I honestly don’t know the answer to that age old question when should a band change it’s name. I mean what do you do when a founder member leaves? To me Enuff Z’Nuff will always be the albums that Donnie Vie and Chip Z’Nuff gave us before various tragedies struck and nothing seemed to go right. Now without Donnie things aren’t the same but I’ve been surprised recently by the quality of the live shows with Chip on vocals and also how good the largely archival ‘Clown’s Lounge’ release was in 2016. All credit to Chip for keeping the flag flying.
Now here we are with album number 14, or album number 2 ‘post-Vie’. This though is the first album of new material from Chip, let’s dig in!.
Putting aside the opening minute of melody that is ‘Transcendence’ first track proper ‘Diamond Boy’ is a nice spirited Cheap Trick style opener undercut with a nice wailing guitar. It’s certainly in the spirit of the early band, and ‘Where Did You Go’ that follows, ups the psychedelic feel as it chugs along breezily. It’s a good solid start to the album and certainly in the vein of what I’d been hoping to hear.
After that grand opening the album takes a few stumbling steps, but always pulls it back when it stutters. Tracks like the underdone, melodic but rather repetitive ‘We’re All the Same’ sound rather perfunctory but the cloudier ‘Fire & Ice’ is a nice and rather pleasing Beatlesesque number that certainly hits the spot. Deeper in ‘Down on Luck’ again has that recurring psychedelic edge but it’s a little more downbeat and juxtaposed with the cool grove rocker ‘Metalheart’ it comes off second best.
All too soon though we’re in the home stretch and with ‘Love is On the Line’ Chip seems to have found his voice, sure thematically it’s similar to the rest of the material here, but it sounds more expansive and less formulaic and maybe points to the road ahead where the boat will get pushed out a little further outside the sonic comfort zone? Who knows! ‘Faith, Hope & Luv’ that follows is far rockier riding in on a nice fiery guitar and getting the job done. It’s a cool song you’d love to hear in the live set.
The album closes with two of the best tunes: ‘Dopesick’ which lyrically might contain a message to Donnie Vie (?) and ‘Imaginary Man’ a lilting pop ballad that ends things on an uplifting note.
This might not quite be the Enuff Z’Nuff of old but time moves on and Chip has done a great job here looking back at the early sound of the band and building an album in that same sonic soundscape. I’m looking forward to hearing more.
Tracklisting: Transcendence |Diamond Boy |Where Did You Go |We’re All The Same |Fire & Ice |Down On Luck |Metalheart |Love Is On The Line |Faith, Hope & Luv |Dopesick |Imaginary Man
Band: Chip Z’Nuff: Singer/ Electric bass guitar | Tony Fennell: Guitar | Tory Stoffregen: Guitar | Dan Hill: Drums
