Search - Glenn Hughes :: Songs in the Key of Rock

Run - Don't Walk, RUN! - To Get This

El Kabong | 09/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thank GAWD for the inner demons that nearly destroyed Glenn Hughes back in the 80s when he had all but vanished from music...because, if he hadn't faced his personal gotterdammerung and emerged whole and victorious, we would all have been cheated of this most extraordinary second wind that's caught his sails since '92. I know that we all equate intrinsic worth with sales charts and popularity - or at least we're schooled to - but you need to know this: regardless of radio and MTV's neglect, regardless of the iffy US distribution Hughes albums and projects receive, and regardless of the fact that 9 out of 10 kids don't even know who he is, there is no more electrifying hard-rock artist currently active than Glenn Hughes. The dozen or so cds he's released these past 10 years, under his own name & in collaborative projects, are such beautifully crafted gems - they almost glow - that it's regoddamdiculous that he's still referred to as 'ex-Trapeze' or 'ex-Deep Purple'. Bosh. His entire second career to date has altogether eclipsed his first, by finally coalescing the divergent styles he loves - raucous funk, chilled-out soul and unapolegetic rock - in perfect symmetry. This man is ALIVE at 52 in a way he never even approached at 25; if you require proof of that, plant your mitts on a copy of this new one, SONGS IN THE KEY OF ROCK, which climbs and climbs till it hits cruising altitude at somewhere around 30,000 feet up. Not a bad track to be found, and most importantly....and unlike many of his classic-rock contemporaries...there are no generic formula tracks here either. Each song is like a little piece of what makes Glenn Hughes tick: fierce, vibrant, crackling with spontaneous combustion. And when he takes it down a notch for something cool and contemplative, you're left just as stunned by his emotion and consummate mastery of craft. Look, kids, you have a choice here: you can either begin scarfing up the Glenn Hughes catalog NOW, starting with this album, or you can wait until he's inevitably 'rediscovered' by the critics later, when his records will be REALLY hard to find.
My suggestion is to dive right in and find out what you've been missing - and keep an eye out for the many side-projects Glenn contributes to as well, such as Voodoo Hill, the Hughes-Turner Project, Nikolo Kotzev, the LA Blues Authority, John Norum and a panoply of otherwise-unremarkable-but-for-Glenn's-tracks tribute albums. He's no longer "formerly of" anyone or anything: Glenn Hughes has quietly compiled a body of work that stands alone, on its own two feet. And SONGS might just be his crowning achievement thus far."

Great stuff

Mr. R. Van Schelven | Leidschendam, The Netherlands | 01/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What can I say. I just like this CD. Just good "hard-rock" with a great sauce of soul and funck as to expected from Glenn. He still has an excellent voice.
Highly recommended."