www.needleinthegroove.co.uk: James Christian

Friday 20 April 2018

James Christian - 'Craving' Album Review

James Christian - Craving

Review by Lawrie Willcox

Craving is the 4^th release by James Christian. I had limited knowledge of Christian as the lead singer of House of Lords and only heard a couple of his solo tracks so Craving was new to me.

The press release blurb states that “Craving is a strong personal statement from James Christian, a mature artist, songwriter, producer and performer”. What I took from this given song titles such as 'Heaven is a Place in Hell', 'Jesus Wept', 'If there’s a God', 'Love is the Answer' and 'Amen' was that there was going to be a Christian influence (no pun intended) and I wasn’t wrong.

'Craving' is a real mixed bag. There are some classy AOR tracks but also some very mellow tracks that don’t, in my humble opinion, sit comfortably with the rest.

JC, hmmmm I think maybe someone else with those initials influenced some of 'Craving', has a distinctive voice and does write some catchy tracks, The opener 'Heaven is a Place in Hell' is a cracking start, a bounce along song, upbeat with an infectious chorus.'Wild Boys' follows in a similar vein but the wild boys mentioned seem a bit tame. The track is all American sounding and again full of energy but no menace to it.

The title track 'Craving' follows and is for me the track of the whole album. A real slow burner of classic AOR with a wonderfully layered chorus and full of emotion. It really showcases JC’s voice with a superb acoustic sound that becomes stronger when the chorus kicks in. Impressive stuff.'Jesus Wept' suffers due to the quality of the preceding track, it has a sound of Heart and actually is a grower. World of Possibility for me never got going, it’s a soulful ballad but for me a bit too clichéd and lacked the depth I feel the song needed.

'Sidewinder' lifts the tempo and has a touch of Aerosmith in its sound but after a decent start it kind of drifts from the early promise. 'I Won’t Cry' is another ballad and has some great vocals and a top guitar solo, another grower. Sadly 'If There’s a God' brought me back to earth with a bump. It is so mellow it borders on total blandness. If there’s a God he wouldn’t want this on his play list.

'Love is the Answer' kind of pulls the album back on track and has a mournful feel to it that is lifted by the positive feel of the chorus. 'Black Wasn’t Black' gets back to proper rock, a few more of these were needed JC, it’s got the feel of a proper AOR with a great guitar solo thrown in. It has a nod in the direction of Highway Star and I personally wish the album finished there but Amen finishes it.

'Amen' is obviously a song personal to JC but while I imagine it’s supposed to close the album in a melancholy way it was a bit too Songs of Praise for me.

'Craving' as I said is a mixed bag, some really decent stuff but I found the none too subtle Christian references a bit much in a couple of tracks (this statement by me, who had a full emersion baptism when 18 but have since lapsed). For some people singing about sinners, un-repenting, crucify and other such stuff might appeal but the lesser tracks left me a bit cold. That said if Mr Christian’s beliefs are correct I’ll be going to a place that’s a lot hotter when I die.

However on the positive side James Christian has a very good voice, he obviously is a decent song writer and he has employed a bunch of very good musicians. The album like a few of the tracks is a grower and after a couple of listens I’m almost converted…….almost. I’ll play this again quite happily and think live James Christian would be well worth the effort of seeing.

Score 6.5/10

Tracklisting -

Heaven Is a Place in Hell

Wild Boys

Craving

Jesus Wept

World Of Possibility

Sidewinder

I won’t Cry

If There’s a God

Love Is the Answer

Black Wasn’t Black

Amen

PRODUCED BY: James Christian, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Pete Alpenborg, Clif Magness, Daniel Volpe

LINE-UP:

James Christian: Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Background Vocals

Billy Seidman : Additional Acoustic Guitars

Tommy Denander : Guitars, Bass, Keys (Wild Boys, Love Is The Answer, Sidewinder, I Won’t Cry)

Jimi Bell : Guitars (Black Wasn’t Black)

Pete Alpenborg : Guitars and Bass (Jesus Wept)

Alessandro Del Vecchio : Keyboards (Jesus Wept)

Clif Magness : All Instruments (Craving)

Josh Freese : Drums (Craving)

Links:

www.jameschristianmusic.com

https://www.facebook.com/james.christian.9406

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ABOUT ME

I was brought up on my dad's record collection of rock 'n' roll greats. He was a Teddy Boy and had all the gear (and hair) - drain pipe trousers, jacket, crepe shoes. We listened to Elvis, Bill Hailey, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Fats Domino, Tommy Steel, and the big names from the sixties such as Dave Clark Five, Wayne Fontana, Dave Dee (etc.,). This music was the kind that you would listen to to rebel against and annoy your parents; it was rough, wild, and the Ted's had a reputation.

So, fast forward to the end of the 70's. I was about 12 when it was the thing to choose your musical stance. It had to be a good choice as there was no going back. You had to be a mod, or a rocker back around 1980. I had a mate (still do, just the one mind) and he was an influence with regards to my musical tastes (and we still go gigging together to this day), and what with my dad's influence I chose the rocker route. I've never looked back. We (me and dad) both started a musical journey where our parents hated what we listened to! In fact, being a teenager in the mid 50s, it wasn't any different to being a teenager in the late 70's/early 80's with regards to rebellion. Although in my era, you couldnt get rickets.

I was fed strictly on a cassette diet of Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Rush and Rainbow. From there it expanded into melodic rock and hair metal - Journey, Foreigner, Stryper, Ratt, Motley Crue, and Dokken. And Prog!

I absorbed all I could. I was a human sponge. The internet was eons away, so I got my fix via a wonderful weekly paper called 'Sounds.' It covered a lot of genres, but they specialised in Rock! I read it every week without fail for about three years. I loved the way their reporters wrote articles. It was like they were talking directly to me. It's how I try to do the same today. When it stopped, I moved with the crowd and subscribed to 'Kerrang!' A lot of the 'Sounds' crew moved across, and it felt like home. I wanted to know more about what was happening over in the U.S. So I subscribed to 'Hit Parader' - it was shite really, the articles weren't great, but the pictures were good. Plus I could follow the Dokken feud between Don and George. Thirty odd years later, they still hate each other! Today, its a diet of 'Classic Rock' Mag, sometimes 'Prog Mag', 'Fireworks' and 'Planet Rock' mag.

My enjoyment of this music has never waned. I see the same people time and again and its a great community. I try to get to as many gigs as I can still as its much better than sitting on your arse reviewing. I hope you enjoy the blog!

Paul Chesworth