Phil joked with me the other day about the title to his fist solo album ‘Old Lions Still Roar’. The name for the album, he told me, had actually come from one of his sons as the name for a potential song title, but that Phil had kept it as he rather liked it. It was not, he maintained, a comment on the age of some of his guest vocalists here – like Alice Cooper, Dee Snider or Rob Halford who join a rather impressive guest-list on what in truth is a more than impressive collection of songs, some old, some newer, and some just written.
Opener ‘Rocking Chair’ tells the tale of the man himself with some rater perceptive lyrics and great vocals from Leon Stanford from Welsh band ‘The People The Poet’; then it’s straight into the meat of the album – first comes ‘Straight Up’ which sees Rob Halford take vocals and deliver the first of a good few out and out rockers; next up there’s almost a Metallica-like flavour to ‘Faith in Fire’ which follows, and a nice vocal by Ben Ward to boot. And to drive it all on home Alice Cooper rocks it up nicely on ‘Swing – a great catchy number that has a hint of 80’s and 90’s vintage Aerosmith. It’s a rather fine opening run really and it doesn’t event hint at stopping there.
This is an album that never lets you down, and the deeper you get the more you realise the quality never wavers. The real highlights for me though have to be (‘Hand of Dimes’ and ex-Skin man) Nev MacDonald on the wonderfully bluesy uplifting ballad ‘Left For Dead’; the heavy groove of Nick Oliveri’s contribution, the stuttering ‘Walk The Talk’; Dee’s Snider’s wonderful old school rocker ‘These Old Boots’ and the remarkable ‘Dead Roses’ featuring Benji Webbe of Skindred who sounds here like you’ve never heard him before, it’s a wonderful soulful ballad that sounds incredible.
It’s all capped off by the dual guitars of Phil Campbell and Joe Satriani,something I never thought Id hear and something also rather wonderful, based on a piano line Phil had had with him for years.
As impressive as The Bastard Sons project has been in recent years, this is simply sublime.
