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REVIEWS
Rogue Angels is as close to a real solo album as you can get as Robin plays and
sings everything except the drums which are played by long term friend, constant
collaborator and legendary drummer, the brilliant Charlie Morgan.
We kick off with Wild Eyed Beauty Queen which comes charging out of the box with
a storming sliding riff. Wild Eyed Beauty Queen is guitar laden and full of
Robin’s structured harmonies. This definitely deserves to be played LOUD.
Rush elevates the tempo and again is a very catchy and sing along tune, with
Robin’s trademark guitar breaks permeating the song. Like a lot of the other
tracks on this album, you can tell that Robin and Charlie are enjoying
themselves!
Next up and in your face is Dangerous Daisy throwing riffs straight at you.
Dangerous Daisy is guitar laden and then halfway through, ‘BANG!’ Robin lets go
with a full throttle boogie which will surely get those toes tapping. It is an
ode to the many cats Robin has helped rescue.
One of the features of this CD is that you think you have just heard the
strongest song then, like buses, another one comes along time and time again.
The next track Rogue Angels certainly falls into this category; strong in melody
and meaning. Rogue Angels would certainly fit on many a radio playlist. The
track gets to a point where you think it’s all over then suddenly, with much
gusto, it comes back to life! The song moves in a very different direction,
before finishing with that catchy chorus, that aficionados of Robin’s sassy
guitar riffs will instantly recognize.
Next up is another new track, Play Nice; a laid back, moody, bluesy tune with a
dreamy guitar break showing off Robin’s new Chilli Custom Guitar, then we drift
off with another tasty guitar solo.
Red Out follows next and this is another song where the guitar orchestra comes
at you, before Robins vocal harmonies come to get you, the song is like a lot of
Robins tracks, very singable and one you find you’ll be tapping your toes to.
Next up is Go Down Fighting 2018 which again rocks straight into your face and
comes at you fast and furious; raunchier than the History version. Here, Robin
sings in a lower pitch than the original and it really suits the song, bringing
it up to date.
Rocking on, it’s Dancing Shoes Again. The guitar breaks sounds like there is a
surreal six string orchestra zipping riffs at you from all angles, with
Charlie’s drums elevating the track, awesome. rich in harmonies and full of pop
sensibilities. If ever Robin has written a big hit this is it. In places it
reminds me of how the Beatles would sound if they were around today and if this
doesn't henpeck your brain into submission, I'm not sure what would. Pure
brilliance.
After all this energy, we are treated to Surreal Dreams, another track different
in style and structure, and the musical sister of Red Out. It’s a difficult
track to categorize and tells a story of Robin’s days back in the Midlands, wild
women, Rogue Angels and fast cars, punctuated with mellifluous guitar licks.
It’s original, innovative and guides you through a Robin dreamscape.
Dark and Stormy Night arises next and is a rock lullaby, inspired by Robin’s
Dad's bedtime stories and it certainly draws you in deep while adding more shade
to the album and drifts you down a dreamy journey which showcases Robin’s humour
and his love of good ol’ rock & roll.
Love is Blind is the perfect song to finish this stunning album; another of
those moody meaningful blues/rock tracks Robin is renowned for. I love the down
and dirty guitar solo that bonds things together and the ingenious guitar riffs
that underpin some magnificent drumming from Charlie. It’s definitely a song
that leaves you wanting more…and more!
https://www.metallivillezine.com/robin-george
Vivienne Leonard Review
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https://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=20935
George, Robin: Rogue Angels
Recent times
have seen Robin George both reappraise his incredible back catalogue and release
an impressive stream of new albums. Rogue Angels
is his latest set of fresh recordings and for a man long known for high profile
collaborations (Robert Plant, Phil Lynott, Glenn Hughes etc), there’s a certain
irony that this almost purely solo effort is undoubtedly one of his best. Having
worked together regularly throughout their careers, drummer Charlie Morgan is
once again the man behind Robin’s beat, the kind of telepathic bond that only
time can build hugely benefiting a set of songs that positively burst with vim
and vigour. With Robin handling everything else, the cohesive and ‘band’ nature
of Rogue Angels really has to be experienced to be
fully appreciated; the fire that burns bright from the very second “Wild Eyed
Beauty Queen” comes into being completely knocking you sideways with the pure
energy it possesses.
That Robin is arguably best known for bothering the charts in the 80s, and his
ability to write songs that show other artists at their best, it’s often
forgotten that he’s a heck of a guitarist, and with his foot thoroughly stamped
on the distortion pedal, the irresistible little guitar runs that add colour and
intrigue to “Dangerous Daisy” and the album’s title track (which, if I’m not
mistaken, cleverly nods towards George’s biggest hit, “Heartline”) instantly
snag the ear and won’t let go. A second look over the shoulder arrives in the
shape of “Go Down Fighting 2018”, Robin’s debut single given a meaty reworking
here and thriving in this updated form. Throughout, Robin refers lyrically to
his long held ethos of LovePower & Peace, the theme of love conquering all and
having the power to bring about peace, if we’d only let it, revisited numerous
times across these songs and lending them an uplifting quality in the process.
Something which comes across again and again in the crafted layers that are used
to accentuate the insistent vocals. However, when you feel the obvious love and
joy that the likes of “Dancing Shoes Again”, “Rush” and “Surreal Dream” have all
been created with, then the same ethos also comes across in the hook laden music
and, dare I say it, some of the best guitar solos Robin has ever pulled from his
fretboard.
Over a vast and varied career Robin George has created a hugely eclectic body of
work, but with the hard rocking, blues edged energy of
Rogue Angels it really feels like this singer, guitarist and songwriter is
making music that completely satisfies his creative need. Surely it’s no
coincidence that it also comes across as one of the most impressive albums he’s
put his name to.
Track Listing
1. Wild Eyed Beauty Queen
2. Rush
3. Dangerous Daisy
4. Rogue Angels
5. PlayNice
6. RedOut
7. Go Down Fighting 2018
8. Dancing Shoes Again
9. Surreal Dream
10. Dark & Stormy Night
11. Love Is Blind
http://www.themidlandsrocks.com/robin-george-rogue-angels/
Still Fighting . . .
Released by
Angel Air Music on 18 May 2018, and reviewed by Brian McGowan
Robin George‘s
career has been well documented. The archetypal nearly man – the usual mix of
talent, high points and near misses – songs covered by Robert Plant, Glenn
Hughes, short lived musical partnerships with David Byron and Phil Lynott, and
on and on.
The stark fact
that those opportunities have gone and his time has passed hasn’t stopped George
from making great melodic rock. The niche maybe small but George fits it like
the proverbial glove.
Every track is
the same – a grinding clang of tuneful guitars, heavy duty beats and gorgeous
melodies, snaking and spiralling around a production that combines grit and
sophistication in equal measure. And every track is different – ‘Rush’ and
‘Dancing Shoes Again’ percolate eighties’ AOR through colourful filters of
seventies glam rock – Barrett meets Bolan confections; ‘Dangerous Daisy’
suddenly, delightfully hauls a great chorus from the darkness into the light,
and ‘Rogue Angel’, the title track, proves that ‘Heartline’s great riff has
never died, and in fact has no plans to fade away.
Over the
years, since debut solo album,
Dangerous Games
(1985), George’s songs and production have gained an instantly identifiable
style. Themes of love, peace and perseverance are now hardwired into his lyrics…
touchingly referring to maternal inspiration on ‘Play Nice’, and resurrecting
‘Go Down Fighting’s ode to the common man, on this 2018 version. Musically, he
has perfected the “Alien” technique, where great melodies burst forth from an
arrangement seemingly stitched together from fragments of guitar, bass and drum
harmonies… especially effective on ‘Surreal Dream’ and ‘Wild Eyed Beauty Queen’.
Where so many
Eighties AOR survivors come back with albums mired in the sound of dead horses
being flogged, George gives the genre’s faded grandeur a fresh coat of paint.