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Review of:
Jamilya's
Over The Edge (1997)
Reviewed by Tawny Khat on August 13, 2009
CD provided courtesy of Aces High Management.
CD cover concept and art direction by Barbara Weigand
Tracks:
1. Run For Your Life
2. Rock To The Edge
3. Sticky Situation
4. I Will Remember You
5. Knights Of Glory
6. Can't Stand The Heartache
7. Before The Moment
8. Moment Of Silence
9. Steal Away
10. Like Father Like Son
I had never heard of Jamilya prior to being contacted to do this review, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this album. This is actually the band's second album, the first having been released in 1993. Jamilya is a tight, extremely talented band with a melodic, progressive style in the same vein as bands like Tyketto, Dream Theater and Queensryche. During their career they've opened for the likes of Billy Squier, Firehouse, Kansas, Electric Light Orchestra, Enuff Z'nuff, Pat Travers and Blackfoot.
Hailing from Chicago, Jamilya is vocalist Kevin Willison, guitarist Lou Jamilya, bassist Marc Ralston, keyboardist Stan Stocki and drummer Tony Napolitano. Kevin has a phenomenal voice, kind of a cross between TNT's Tony Mills and Stryper's Michael Sweet. And, Lou is truly a guitar virtuoso. Why he's not a household name like Satriani and others is beyond me. His guitar work is just amazing.
Standout tracks on this album are “Sticky Situation”, “I Will Remember You”, “Can't Stand The Heartache”, “Before The Moment” and “Moment Of Silence”. “Sticky Situation” almost reminds me of something the band Europe would do. It has a fantastic guitar solo. “I Will Remember You” is an acoustic ballad. As you may know I'm not usually one for ballads, but I found myself drawn in by the beautiful guitar playing on this track, as well as the superb vocals. I was also carried away by the killer guitar work on the instrumental track “Before The Moment”. My two favorite tunes are “Can't Stand The Heartache” and “Moment Of Silence”. Both songs have a haunting quality, similar to Queensryche's material, that I find particularly appealing.
This is definitely an
album worth checking out, especially for fans of Tyketto, Dream
Theater and Queensryche, since, as I stated earlier, this band is in
that same genre. You can find their albums on Amazon
Review of
Juliet's Vice
"Decadence & Romance" (2008)
Reviewed by Tawny Khat on March 26, 2009
CD cover photos by Jeremy Stockton (www.myspace.com/jstockphoto)
Provided courtesy of Juliet's Vice
Tracks:
1. Goin' Down
2. Lovin' Comes Easy
3. Tear Down the Walls
4. Gimme a Reason
5. Jaded
6. I Can't Take It
7. Fade Away
8. Bitch
9. Second Chance
10. Backseat Romeo
11. Rock 'N Roll Party
Juliet's Vice (I love the name) is a Philly based band made up of members Dan Parsels (lead/backing vocals & lead guitar), Damian MonteCarlo (lead/backing vocals & guitar), Stevie Lang (bass & backing vocals), and Johnny Tuscadero (drums & backing vocals). The band formed late in the summer of 2007, so they haven't been together very long. I have to start off by giving them credit for being one of the few new sleaze bands in the U.S. The glam/sleaze rock genre has been making a much slower comeback here in the U.S. than elsewhere in the world, especially Europe. Sure, a lot of the 80s bands still draw large audiences, but there are far too few new bands taking up the torch and running with it. The fan base is out there, we just need the bands! I hope that bands like Juliet's Vice are just the first of many more to come.
This CD, "Decadence & Romance", is the band's debut full-length album. Four of the songs on this release, "Bitch", "Lovin' Comes Easy", "I Can't Take It", and "Rock 'N Roll Party", were also released on a self-titled EP earlier in 2008. This is a hard rockin' sleaze band whose influences include early KISS, New York Dolls, early Crue, Ratt, L.A. Guns and GN'R, among others.
The album starts off strong with the tracks "Goin' Down" and "Lovin' Comes Easy". "Goin' Down" is a raucous, head bangin', fun tune, and "Lovin' Comes Easy", one of my favorite tracks from the album, is a great song that falls somewhere in the sleaze spectrum between Faster Pussycat and Skid Row. I like hearing new bands that, although they're influenced by some of the great 80s bands, don't try to be clones of those bands. That's where this band has succeeded. They don't sound like any other band, but it's obvious they're influenced by those great "hair" bands. They've managed to come up with a sound and style all their own, which is as it should be.
After the first two songs I feel the album starts to lose momentum, however. The next few songs come off as filler. They're OK tunes, but nothing to write home about. That changes when "Bitch" comes on, however. It's a killer tune and I absolutely love the bass line in this song. It has kind of a Faster Pussycat feel. The album wraps up with another of my favorites, "Rock N' Roll Party". This is the most glam sounding song on the album, especially the fun and catchy chorus.
The band sounds pretty solid throughout this album, and the guitar work is top-notch. The guitar solos are great and not overdone. Another thing they have going for them is that most of the songs have catchy choruses, and after a few listens you find yourself easily singing along to them. The vocals are interesting, though. At times I love how the vocals sound, but at other times I find them lacking a bit. It's almost as if the vocalists (and I can't tell the two vocalists apart by listening to them) are at times struggling. Overall, I like the sound of their voices, but perhaps some vocal training to increase range and control may be helpful. Other than that, this is a decent debut and definitely worth a listen. I think after the band matures as a group and becomes more polished they're going to do some great things. The strong foundation is there, now they just need to build a cathouse on it!
For more info and to check out the band's music for yourself, go to the Juliet's Vice MySpace Page.
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