Blackstone - Blackstone

Tracks:

Chill
Kiss The Fire
Act Out Your Fantasy
Trouble In Paradise
Runaway
Been There, Done That
Livin' To Ride
Land Of Denial
Word Comes Tumbling Down
Schizophrenic
Blame It On The Night

Producer: Paul Dean
Label: Escape Music Ltd.
Year: 1997

Total Playing Time: 53:09 m:s

Blackstone features Paul Dean, Mike Reno has a hand in the song writing and the additional musicians are mostly members of Loverboy, therefore guess what I expected this to sound like. If you were to describe the overall sound of the album, then Loverboy's name is to the fore, but there are few surprises as well.

The first 4 songs start the album off in rocking fashion. Act Out Your Fantasy wins my vote as the best of these. With titles like Kiss The Fire & Act Out Your Fantasy it's like being transported back to 80s. If it is profound lyrics you are after, then you'd better look elsewhere. After 4 rocking tunes it is time for a ballad in the form of Runaway.

At this point I was expecting the band to continue on from where track 4 had left off. But instead we get a slab of funk metal called Been There, Done That. Just when you're recovering from the shock, then band hit you Livin To Ride. The title gives it all away. This Little Caesar style uptempo rocking number is all about black leather and cruising on the highway.

Land Of Denial adds more funk to the equation, this time Aerosmith style. World Comes Tumbling Down mixes David Lee Roth with Loverboy. Schizophrenic again reminds me of Loverboy.

The last track, Blame In On The Night, is a slow burning groove rocker that is prime-time Loverboy and easily steals the crown as the standout track on the album. I can just imagine a video featuring some cool dude in a long dark raincoat wandering through the dark mean streets of an American city with the steam rising off the pavements observing the seedier side of life unfolding.

An easy option for anyone reviewing this album would be to latch onto the song title Been There, Done That. In one sense, that really sums up the album. It has all been done before, but Blackstone do it well and deserve some credit for that. Despite all the clichés, I like it.

Rating: 8/9