The Distance - The Distance

Tracks:

I Wanna Have It All
Brighter You Burn
On The Tail Of A Hurricane
Life Got In The Way
Loose Control
Woman In Your Head
Human Race
Something My Heart Has To Take
Written In Stone
Hand In Hand With Love
One More Second Chance

Year:1997
Producer: Kenny Kaos Loney
Label: Escape Music Ltd.

Total Playing Time: 46:11 m:s

The Distance brings together Chris Ousey (Heartland/Virginia Wolf) and Kenny Loney (Pokerface/Loverboy). For me this is really a case of extremes. Heartland's third album is a very strong contender for the best Escape release so far award, whereas Pokerface's album is fighting it out for the wooden spoon. I was therefore interested in what the duo could do together. I assume the idea behind the project was to let Chris exercise his vocals on some harder edged material.

For some reason I was determined to have a downer on this one. I was convinced that the sooner Chris started work on a new Heartland album and forgot all about this one the better. I think Chris Ousey has a great voice and I was sure that he would lift a couple of the songs above average. This all went through my head before I even placed the darned thing in the CD player.

After the first couple of tracks, I get that 'I told you so' feeling. Then the guys raise their game on the third track. By the time they get to Loose Control they have hit their stride and maintain it through Woman In My Head to the catchy Human Race. The last two tracks also make a favourable impression. With Chris Ousey's distinctive vocals it's no surprise that I am going to describe this as sounding like Heartland, but with a more hard rock approach.

I've always thought that Heartland had a tendency to sound a bit like Whitesnake, principally due to fact that Chris Ousey's voice is similar to a certain Mr Coverdale. Whereas Heartland never quite managed it, here Chris and Kenny have managed to make me think it's '1987' all over again on the track 'Hand In Hand With Love'.

Before I wrote this review, I had a quick listen to Heartland's last album and I've got to say that I prefer it to this. The more AOR based material gives Chris Ousey's voice more of a chance to really shine. If you're waiting around for the next Heartland album to come out, then it could be worth your while investigating this one.

Rating: 7/8