Ghost - The Other Side
This is the debut album by Ghost, who are another group of AOR hopefuls that have been picked up by the Now & Then label.
Ghost start off proceedings extremely well with the uptempo 'Can't Stop' which has shades of FM about it. Next Up is 'Brand New Start' which evokes comparisons with the mighty The Storm (maybe more circa first album). This is the standout track on the album.
After such a good start, the blues tinged 'Country Boy' is disappointing.
On the next track 'Ten Years' we finally find out who has had the biggest influence on Ghost - Bad Company. This influence is continued on the tracks 'Should Have Been Me' (which is rather good), and 'Rescue Me'. I'm reminded of a band called Wildilfe (who evolved in FM) who's album was produced by a couple of the guys from Bad Company.
Mid - life Whitesnake are the influence for 'Get On The Bus'. This song is spoilt by the lyrics, which remind me of another song I can't remember the title of.
The two ballads, 'Send Me Somebody' and 'He'll Let You Down', sound like Journey (circa Raised On Radio) and Celine Dion.
The final and title track is an atmospheric affair with Celtic influences.
You probably guessed by the number of influences that I was able to detect that there's nothing earth shatteringly original on this. The initial impact of the first two songs isn't sustained throughout the album. Having said all that, I do enjoy listening to this & it's good to see a band adding a blues flavor to AOR again. The singer is excellent and with more effort on song writing and establishing their own sound, then the next album should be something to look forward to.
Rating : 6/7
