don’t like the music world we live in and we need to revive that old school “Rock” that made us party down and forget your worries. Put together a project that involves guest rock vocalists from the past and put them together to remind us that rock is not dead and maybe even your neighbor will drop a copy of their Black Eyes Pea CD and take notice. Alright, maybe the press release over hyped this project as the almighty revival of rock by touting it as “inspiring a resurgence of Hard Rock”. I mean is nice to hear more stuff like this but I think is going to take a global music change for Rock to make a comeback; too many factors play a hand, but eventually it will be just like it never died — even to this day it will keep on pushing forward like some of these older rock bands pushing tin on their last crusade.
The vocal guests musicians here are Paul Shortino leading the way on the title track, adding his trademark raspy blues vocals to the flow. Terry Ilous, Lorraine Lewis and Jeff Paris take control of the rest of the songs. This project hides nothing, as it’s obvious the influences here are from AC/DC to Sammy Hagar. They key word here is “fun”, as some of the songs feature that recurrent theme. Some of the tunes like the Shortino lead once again “Livin’ It Up! (in a Mexican Bar)” are nice tunes but musically you won’t hear anything different than before, if you’re a rock fan. The mid tempo rocker “Another Bar” plays well with it’s mix of late 70’s rock and the keys in the background layer over nicely, a cool tune. Some of the songs however are lacking a bit in the production value level, for instance the song “Your Boyfriend Is Lame” makes Terry Ilous’ voice drown into the song itself, and the lyrics are a little aggravating. For what it’s worth I think this album is more about the message then it is about just the music, and for that I thought it deserved a listen. Musically the main members stick to some basic rhythm,s although at times do a good job of mixing 70’s and 80’s rocks sounds. While Blanca White won’t ignite a world revolution for Rock, it was a nice effort that I think more bands need to make a point of doing, and for that I give them credit.
Let’s face it people, we live in a modern day in age of iPods, mobile technology and social media; we have so many distractions pulling us out of the daily fold that we forget to appreciate real music once in a while. Too much good music slides under the table and many don’t get to experience it what it sounds like anymore. I feel sad for new kids growing up in this day and age. Their thoughts on what is real music is laughable. But this is why we do what we do, why a project like Blanca White, even with it’s basic and simple guitar rhythms, is something for people to just enjoy. It’s about having fun and listening to your favorite rock tune, the way it was back when real music ruled the airways. No, these guys won’t push any boundaries, or break new waves. In fact, you probably won’t hear much air play on a commercial level, but the fact that many of the old rockers and people who once lived and breathed this genre are on the same boat, brings me hope that maybe one day (hopefully soon) we can have a real resurgence of rock. Let’s face it, many of the older rock bands are or will become extinct soon (Kiss, Judas Priest, AC/DC, etc). Who will carry the torch then? Let Rock live forever!!!!
Written by Denys
Ratings Denys 7/10
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