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Reviews for PRISONER'S both albums and live show in ENGLAND
2001
PRISONER
- Blind
AORLAND
PRISONER
Blind
Z RECORDS 2000
LINE UP:
Piere Wensberg, Geir Ronning(V)
Tommy Denander (G, B)
Ricky Delin ( K)
Prisioner is one of the latest signings of the Z Records label. I thought
this label was not going to release a melodic rock cd anymore (after
releases like MVP, Badlands or Shout) but it seems that the year 2000
comes with many good melodic stuff from Mark Alger's office. Prisoner
come from Sweden and the mastermind behind this project is guitarrist
Tommy Denander and keyboardist Ricki Delin. The duo have two great vocalists
Geir Ronning and Piere Wensberg carrying the more high-pitched AOR sounding
tunes. Prisoner formula is elegant yet original melodic rock with good
chorus and energy. Indeed it's a very cohesive and balanced album. Songs
like "Don't Wanna Waste another Minute", "Give my heart
a Home" or the acoustically driven "Hear Me Heaven" shine
with special brightness. Though some perseverance is required, "Blind"
makes a truly enjoyable listen.
RATING 80/100
AOR SWEDEN
Prisoner - Blind
Detta var min första kontakt med den högt ansedde Tommy Denander
men definivt inte den sista. Tommy har jobbat med branschens största,
Jeff Porcaro, David Foster, Bobby Kimball, Joseph Williams m.fl.
Skivan är mycket westcoast-inriktad men med inslag av mer traditionell
AOR. Tommy Denander fixar det mesta på skivan själv, han
spelar gitarr, bas och keyboard. Bäste kompisen Ricky Delin spelar
keyboard och sången sköts av duktige Geir Rönning och
Piere Wensberg. Sedan finns det en del gästartister på skivan,
som t.e.x Thomas Wikström, Bruce Gaitsch och Andreas Eklund. Så
till låtarna: Titelspåret Blind, Liar (I´d never think
the thought) och Hear me heaven är alla mycket bra låtar,
för att inte glömma den magnifika Starry Eyes som är
bland det bästa jag hört på länge. Låtarna
tappar i kvalité under den andra halvan av skivan utan att för
den delen vara dåliga. Denander har många järn i elden,
just nu har han fyra olika projekt igång samtidigt! Det är
bl.a en ny Sayit-skiva på gång, Prisoner´s andra CD
(finns ute nu) och Radioactive. Just Radioactive skall vara något
i hästväg, på den skivan finns ovan nämnda musiker
men även andra toppnamn som Fergie Fredriksen, Mike Porcaro m.fl.
Det skall bli spännande att se hur den
skivan låter, det kan ju inte vara dåligt.
Rekommenderas starkt!
RATING 85/100
MAJESTIC
Prisoner - Blind
Recently Z Records decided to drop a few bands in order to - like they
put it - make sure they would deliver more quality. I can't say I didn't
like the bands that were dropped (Scudiero and Human Race to name two),
but it's obvious that a small label like Z can spend a pound only once
and the budgets aren't astronomical. So although it's sad to see good
bands losing their contracts, in my opinion it's logical a label will
go on with the better selling bands. Or sign some new ones they expect
to sell better than the ones they chose not to go on with.
Prisoner is an example of one of these new projects Z Records believes
in, and after listening to this album I'd say there's no reason not
to.
Tommy Denander - who has quite an impressive resumé, just take
a look at his website - and friends do a fine job on Blind. People that
have the Crusader sampler already know the title track, which is full
of swinging riffs.
The band obviously have had eyes - or should I say ears? - for detail,
which is clearly audible on Don't Wanna Waste Another Minute, for instance.
No silly clichés, but a song that's been really well thought
out. Rock at its best, I'd say. Same story on the midtempo track Starry
Eyes. Under the moniker of less is more, Prisoner knows exactly when
to leave instruments out at times. If you don't know what I mean, just
take a listen to the soundbyte of this song.
On Liar, the band take a heavier approach. The guitars are nice and
heavy on this fantastic uptempo song and the chorus is catchy as hell.
Tommy's guitarsolo is no less than spectacular, something that actually
counts for all the guitarwork on the album.
Italian Girl is a slowbanger on which you can hear that Tommy Denander
is a friend of the Toto guys, who used to sound like this on Kingdom
Of Desire and Tambu.
Hear Me Heaven is an acoustical track and again the originality struck
me. Most bands would do a ballad, when it comes to an acoustic performance,
but not Prisoner. The song is very powerfull and has some surprising
arrangements.
My favorite on the album is Stop Playing Games, though. Heavy and yet
so melodic, it's simply amazing. Again you can hear some Toto influences
during the verses and in the way Tommy plays his guitar.
Give My Heart A Home has this really swinging riff again, a bit in the
vein of Blind, but faster. It makes me think of Pete Sandberg's Jade
album, actually. I mentioned it before, but the guitars are huge!!!
Where Is The Fire is the last song on the album with vocals in it. It's
a nice, commercial track with a real sing-along chorus that could be
very well used during gigs to let the audience do their part and give
the band a break. I would have loved to sing along to it in Wigan, but
unfortunately Prisoner won't be there, so I'll have to my singing at
home, I'm afraid.
The closing track of the album is an instrumental and the only minor
flaw in my opinion. It's got a bit too much programming in it to my
taste and the song is more about rhythms than about great melodies.
Overall this is one hell of an album that took a few spins to get accustomed
to, but taking the "trouble" to do so was absolutely worth
it!
Fred Monster
RATING 4,5/5
MELODICROCK.COM
PRISONER
BLIND
Produced by: Tommy Denander
Relatives: Sayit, Toto, Snakes In Paradise
The latest release from Z Records sees the label take a more commercial
turn that their normal more Euro friendly releases. Even though this
band is 100% European, it has a distinctly American flavors and a commercial
AOR feel that should see them develop a following.
The main name behind the album and the band is Tommy Denander (Guitars,
bass, keyboards, Programming). Tommy is a long time friend of Toto and
has surfaced in various projects over the past couple of years, most
of them like last years Sayit release - holding much potential, but
lacking in production and with long term longevity problems.
But hopefully Prisoner will develop into a band that has staying power,
as the songs are stronger than on any of Denander's previous albums.
The vocalist position is shared between new comer Piere Wensberg - the
higher pitch vocalist (and preferred one in my opinion) and the darker/rougher
sounding Geir Rönning (still a fine vocalist).
Ricky B. Delin rounds out the band. AOR fans should take to this one
fairly easily, the songs and style are familiar - the keyboard / guitar
driven melodies are all fairly predictable, yet enjoyable to say the
least.
With Tommy Denander's previous works and his personal guitar style,
there has always been a Toto connection and the same can be said of
Prisoner. It's a very smooth album, with plenty of programming and several
layers of Toto-ish effects. But the production is thankfully much better
and several songs rock harder than expected (e.g. Stop Playing Games)
Songs like Blind and Starry Eyes are moody, rocking without being heavy
or imposing. Tracks like Don't Wanna Waste are more anthem-ish, with
more hints of Toto, but with a more European rock feel. This chorus
in particular is killer melodic rock.
The swapping back and forth between vocalists can be distracting, but
on Prisoner, the arrangement of the track listing ensures smooth running.
This album is more guitar dominated than the Westcoast style of Sayit
and should have a wider appeal.
The backing vocals are a strength.
Check out tracks like Liar, where Piere does his best Steve Perry.
Other tracks like Hear Me In Heaven go for a stripped down acoustic
approach and provide a Westcoast touch. Yeah, we couldn't go a whole
album without something for the softer fans!
Guests on the album include a stellar line up of AOR stars: Johan Koleberg
- Drums (LIONS SHARE), Thomas Vikström - Backing vocals (TALK OF
THE TOWN), Mikael Eriksson - Backing vocals (HOUSE OF SHAKIRA, ZIFA),
Bernt Ek - Backing vocals (HOUSE OF SHAKIRA), Andy Eklund - Backing
vocals (HOUSE OF SHAKIRA) and the great Bruce Gaitsch.
BOTTOM LINE: A stronger album than expected of good, if not totally
original, material that should keep fans of pure AOR and Toto-ish rock
well happy.
ESSENTIAL FOR: Tommy Denander fans...Fans of European melodic AOR with
an American touch.
RATINGS PRODUCTION: 73% SONGS: 82% VIBE: 78% ATTITUDE: 80% OVERALL:
79%
MELODICROCK.DE
PRISONER - Blind
Genial gemachte CD, die zwar etwas Anlauf braucht aber dann mit
Songs wie "Starry eyes" oder"Liar" mehr als nötig
die Wartezeit entschädigt. Die Produktion läßt zwar
zum Ende der Scheibe hin zu wünschen übrig, aber davon sollte
man sich nicht abhalten lassen diese wirklich sehr gut gelungene CD
zu kaufen. Wer auf Bands wie Talisman und Damn Nation abfährt liegt
hier genau richtig ! Mein Wunsch für dieses Jahr ? Bitte Lieber
Gott, laß diese CD nicht im Sumpf der Veröffentlichungen
untergehen, denn das hätte sie wirklich nicht verdient !May 4th
2000:
After a few spins you will find brilliant songs like "Starry eyes
or "Liar" on the CD from Prisoner. The sound/production of
the album is not the best but that shouldn't deters you to buy the CD.
If you like Talisman or Damn Nation it's the right choice for you !
My wish in this year ? Please god, don't let go down this excellent
album...Review by Thorsten
Piere Wensberg/Geir Rönning - Vocals
Tommy Denander - Guitars, Bass, Keys
Ricky Delin – Keys
RATINGS Songs: 8,5/10 Sound: 6,5/10 All in All: 8,5/10
MIDWESTERN SKIES
PRISONER "Blind"
(Z Records)
Z Records has released a great AOR album. This most be the most AORish
album that Z Records has released so far. Behind Prisoner you will find
the Tommy Denander, Ricky Delin and two great vocalist named Geir Ronning
and Piere Wensberg. This two guys can really sing. They have also got
some help from guys such as Johan Koleberg(Lion´s Share) drums,
Thomas Vikstrom, Mikael Eriksson, Bernt Ek, Andy Eklund backing vocals
and Bruce Gaitsch. If you mix Scandi AOR with more american sounding
AOR you get Prisoner. You will hear clearly what acts that influences
these guys. You get to hear traces from Journey, TOTO and early Richard
Marx to mention few. Listen to "Liar" and "Give My Heart
A Home", two true winners for fans of pure pomp/AOR a´la
Artica. Fantastic tracks with Tommy pulling out some awesome guitarriffs.
Both choruses got great hooklines and with powerful background vocals.
"Hear Me Heaven" is a acoustic song with resemblance to early
Richard Marx with great harmony vocals. "Where Is The Fire"
sounds like House Of Shakira with the vocals sounding like Mikael Eriksson.
The chorus has again those awesome harmony vocals. If you mix House
Of Shakira with Journey you get "Don´t Wanna Waste Another
Minute". This is a pure AOR song with a great chorus. The production
is done by Denander and Delin and they have done a great work. This
debut album from Prisoner is a great surprise from Z Records.
Juha Harjula
MOSHPIT
PRISONER - Blind
To both picture to judge in the Inlet after, two Masterminds are behind
Prisoner Tommy Denander (guitar, bass and keyboard) as well as Ricky
Delin (in essence for the keys responsibly). Not later than here the
interested reader notices that it might be in the present case probably
hardly about an elk's-death, brown bread or Extremhartwurst-Combo. And
correctly, Prisoner do if it is about Melodic free of accent skirt (attention,
wordplay of the horror(grayness)!), no prisoners. Occasionally the E-guitar
is also mixed in the foreground (' stop Playin ' Games' goes off, e.g.,
beautifully forwards), mostly rule on "blind person", however,
nice background choirs, keyboard sounds and relatively softe arrangements.
Accordingly often one has the impression, singer Geir Rönning could
essentially more, he might go only a little bit more frequently from
himself. But this is not the music of Prisoner - who can on Foreigner,
Journey and music of these knit stitches well, is here certainly on
the sure page(side). To me individually gets stuck from the songs, however,
too little in the outer ear.
Olive
MHR
PRISONER BLIND
(Z RECORDS ADVANCE CDR)
Yet another Swedish band transcend onto the scene courtesy of Z records,
the label with more Swedes than your local greengrocer.
Z records, it seems, have been neglecting AOR in recent times preferring
instead to dwell on the harder end of the market. That, I feel, is about
to change.
Prisoner hails from Stockholm and was formed by Journeyman guitarist
Tommy Denander. 'Blind' is the culmination of two and a half years work,
during which the band have gone through various changes in personnel,
none more noticeable than the one behind the microphone stand. Hence
on three songs, vocals are donated by Piere Wennsberg, who can at best
be described as adequate; somewhere from the Pete Sandberg school of
vocals. The remaining songs feature Gier Ronning, the vocal find of
2000, who elevates this album from the good to the outstanding, imagine
a Glenn Hughes/ Paul Carrick hybrid and you won't be far out. Add to
that Denanders guitar, which gives the material a natural groove, the
unquestioned drum stool skills of Lionshare drummer Johan Koleberg and
you have a melodic rock album that is a touch different from the normal
Swedish AOR by numbers peddled by bands like Snakecharmer and others
thrown up over the years by Sweden's AOR casting couch. Ironically it's
the songs featuring Wennsberg that err more towards this particular
sub genre. Sure 'Liar' and 'Sarah' are reasonable songs and 'Where Is
The Fire' would give House Of Shakira a run for their money, but alongside
the other material they feel somewhat out of place and you just know
that you've heard them somewhere before.
'Hear Me In Heaven' is as close at it gets to Glenn Hughes, the acoustic
nature of the song allowing you to lose yourself in the wonderful dulcet
tones of the vocals. If your penchant is for something with more meat
than bones but retains the soul then take your pick from the elegant
groove of the title track, the F.M tinged soul (Aphrodisiac era) of
'Stop Playing Games', the sing along summer AOR of 'Don't Wanna Waste'
or the more structured AOR of 'Italian Girl' with its harmony vocal
lines and fluid guitar patterns.
Album closer 'End Of The Millennium' highlights Denanders accomplished
guitar work but as an instrumental it is perhaps a wasted opportunity.
Why take up album time with this kind of stuff when the band possesses
such a wonderful vocalist? It beats me!
Make no mistake this is a truly worthwhile release from Z records, but
it is perhaps two or three songs away from being truly outstanding.
In a nutshell one vocalist is top draw, the other is not and the inclusion
of an instrumental certainly doesn't do the release any favours. Nevertheless
you wouldn't want to miss out on a classy melodic rock album. You know
what to do!
MIKE NEWDECK
RATING 89/100
ON THE ROCKS
Prisoner- "Blind"
Tracklist:
Blind / Don’t Wanna Waste Another Minute / Starry Eyes / Liar (I’d
Never Think The Thought) / Italian Girl (Rome Is Still There) / Hear
Me Heaven / Stop Playing Games / Give My Heart A Home / Where Is The
Fire / End Of The Millennium
Line-up:
Tommy Denander (guit., bass, keyb.), Ricky Delin (keyb.), Geir Rönning
(voc.), Piere Wensberg (voc.)
Additional musicians:
Johan Koleberg (drums), Bruce Gaitsch (guitar solo on “Hear Me
Heaven”)
Producer: Tommy Denander, Ricky Delin
PRISONER is the new project of the Swedish guitar hero Tommy Denander
(SAY IT) and their first album is a highlight for the fans of Scandinavian
Hard or Melodic Rock. When you are a friend of acts like JOHN NORUM
at the days of “Face The Truth”, SNAKES IN PARADISE or classic
ALIEN, you will love “Blind”. The title track is a great Hard
Rock song, that really sounds like a overseen track from JOHN NORUM’s
legendary “Face The Truth” album. The song has groove, power,
superb vocals and a very catchy chorus. “Don’t Wanna Waste
Another Minute” is another fine song with perfect vocal arrangments
and a true ALIEN hookline. The following “Starry Eyes” is
the most outstanding song on “Blind” and a true AOR monster!
I don’t know why, but the whole atmosphere reminds me of JOURNEY
and the emotional vocal arrangements are simply brilliant! “Liar”
is moving in the vein of ALIEN again and the high voice of Piere Wensberg
sounds very similar to Pete Sandberg. “Italian Girl” could
have been a song from SNAKES IN PARADISE’ debut album and features
a very poppy and soulful chorus. “Hear Me Heaven” is a very
interesting track that features no drums or bass. It only lives on the
cool (acoustic) guitars of Tommy Denander and the great voice of Geir
Rönning, so that it’s a perfect unplugged song. “Stop
Playing Games” features some funky guitar licks but don’t
let confuse. It’s a very straight and catchy song, that fans of
JOHN NORUM’s “Face The Truth” will really like! “Give
My Heart A Home” reminds me of ALIEN again, because Piere Wensberg
sounds like Pete Sandberg again. It’s a pure and typcial Swedish
Melodic Rock track and fans of that kind of music will love this song.
The only little disappointment on “Blind” is the following
“Where Is The Fire”. It’s not a bad song, but compares
badly with the other tracks on the CD. The final “End Of The Millennium”
is a instrumental song and that’s the time for Mr. Denander to
show, that he is one of Swedens finest six-string-wizards. It’s
not a technical one-man-show, but a proof of his talent! Lovers of Scandinavian
Hard or Melodic Rock shouldn’t be “blind” and must take
a listen to PRISONER’s album!
Discography Tommy Denander solo:
Less Is More (1995), Skeleton (1995), Limited Access (1997)
RATING 80/100
ROCK IT
PRISONER - blind
( Z Records/ Point Music)
Behind PRISONER hides themselves Mr Tommy Denander (Ex-Say It) and Ricky
" Westcoast Björne " Delin which threw on the market
a beautiful piece of silver already a year ago behind the pen name SAY
IT. And also "blind person" emerges from cocoon immediately
as a high-carat treat for the ears for every Melodic skirt-fan. Stylistically
SAY IT, with the difference goes whole again to direction that this
time the whole has fallen out essentially gitarrenlastiger and more
varied.
Apart from that (almost) everything had no change: Denander swings with
distinct Lukather-influence the axe, the Mikro piers Wensberg and divide
again the proved Geir Rönning and the exception talent for the
Songwriting Denander and Delin appeared responsible again.
Highlights gives it enough, begun from innumerable fat refrains, how
with "Liar" or " Don't Wanna Waste Another minute ",
about groovende guitar reef, virtuoso Solos and gesangliche top performances,
as far as relaxten acoustics-number " to Hear Me Heaven ".
Anyhow, I am away completely there and.
Dirk
ROCK REPORT
PRISONER - Blind
Z Records 2000
1. Blind: 82/100
2. Don't Wanna Waste Another Minute: 85/100
3. Starry Eyes: 89/100
4. Liar (I'd Never Think The Thought): 84/100
5. Italian Girl (Rome Is Still There): 86/100
6. Hear Me Heaven: 78/100
7. Stop Playing Games: 83/100
8. Give My Heart A Home: 83/100
9. Where Is The Fire: 84/100
10. End Of The Millennium (instr.): 81/100
Comment: Latest project of Tommy Denander and Ricky B. Delin, the guys
who were responsible for the Sayit release of last year. This Prisoner
release is heavier and even better!
RATINGS Production: 83/100, Vocals: 84/100, Instrumental: 85/100,
Package: 77/100 , OVERALL: 83/100
SCREAM
Prisoner
"Blind"
Z Records
Prisoner is Tommy Denander and Ricky Delin’s project, and to perform
their melodic hard rock they have got a couple of singers along with
them. At times this works fine, like on ""Don’t Wanna
Waste Another Minute". Unfortunately some of the material just
falls through, and then you lose some of the interest. An acoustic track,
and an instrumental shows that the guys isn’t all one dimensional.
Parts of this album do remind me a bit of Europe, and that’s really
the case when you listen to "Give My Heart A Home" which should
have been called "Cherokee Part 2".
Jan Dahle Reviewed in Scream # 53
RATING 3/5
ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC IN JAPAN
PRISONER / Blind
PRISONER is the new project of Swedish guitarist, Tommy Denander with
his dude, Ricky Delin. They released another project album "SAY
IT " last summer, which was done with Andy Eklund, the lead singer
of HOUSE OF SHAKIRA and Geir Rönning whose vocal tunes sung by
Geir Ronning reminded you of mid-80's TOTO. I reviewed "Sayit"
album that this album had been much better.,should the real Drummer
have played on that album. Yes, the drummer plays on this album. The
hard-driven melodic rock tunes with Tommy's guitar are really good.
"Italian Girl" has the TOTO-vein groovin', and special guest
Bruce Gaitsch's guitar solo add the sophisticated flavor.
Label: Z Records, UK (ZR1997026) (Japan: Avalon, Marquee Inc. MICP-10204)
Release Date : April, 2000 (Japan: September 20, 2000)
Producers: Ricky Delin and Tommy Denander
Prisoner is:
Tommy Denander: Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Programming
Ricky Delin: Keyboards, Backong Vocals
Geir Rönning: Lead Vocals
Piere Wensberg: Lead Vocals
Guest musicians:
Drums: Johan Koleberg
Backing Vocals: Thomas Vikström, Mikael "Zifa" Eriksson,
Bernt Ek, Andy Eklund
Guitar solo on "Hear Me Heaven": Bruce Gaitsch
RATING 3,5/5
TROYS REVIEWS
Prisoner - Blind
Another notch on Denander's guitar November 7, 2000
For such a thinly populated country, Sweden have produced an incredible
array of melodic heavy rock bands and artists, alongside a host of beautiful
women (in entertainment) and gifted (table) tennis players. One of the
most recent acts to carry on this glorious tradition goes by the name
of Prisoner, which recently released this stunning album on the Z Records
label. Getting straight to the point, this quartet headed by ubiquitous
master guitarist Tommy Denander (Rainmaker, Talk Of The Town, Radioactive,
Sayit) made a big impression on me with this tremendous debut effort,
which is flawless in every respect (incl. the lyrics). There is not
a hint of a filler among the ten tracks, which are an amalgam of the
finest characteristics of compatriots like Talisman (their self-titled
first album), Eyes ("Windows of the soul"), Brazen Abbot ("Live
and learn") and fellow newcomers Kharma ("Wonderland").
Prisoner consist of the same group of musicians responsible for Sayit's
self-titled 1999 release, including contributing artists like Bruce
Gaitsch, Thomas Vikström and several members of House of Shakira.
But whereas the latter was a Toto-like AOR/westcoast outfit, Prisoner
are much more melodic rock oriented.
"Blind" was composed, produced and engineered by the tandem
of Tommy Denander and keyboardist Ricky B. Delin and features two excellent
lead singers, Norwegian native Geir Rönning (who has the deeper
voice) and one Piere Wensberg. Rönning takes center stage with
a vocal style not unlike Jeff Scott Soto and is undoubtedly in the same
league, boasting a strong, soulful delivery and great fervour. He is
also lead vocalist on Denander's Rainmaker "project", under
which monicker an apparently brilliant album has just been released
on the same label. Recently he declined an invitation to join Toto.
(Should this guy appear in an infomercial on "Amazing Discoveries"
sometime soon, i would not be surprised.) Staying with the Swedish angle,
i am further reminded of Goran Edman's contributions to John Norum's
"Total control" and Yngwie J. Malmsteen's "Eclipse",
as well as Cleopatra vocalist Kristian Hermanson. Need i say more ?
Apart from being a showcase for their obvious songwriting talents and
Rönning/Wensberg's singing, Prisoner's maiden outing serves to
prove that it was both premature and unjust on my part to write off
Tommy Denander beforehand as another dime-a-dozen guitarist with an
oversized ego. Instead of giving him credit for being the highly prolific,
versatile musician, composer & producer that he really is. His performance
on this album, highlighted in songs like "Stop playing games"
(some gratuitous sound effects are woven into its intro, like a dog
barking and the sound of falling rain and rolling thunder), standout
AOR offering "Give my heart a home" and closing non-vocal
track "End of the millennium" is such that i've become curious
about his solo career. (Thus far he has three, largely instrumental
albums to his name, "Less is more" ('95), "Skeleton"
('95) and "Limited access" ('97), none of which i've heard.)
The latter two songs feature some well-dosed keyboard support for Denander's
guitar antics. "Starry eyes" nicely illustrates Prisoner's
use of multilayered backing vocals during its catchy chorus, as does
"Italian girl (Rome is still there)", which also contains
delicate synths early on. At their "worst" ("Don't wanna
waste another minute", "Where is the fire" - a question
i ask myself whenever my smoke detector malfunctions...) Prisoner are
merely very good, at their best ("Starry eyes", "Give
my heart a home", "Hear me heaven") they are downright
terrific.
The only "negative" thing i could say about this band is that
their album could have done with a ballad or two. As it is, they're
pretty much going full throttle all the way. Only briefly during "Italian
girl" they ease up on the pedal to allow for a bluesy guitar interlude,
while the acoustically oriented "Hear me heaven" (reminiscent
of Mr. Big/Eric Martin) is the only slower-paced track. And yes, their
sound lacks originality, but who cares when the music is this captivating.
Prisoner's "Blind" is a no brainer for all rockers who enjoyed
any of the albums i referred to.
It's one of the best CD's i've heard this year.
PRISONER - II
AOR
WEBZONES
Prisoner - II
Tommy Denander is a busy man. After several instrumental solo albums,
the projects Sayit (do we pronounce Say It or Sajiet?), Rainmaker, recently
Radioactive we have the second Prisoner. At first I had my doubts about
this one, because this is a switch from heavy AOR to more Westcoast
orientated rock. Sometimes the album reminds me of Le Roux's "So
Fired Up" (Listen to the intro of Jasmine, nearly that
of Turning Point and also several other tracks do have the same atmosphere).
The better tracks are 'One Way, Prisoners', and 'One Step Closer'. Track
nine can also be found on the Sayit album. Most remarkable is the remake
of Britney Spears' "You drive me Crazy", which is original
from Sweden. We do have a limited edition with three bonus tracks, but
none of them is really interesting. Because of the presence of the same
strong lead vocalists Geir Ronning and Pierre Wensberg this cd
turns out to be reasonable. (Dick v/d Eng)
RATING 3/5
AORLAND
PRISONER - II
Z 2001
Everytime I listen to ANY recording by Swedish guitarrist Tommy Denander
I have the impression that I'm listening to the same band. Much probably
this is due to his mixing/production techniques that make every album
sound similar yet much too thin. That is the only problem I find in
this sophomore effort by PRISONER disc because the album is just pure
AOR with excellent intrumentations and fantastic vocals. Certainly Tommy
knows a thing or two about writing a good catchy tune and once again
he proves it. It's undeniable that Tommy is a great Toto fan as proven
in songs like "Jasmine" or "Prisoners" while others
like "Return to My Heart" are more akin to his work with Talk
of the Town. I think that what impresses me more is the vocals handled
once again by Geir Ronning and Piere Wensberg. They are both fantastic
vocalists with their own personality....just listen to "One Way"
for proof. The band have included their own version of the Britney Spears
classic (!!?) "Crazy" which to say the least is quite funny.
If you liked the first album "Blind" or you love evrything
Mr. Denenader puts out, this one has to be in your list.
RATING 79/100
BREAK OUT
PRISONER - II
What for a randy party disc! If I had with the debut "Blind"
the Sweden around Mainman Tommy Denander still some approach difficulties,
I must say, that "II" from the front to behind very well reinknallt.
Already with "Deadend" it goes off brilliant: wide keyboard-carpets,
strong reef and the concise organ of the Geir Rönning which is
enthroned about mad melodies lead in "Jasmine" full of feeling
who likes first of all by the choirs strong as an ox.
It is contemplative with " Sweetly On ", before in "
One Way " an absolute Highlight follows. Hymnischer Hardrock, very
much after American or British design sounds then after typical Sweden-Hardrock.
" Return micron Heart " and first of all "Prisoners"
(of absolute bangers!) point the harder pages(sides) of the troop which
are skirt-still fully radiosuitable, however. " One Step Closer
" is mod delightfully and shifts to an exciting feeling-Flashbacks,
" I in the Right Here " and " Standing On The Outside
" have a low something, but the following Britney Spears-cover
version " You Drive Me Crazy " pulls the mood barometer again
of many miles in the plus.
Moreover, there are three extra-Tracks on the first edition of "II"
which are all a class and which revalue disc, really, again. The perfect
disc for the vorsommerliche grill-party.
Mike
DURP
Prisoner - II
The main man in PRISONER is the swedish guitar player Tommy Denander,
who for this record also is responisble for playing bass and keys and
drum programming. Of course I know many people hate drum computers,
for this album I had no problems with. The debut of PRIONER was well
recieved in the melodic rock scene and the follow up I think is done
on the same level. The band works without harder guitars, and some of
the songs have an slightly funky-groovy touch. I am not sure if it was
a good idea to cover Britney Spears "You Drive Me Crazy" -
you may like it or not, it's an unusual idea at least. Don't forget
to mention DURP.COM in case you order this CD somewhere !
Renald Mienert
RATING 7/10
GROOVE MACHINE
Prisoner-2
Ever since the release of the first Prisoner cd, that has been blasted
to to death on the Groove death deck, I have been
eagerly awaiting the release of the 2nd Prisoner cd and fans of the
1st cd will not be let down as the quality and melody are here in abundance
as well as Tommy's love of all things Toto and Lukather and even Journey.
Things start nicely with very Toto esque Dead End with some excellent
guitar from Tommy , this flows perfectly into Jasmine a
typical Prisoner song this leads nicely into Hold On which reminds me
of Who's Crying Now by Journey. Tommy is on top form throughout, some
of his solo's are purely stunning a perfect example of which is the
track One Way.By the time you read this they will have played there
1st concert on British soil unfortunately without Tommy who is not well
enough to travel but hopefully with the success of this album he will
take heart and will probably be fit again in the future.
Ian
METALLVILLE
PRISONER -
2
This Swedish group's sophomore platter has arrived like lightning on
us, barely a year after the last - then again, Ten's first three albums
were only separated by nine-month gaps. I can't actually figure out
the straight line-up of the band. The sleeve notes list respected guitarist
Tommy Denander and some other geezer called Ricky B. Delin on keyboards,
drums, bass etc, as the bands too mainstays, plus two lead singers,
Pierre Wensberg and Geri Ronning seemingly set apart as guest musicians
here.
The material picks up where the other album left off, more or less,
in the 2nd-album-era Winger style albeit again, two different voices
share the mike. As before, the passion and melodies are there and sweet
as ever, though the Dokken comparisons still remain unaccounted for
by the musical direction, and a few numbers do drag on a bit on initial
hearing, and this is not cured by a concerning lack of up tempo material.
A point is also forfeited for the most evil of crimes - having a cover
of a Britney Spears tune on a hard rock album. Well performed it may
be by Tommy and co, but this is not the time nor place. It should have
been a bonus track on the end.
The others of which are actually decent and should have been amongst
the mainstay selections, then there would have been a chance for people
who bought later copies of the album to avoid it but sadly this wasn't
the case. In summary, and worthy listen but remember to hit that skip
button when track ten begins.
By Dave Attrill
RATING 7/10
MAJESTIC
Prisoner - II
Tommy Denander is a busy man. Last year he released two excellent albums
under the names of Prisoner and Rainmaker and he was also heavily involved
in the Talk Of The Town album. This month he releases the second Prisoner
album, whilst next month will see the release of his Radioactive album
and there will probably be a new Rainmaker album later on this year
as well.
First things first though, so let's see how the second coming of Prisoner
has turned out. To begin with the album is quite a lot more laid-back
then its forerunner. This is completely on purpose as Tommy has decided
to take more of an AOR approach with Prisoner and save the heavier stuff
for the Rainmaker albums. A smart move, as I thought Blind and Rainmaker
had a lot in common and at times sounded like the same band.
On II the Toto influences I mentioned in my review of Blind are still
present. But where the influences on Blind seemed to come from the Kingdom
Of Desire and Tambu era, it seems the band goes back to the earlier
days of Toto at certain points this time around. Listen to songs like
Return My Heart or One Step Closer and you'll get the idea.
There seem to be more influences this time. A tune like One Way could
have been taken right of one of the last two Journey albums. Even Tommy's
guitar sounds like Neal Schon's on this one. Needless to say this is
a little gem.
Which can also be said about I Am Right Here, my favorite song on the
album. With the right promotion and a lot of luck this could absolutely
be a hit. Actually there is a song on the album that has been a hit
already.
You Drive Me Crazy is nothing less than a cover of the Britney Spears
track Crazy. Cool to hear this song being done by two great singers,
it makes a big difference, believe me!
The version of II I have here has three bonus tracks on it. Just To
Think is a beautiful ballad. This song - with Bernt Ek on vocals - alone
is reason enough to get the special limited edition version. Bonus track
#2 is a funky instrumental that doesn't really do it for me but the
final song, Susan, is better. House Of Shakira did a version of this
one on their Best Of Two. To be honest I think their version was a little
better, but hey, you get this song for free, remember?
II differs a lot from Blind and that might be a reason for some people
to take a listen first. However I'm convinced that if you love good
music you'll also love Prisoner's new style. And if you miss the harder
edged songs… well, you just have to wait for the Rainmaker album
then.
RATING 4,5/5
MELODICROCK.DE
PRISONER - II
Wow, what a start ! Prisoner's debut album was not one of my highlights,
but this is only my meaning. The first track "Deadend" starts
just like an Axe-song, but there is a different singing. With "Jasmine"
a second poweful track follows, a little bit Survivor or Kansas like.
I'm so surprised, these two songs won't go out of my ears in the next
time. As third track I come back to earth, sounds more and more boring.
Even if the guitar work is first class great solis !), a song does not
only live from the constantly returning choir and on the same solo.
Should the first two songs remain actual the killers ? After two weaker
Songs I find the good start however confirmed with "Return my heart"
The level becomes appreciably worse, then the absolute killer-track:
"You drive me crazy"! Yes, a cover of the Briney Spears song.
My impression is in such a way split at the latest now, light and shade.
This disorder of great tracks and boring material is normally deadly.
Even if the singing is nevertheless very Survivor oriented, Jimi Jamison's
class remains unequalled ! Infact, this album has so great music, I
could get crazy. Would not be there these "shades", which
press the general impression simply. Perhaps Prisoner should have done
without three to four songs, there would be a killer cd with a running
time of 40 minutes. At the end, some words to the production: There
is nothing bad to say about the production, could be more pressureful.
Nobody will be disappointed about the "shades" of this album,
this cd lives by the great material. You'll decide if it’s the
money worth. And for all melodicrock-fans !
Peter Albers
RATINGS Songs: 6/10 - Sound: 7/10 - All in All: 6/10
MIDWESTERN SKIES
PRISONER "II" 2001
Tommy Denander is here with the second Prisoner album simple called
"II". This goes in the same style as the first Prisoner and
Rainmaker albums with some touches of Talk Of The Town and lots of TOTO
influences. There is one thing that disturbs me a lot on this album
and that is the drumsound. I must say that the drummachine and drumproduction
spoiles the tracks. There is nothing wrong with the songs but in the
long run the drumsound gets really hard to listen to. There are couple
of pure AOR tracks that still are worth to mention. Just listen to the
great "Jasmine" with great AOR-keys and a catchy chorus in
a TOTO era "Isolation" style. The AOR-ballad "Hold On"
is also nice to listen to. "Return My Heart" must be a leftover
from House Of Shakira. This is a great up-tempo AOR-song with a great
hooklines and a catchy chorus in House Of Shakira style. They also do
a nice cover of Britney Spears "You Drive Me Crazy". Another
great AOR-track is "Susan". This is the House Of Shakira song
that they do very well. I know this would have been so much better with
better drumsound and I don´t understand why Tommy don´t
put in some real drums. That´s a pity because the songs are worth
a better destiny. If you still are interested in this then I suggest
you listen to it first before you buy it.
Juha Harjula
NEH
Prisoner - II
Versatile guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Tommy Denander and his Prisoner
gang are back with another set of solidly melodic rock. It is a substantially
more AOR-leaning affair than their previous album, "Blind,"
with fewer nasty guitar riffs and more directly accessible hooks and
instrumental textures. Tracks like the smooth pop of "One Way"
and the polished, dramatic rock pulse of "Jasmine" recall
Toto, Journey, Survivor, and all the other mainstays of the genre.
For some tastes, Prisoner may have gone a bit soft this time around.
Indeed, while songs like "Standing On The Outside" will remind
some listeners of classic, unpretentious AOR, fans of Denander's harder-edged
side may find it disappointingly smooth. Those seeking darker, harder
rock would do much better with another Denander project, the powerful
band Rainmaker, than with "Prisoner II."
On the flip side, listeners who only know Denander from Rainmaker may
be surprised by the grace with which he plays this smoother style. This
is not a particularly guitar-oriented record, relying on compact riffs,
keyboard accents, and smooth, expressive vocals to convey the songs'
moods and hooks. Still, the instrumentation is tight and appropriate
to the songs, and Denander slips in some tasty axework on solos and
outros. The disc's overall sonic energy wanes a bit in places, and it
falls a few killer hooks short of essential, but the songwriting and
performances are strong enough to make "Prisoner II" worth
repeated listens for fans of polished, '80s-era AOR.
Tommy Denander is already known to most people as a multi talented musician,
songwriter and producer. After 18 years he has recorded several aclaimed
solo albums and more than 300 albums as a session musician with artists
and bands like - TOTO, FERGIE FREDERIKSEN, BILL CHAMPLIN, FEE WAYBILL,
and RICHARD MARX. Ricky B. Delin was earlier one half of the great westcoast
duo DELIN/DA'VESTA and a brilliant lyric writer. PUSH was formed by
Tommy and Ricky in 1997 with a simple goal to combine classic hard rock/AOR
with a modern touch. This album was first recorded with programmed drums
but was quickly re-recorded with Johan Koleberg from LIONS SHARE adding
a much needed punch to the production. Most groups have a hard time
finding one good singer....Prisoner has two! Geir Rönning is by
many concidered to be one of the greatest singers ever!!! A seasoned
pro with solo albums, sessions and almost ten years of working with
TOTO Geir's vocals help make Prisoner's first album "BLIND"
a modern classic. Piere Wensberg is a new name on the international
scene but fans of high pitched singers like STEVE PERRY, JASON SCHEFF
and BOBBY KIMBALL will easily find a new favorite in him.
RATING 81/100
ON THE ROCKS
PRISONER ”II” (Z Records)
Producer: Delin-Denander
While we still have wait for the long announced album with his all-star
project RADIOACTIVE, the Swedish guitar maestro Tommy Denander shortens
the waiting period with a second album from his other project PRISONER.
After the very promising debut ”Blind” I was really curious
to hear this album, but to tell you the truth, ”II” can’t
fulfil the expectations. The new songs are nice and entertaining AOR/Rock-Pop
in the style of TOTO, Fergie Frederiksen and Bobby Kimball, but lack
of a certain something. You listen to the album without hearing
any dead losses, but also without any true highlights. The only song
I want to give a special mention is the cover version of the Britney
Spears (!!!) song ”You Drive Me Crazy”. It’s interesting
to hear this song with a harder edge, but I’m afraid that Melodic
Rock fans will slam the band for this cover. Another negative thing
on ”II” is the powerless and monotonous drum computer, which
gives the album a little fast-food taste and makes it sound rather weak.
All in all only a solid album and I expected much more from a talented
musician like Tommy Denander. I will instead, pin all my hopes on the
forthcoming RADIOACTIVE album…
Discography: Blind / II
RATING 72/100
ROCK REPORT
PRISONER - II
Tommy Denander is becoming a very busy person, while he's responsible
for releases from bands like Sayit, Rainmaker, Prisoner, Talk Of The
Town and the long awaited, but soon to be released album of Radioactive.
For now, let's focus on Prisoner's second album, which sounds slightly
different if you compare it to their brilliant debut album of last year.
It looks like the Rainmaker project has got the more heavy ingredients
and Prisoner the softer side of the first effort. This doesn't mean
that this album should be overlooked, by no means at all! It's a very
enjoyable album with a good production, two superb lead vocalists and
some sensational AOR/westcoast tracks. The first edition of this album
counts 3 bonus tracks, so don't say nobody told you about that! Just
put on your headphones and enjoy songs like "Hold On", the
very Journey orientated "One Way" (similar to the "Raised
On Radio" material), "Jasmine" (could have been a track
from Amaze Me), the AOR beauty "Return My Heart" and "Susan",
which was also recorded but never released before by House Of Shakira.
Another surprise is the remake of the Britney Spears hit single "You
Drive Me Crazy", which Tommy changed into a real AOR song. Check
out the album for yourself, if you're in for some great AOR/westcoast
music. (Ed Kruijskamp - May 2001)
RATINGS 83/100
ROCKHEADS
Prisoner/II
It seems that the Tommy Denander era is taken it’s place now, as
Jeff Scott Soto once were on every single melodic or rocking album as
either a song writer or singer, the same is happening here with Tommy
being on the Rainmaker release last year and the up and coming release
by yet another band he’s in Radio Active. Have released one of
the finest new albums by a AOR band last year, Prisoner has surely been
quickly to put out thier second cd, but looking back in side mirror
the band should have been given the second release a more finishing
touch as things seems to have been rushed up quite abit to follow up
the succes by the debut. The prodution is under the low point of accepting
for what was in the waiting from the debuts prodution, the sound on
the cd is as you have to turn your stereo to the max to even hear what
is being put out of the speakers. So it sures vipe out that smile from
your face when you are standing with the cd ready to hear a band who
should be able to deliever the product, but only turns out to disapoint
you big time
RATING 75/100
STRUTTER
PRISONER '2'
The second album of the Swedish PRISONER is pretty much a sensational
keyboard orientated AOR record. The band around mega guitarist TOMMY
DENANDER have delivered an album that fit right into the releases of
T'BELL, STREET TALK, TALK OF THE TOWN and DAKOTA from the past few years.
This album is filled with top-notch hookladen AOR in the classic 80s
tradition. There are 13 songs on the album and the only songs that are
just nice are the opener "Deadend" and the last couple of
tracks, of which I need to add that the cover of the BRITNEY SPEARS
hit "You drive me crazy" is well done as I really thought
I was listening to some great AOR tune and then suddenly I knew I had
heard before in an unpleasant version, but PRISONER's version is definitely
a lot better!
Anyway, left are about 9 fantastic pure AOR songs that are a dream for
people who are into the classy early 80s stuff of acts like TOTO ('Isolation'),
DAVID ROBERTS and I even noticed some early FM similarities. My favourite
tracks are "Jasmine" (mix of DAKOTA, LE ROUX, T'BELL and TALK
OF THE TOWN), "Hold on" (very laid back, like FRANKE AND THE
KNOCKOUTS meets early FM on a hot summernight), "One step closer"
(pure 80s AOR a la TOTO's 'Isolation'), "I am right here"
(another classy laid-back AOR tune, if only radio would play this, then
it would definitely turn out to a monster hit all over the globe!),
"Return my heart" (summer uptempo 80s AOR, just having fun
and not looking back) and the JOURNEY/STREET TALK typed semi AOR ballad
"One way".
This record is definitely one of the highlights this year and I need
to recommend it to every fan of the AOR genre, especially people who
like the keyboard orientated sound of acts like T'BELL, TOTO, LE ROUX
and DAKOTA will definitely like this album.
Gabor Kleinbloesem
RATING 9/10
STRUTTER
PRISONER 'II'
Hardly a year has gone by since this Swedish quartet's debut release
and already the band are into the second installment of their career
and are also gearing themselves up for the Z Rock fest in April. The
band is based around the talents of guitar journeyman Tommy Denander
who has briefly worked with Richard Marx and Toto amongst others. Prisoner
II is pure Scandi melodic rock with touches of west coast AOR and big
ballads such as the sexy 'Just To Think', 'Hold On' and 'I Am Right
Here', whilst 'Jasmine' features lovely vocal harmonies and keyboard
parping. In the space of a year the band have rapidly matured, the album
sounds even more of a band effort than the debut, proof can be heard
on the wonderous prog meets AOR heaviness of 'Woke Up Dead'.
Also check out 'Susan' and 'Return My Heart', both are golded guitar
coated AOR songs. Geir Ronning sounds very much like Steve Perry and
these songs could have easily been lifted off "Raised On Radio"
and are easily my favorites . And the quality doesn't end there, fab
songs like 'Prisoners', 'Standing On The Outside' (pure Survivor style
harmonies) keep
the standards flowing with passiona nd melody. This album totally did
it for me and proves that Prisoner are paving the way the furure of
AOR and melodic rock. We need new bands like Prisoner to save the scene
from dissapearing all together, so get this sucker now folks, you won't
be dissapointed.
Nicky Baldrian
RATING 9,5/10
ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC IN JAPAN
PRISONER / PRISONER II
Prisoner is a Tommy Denander's related melodic rock project with
his good musical partner Ricky B. Delin. As you may know, Tommy, the
Swedish Guitar Dude, has many different projects including his solo
activities; Sayit, Rainmaker, Prisoner and Radioactive. Each project
would have different colors / characters. That is to say, Rainmaker
is a little bit too heavy for Westcoast / AOR fans, Sayit is relatively
soft AOR heavily influenced by Westcoast Music. Prisoner seems to be
the TOTO vein hard-edge AOR placed between Rainmaker and Sayit. Therefore,
I was guessing that Prisoner II would be a harder one as their 1st album.
However, this new Prisoner album is much softer than expected and more
TOTO-vein Westcoast sound with some European hard melodic rock touches.
The music styleon this album is really more like Sayit. In this sense,
I can recommend this album more than their 1st album for Westcoast /
AOR fans who frequently visit my website. I dare to say the problem
for this album would be Drum machine sounds and as I always say, Tommy
should use real Drums instead in order to be this album more completed
one. Tommy challenges one interesting track "You Drive Me Crazy"
a cover of the Britney Spears tune. Nice try!
Producers: Ricky B Delin and Tommy Denander
Prisoner are:
Tommy Denander: Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Drums, Background Vocals
Ricky B Delin: Keyboards, Background Vocals
Pierre Wensberg: Lead Vocals
Geir Ronning: Lead and Background Vocals
Guest Musicians:
Background Vocals: Kristoffer Lagerstorm, Bert Ek, Jessa Slatter
RATING 3,5/5
THE MAYFAIR ZINE
Prisoner - II
Ever since the release of the first Prisoner cd, that has been blasted
to death on the Groove death deck, I have been eagerly awaiting the
release of the 2nd Prisoner cd and fans of the 1st cd will not be let
down as the quality and melody are here in abundance as well as Tommy's
love of all things Toto and Lukather and even Journey.
Things start nicely with very Toto esque Dead End with some excellent
guitar from Tommy , this flows perfectly into Jasmine, a typical Prisoner
song this leads nicely into Hold On which reminds me of Who's Crying
Now by Journey.
Tommy is on top form throughout, some of his solo's are purely stunning
a perfect example of which is the track One Way.
By the time you read this they will have played there 1st concert on
British soil unfortunately without Tommy who is not well enough to travel
but hopefully with the success of this album he will take heart and
will probably be fit again in the future.
LIVE AT ZROCK IN MANCHESTER ENGLAND
MAY 6TH 2001
BREAK
OUT
Prisoner
Danach folgt das erste Highlight: Prisoner. Leider konnte der Bandleader
und musikalische Kopf Tommy Denander die strapaziöse Reise nach
Manchester nicht mit antreten, denn nach einigen Herzinfarkten ist der
sympathische Schwede nur noch begrenzt reisefähig. Sein Ersatz
Sayit Dölen ist dann allerdings der Knaller des Abends. Was der
Junge aus der Klampfe rausholt, ist einmalig in Technik und Gefühl,
obwohl er sich das ganze Material in nur zehn Tagen draufschaffen mußte.
Aber auch die beiden Sänger Geir Rönning und Pierre Weinsberg
glänzen - vor allem als während des vierten Songs die komplette
Keyboardprogrammierung abraucht, sind Entertainer gefragt. Neben "Smoke
On The Water" gibt es dann "Sweet Home Alabama" zu hören,
und die mittlerweile 600 Leutchen lachen und feiern, was das Zeug hält.
METALLVILLE
PRISONER
Sweden's Prisoner hit off to 'Don't Wanna Waste Another' from their
debut album, one of the best songs of the day in my humble opinion before
proceeding to bombard us with stuff from both their albums, (last year's
'Blind' and the recently pressed 'Prisoner 2' offering). Stuff off both
is white hot, sounding even better on stage than on CD. The title track
off 'Blind' is itself a fave from before but the other much anticipated
cut 'Italian girl' is sadly a non-inclusion on the afternoon's billing,
despite the rather repeated demands of one loudmouth amongst the gathering.
What I like about Pris' particularly is how the two vocalists take turns
throughout the songs, changing over after each verse, chorus or even
just lines sometimes. One of the two lads brought out an acoustic guitar
at one or two points in the set so that unfortunately shuts him up a
little bit. On the subject of geetars, main bloke Tommy Denander is
absent tonight as announced by one of the lads whose accents actually
sound more American than Swedish, I notice, earlier on in the show.
And you think their music doesn't sound American? Kip Winger would give
his house to have written some of these tunes, matey.
Dave Atrill
RATING 8/10
BURRN
PRISONER
After the disapointment that was Seven Wishes our next band came on
like a breath of fresh air and proved that westcoast music is alive
and well. Having only been around for a short while Prisoner have created
great waves on the AOR circuit and their recent CD should continue that.
Due to ill health band mainman and guitarist Tommy Denander unfortunately
couldn't make tonights show and to be perfectly honest he wasn't missed
at all with his place being taken by Sayit a god like gifted genius
if I ever heard one. With Ricky B Dellin also playing Bass live for
the first time and taking into consideration that these guys where still
rehearsing into the late hours on the previous night then you would
be forgiven for thinking that this was a recipe for disaster but how
wrong you would be as this bunch of accomplished musicians delivered
a set of consumate westcoast AOR of the highest order that hasn't been
seen in this country since Toto last played here, yeah that good. They
opened their set with the smooth as velvet 'Don't wanna waste another
minute' that set the bands stall out from the very start, with lead
vocalists Geir Ronning and Piere Wensberg supplying vocals that were
nothing short of stunning. Thier vocal interplay defied the fact that
this band had only rehearsed together briefly. They smoothly moved straight
into 'Jasmine' a Toto-Esque Westcoast anthem from the new CD and with
a solo straight from the Lukather school of playing this song had it
all. Vocalist Geir Ronning had to be one of the best vocalists of the
day and when he stood centre stage armed with only an acoustic guitar
and his God like vocals he kept the crowd entranced with his style,
charisma and talent, a star is born ? Probably. The band then went into
Deep Purples 'Smoke on the Water' and halted, just teasing! Then we
got 'Sweet Home Alabama' by Lynrd Skynrd, oops, just teasing again.
Finally the band launched into 'Prisoners' a classic rock song if ever
I heard one.
A smoldering groove introduced 'Starry Eyes' from the debut CD and by
this time the band were firing on all cylinders as they then went into
'One Way' and then 'Hold On' with the latter being a super smooth ballad
that had Toto written all the way through it. Guitarist Sayit had a
guitar sound that would have been the envy of the likes of Lukather,
Gaitsch and Landau and when he hit the opening riff to their final song
'Blind' he nearly took the roof off this venue such was the power of
this song and it was the perfect end to a perfect set from this talented
band.
ROB EVANS
THE MAYFAIR ZINE
Prisoner
Just after 3 pm we saw the band Prisoner take center stage.
Having never seen this band before it was quite a contrast to see them
dressed so casually to that of the previous band.
This band seemed very popular with the more traditional rock fans in
the crowd who were obviously a lot more informed about the band than
what we were. Indeed this was one of those bands that had a lot of the
AOR media people in a bit of a tis.
Not my cup of tea but they were a very talented band who obviously had
a lot of followers in the crowd.
I'm sure I heard someone say they had traveled over from Ireland just
to see this band play.
Traditional and classy these seasoned pros knew how to give the crowd
what they wanted.
Their set lasted about 50 mins and seemed to please the large crowd
that had gathered to watch them. The only downside to the set was that
Tommy Denander was not able to be present as he isn't very well.
I know both the band and the fans missed this excellent guitarist and
it is hoped that he will soon be well again and back over on these shores
with the band so all his fans can see him in action once more.
Tommy's replacement for the day was a chap called Sayit and he certainly
seemed to carry off the songs well.
The set was a good mixture of songs taken from their first album and
their newest offering S2.
I wouldn't have been at all surprised if they sold out of this album
today as they had a lot of die hard fans just ready from the off to
buy it.
In fact looking at the faces singing along in the crowd I think a lot
of them probably already had it.
STRUTTER
ZROCK
Z ROCK-2001
THE RITZ MANCHESTER
6th May 2001
ENUFF Z'NUFF
VON GROOVE
BURNING RAIN
DREAM HUNTER
PRISONER
SEVEN WISHES
CONTAGIOUS
In a shrewd move by Z Records label boss Mark Alger, this year's Z Rock
event has moved to The Ritz in Manchester, England. The Ritz is a large
venue with an upstairs area which was reserved for the bands and VIP
guests. It's the first time since the mid 90's that a melodic rock fest
such as this one has moved outside of Wigan (small town/village about
45 mins drive from Manchester), and its about time, too, so a big pat
on the back to Mr.Alger for moving the scene on to bigger pastures.
I arrived at the venue a little early and waited in the queue outside
with everyone else. The bus with all the bands on pulled up and Chip
Z' Nuff got out and came to meet us all and nicked my last stick of
gum ha ha!! Nice guy, great attitude. My first glance inside The Ritz
was of the stage itself which looks mighty professional compared to
the stage at Maximes in Wigan. It's larger, with more spotlights and
more room for the bands to move around in and really put on a show for
us fans, such as when Von Groove's Newcastle born frontman Michael Shotton
climbed onto the top of the massive sound speakers to sing a few numbers
during the band's triumphant debut UK set, (a move that was later matched
by Enuff Z' Nuff's Donnie Vie).
CONTAGIOUS kicked the proceedings off with a tight set. The band have
clearly matured over the last year, they were very confident and fun
to watch. They played a selection of new material and the material from
their debut EP. The band's new songs were really good and came over
as vintage classic rock with hints of Bruce Dickinson meets Geoff Tate
vocal comparisons. The sound at The Ritz gave the band an edge that
would otherwise have been lost or muffled out at Maximes, thus true
appreciation for the band's melodic hard rock received a friendly reaction
from the crowd. Talk of sound problems, there was one flaw of the day
which totally succeeded in ruining SEVEN WISHES' set. I bet the guys
were really gutted this year as the audience also failed to get into
the band's sharp melodic hard rock. People were standing around unimpressed,
which is ironic, as last year they rocked up a storm. Technical problems
aside, Seven Wishes did their best to please and for me personally it
was good to see them rock once again.
After Seven Wishes we were treated to the mighty PRISONER
(minus Tommy Deander due to ill health) who put on an energetic performance
which the crowd lapped up with joy. I really enjoyed the way the two
singers Geir Ronning and Piere Wensberg swapped their vocals parts and
dueted with one another, they were clearly having so much fun and the
crowd just loved it. I have to say that live these two singers complement
one another as both have immense vocal ranges which just totally blew
me and everyone else away --especially when during mid set we were treated
to a stop/start medley of well known rock hits including 'Smoke On The
Water'. I also have to add that adding to Prisoner's star quality is
their stand in guitarist who filled in for Tommy Denander. He did a
marvelous job with the songs. This guy is a star in the making and his
style in his own right is similar to that of Eric Johnson and Shawn
Lane, so we are definitely talking shred quality here. The only bad
point of the set was not the songs but instead the bass player, dressed
in a black suit with a black t-shirt he stood lifelessly to the left
of the stage and just did his thing, a few more smiles wouldn't go amiss
next time, mate. All in all Prisoner conquered today and I really hope
they come back soon for more dates. I spoke with Geir sometime after
the gig and he told me how beautifully the song 'Desert Island' he and
Tommy had recorded with Kee Marcello for the Jason Becker Tribute cd
had come out and how moved and chuffed he was to be helping Jason. You
could see the gleam of emotion in his eyes.
DREAM HUNTER came on next, I caught the opening of 'Bad Attitude' from
their new album when we decided to go and get some food. We came back
to hear the band hitting into the catchy 'Anyway You Want It'. The crowd
seemed to enjoy them, and I'm gutted I missed them now - but food was
needed more than music this time, you can't rock on an empty stomach!!!
Following Dream Hunter came the debut UK show for Doug Aldrich (Bad
Moon Rising) and Keith St. John's BURNING RAIN who were definitely the
heaviest and most bombastic of the day. Burning Rain are the reason
why I came to Z Rock this year and they rocked, dudes!! They ripped
into monsters from both their albums "Burning Rain" and "Pleasure
To Burn" such as the frantic shred attack of 'Fireball', 'Love
Emotion', the excellent 'Cherie Don't Break My Heart' and the fun packed
crowd pleaser 'Sex Machine'. I have to say that Keith St John is a wicked
frontman who knows how to command the audience, we witnessed the odd
Dave Lee Roth/Sammy Hagar inspired mid air jump from St. John to much
amusement. St. John's voice is very similar to David Coverdale, and
the songs hit home hard n fast thanks to his expertise and Aldrich's
bombastic shredding. Even on the ballads they keep the melodies and
vocal harmonies tuneful and emotive. All to soon Burning Rain's set
was over. An electric performance which I hope we will get to see again
next year. And what about VON GROOVE then? Was that performance legendary
or what? This was the band's long awaited debut show here in the UK
and they were greeted with roars and cheers from the crowd right thoughout
their set of which they churned out all the hits from 'House Of Dreams'
and 'Should've Been Me' and 'Chameleon', the awesome newies 'Oxygen'
and 'The Seventh Day' through to 'Once Is Not Enough', 'Mission Man',
'Guns Over London' and many others. They also teased the crowd with
a minute long 'Two Nights In Tokyo' and a stunning drum solo to much
amusement and also got the crowd singing along to an extended 'Once
Is Not Enough' which was filled with plenty of crowd yelling chants
of "Na Na Na's" during the song's chorus, you know what I
mean if you were there!! On one occasion singer Michael Shotton dived
into the audience and sung a couple of numbers surrounded by the fans.
He also climbed onto one of the speakers and really got the crowd pumped
up as did guitarist Malden making this a classic performance indeed.
Then it was time for the headliners - Chicago's ENUFF
Z' NUFF. Prior to Enuff Z' Nuff's set I had the pleasure of talking
to Khalil Turk from Escape Music who is a very nice guy. He informed
me that Departure are in the studio in New York working on a new album
with new AOR god Timothy Lewis handling the mic. Khalil said the new
album is due in September and there is talk of some Departure shows
in the UK this or next year. It was also nice to finally meet writing
partner Phil Ashcroft from Fireworks, as well as regular concert goers
Graham Hatton, Mike Newdeck, Rob Evans, John from Loud1, Gez and Sue
from Voltz Magazine and Sir Mark Alger himself who was running around
all day like a blue assed fly. Anyways, the minute Chip 'n Donnie 'n
co hit the stage the crowd roared like maniacs as this was the bands
first show here since 1996, and despite Chip hurting himself when he
fell down a two foot hole behind the drum riser, he stood the show out
to admirable effect. So respect where respect is due. The set consisted
of all the old favorites like 'New Thing', 'Fly High Michelle', 'Time
To Let You Go' and numerous songs pulled from all the bands albums.
During 'Baby Loves You' the band were joined on stage by two sassy dancing
girls with bizarre hairstyles, especially the purple haired one! (I'm
sure they used to be in Tigertailz ha ha), they did their stuff to a
joyous response and drool from us lads. During mid set Ricky Parent
performed a galloping drum solo of which he was joined by Chip. Together
the pair performed a drum duet solo to much amusement. Over all having
never seen Enuff Z'Nuff live before I was pretty pleased with the performance
they gave, especially considering the fact that Chip had hurt himself.
The set was only spoiled for everyone when some arsehole made an attempt
to join the band on stage, but this was quickly diverted before he got
a foot on there as the bouncers quickly piled in and sorted the idiot
out. Why on earth do these people have to go and spoil things for everyone?
Anyway the audience lapped up every minute of their set which ended
a superb day of seven superb bands. Yeah Burning Rain were great and
so were Enuff Z' Nuff. For me though the bands of the day simply had
to be PRISONER and VON GROOVE closely followed by CONTAGIOUS!!
Let's hope we can see future events at The Ritz, I'm sorry but sound
wise, compared to The Ritz, the sound in MAXIMES simply does not do
justice to the bands who play there. Any future events such as this
one, should from now on be held at The Ritz.
The Ritz is a great venue with a great clear sound, and the bands just
sounded so much better, the atmosphere was great, the bands were great,
the women were sexy, the beer flowed like wine and the venue's staff
were friendly and very helpful and above all the show was very professionally
organized and ran without any problems at all which made the day one
to remember, and the start of a turning point for melodic rock's come
back in the UK. See you at Z Rock part II!!!
Nicky Baldrian
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