[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Vivian Campbell - Two Sides of If[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Review by: Sixxswine
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Vivian Campbell will be forever known as the kid that played guitar in Ronnie James Dio’s solo project after leaving Sabbath. Vivian has a rock resume that would put most guitarists of his era to shame, Dio, Whitesnake, The River Dogs, Shadow King and now Def Leppard. When I read that Vivian was doing a blues record, I was instantly curious, I know in recent years Vivian has been trying to shed his reputation as a guitar hero. I was shocked that Vivian was not familiar with stuff by Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, as most of his heroes idolized these blues greats. On Two Sides of If Vivian covers Willie Dixon and Robert Johnson, Vivian handles guitar duties and vocals, Terry Bozzio plays drums, Joan Osborne guests on “Spoonful,” Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is featured on guitar on “Like it this Way,” and the Gibbons penned “Willin’ for Satisfaction.” For a guy that just discovered the genre Campbell starts off strong right out of the blocks. While his vocals have yet to be developed, you don’t have a great delivery in this genre and he does an adequate job. It’s about feeling and I felt what he was trying to get across. My personal favorites on Two Sides of If are; “I’m Ready,” “Come on in My Kitchen,” “The Hunter,” “I Ain’t Superstitious,” “32/20 Blues,” and “Willin’ for Satisfaction.” This is a solid effort, by a guy that didn’t take the easy way out, it would have been easier to do an instrumental record, instead he took a risk and it paid off. If you don’t know blues, this would be a good introduction for you.[/FONT]
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review can be found on www.pivotalrage.com/webzine
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Review by: Sixxswine
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Vivian Campbell will be forever known as the kid that played guitar in Ronnie James Dio’s solo project after leaving Sabbath. Vivian has a rock resume that would put most guitarists of his era to shame, Dio, Whitesnake, The River Dogs, Shadow King and now Def Leppard. When I read that Vivian was doing a blues record, I was instantly curious, I know in recent years Vivian has been trying to shed his reputation as a guitar hero. I was shocked that Vivian was not familiar with stuff by Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, as most of his heroes idolized these blues greats. On Two Sides of If Vivian covers Willie Dixon and Robert Johnson, Vivian handles guitar duties and vocals, Terry Bozzio plays drums, Joan Osborne guests on “Spoonful,” Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is featured on guitar on “Like it this Way,” and the Gibbons penned “Willin’ for Satisfaction.” For a guy that just discovered the genre Campbell starts off strong right out of the blocks. While his vocals have yet to be developed, you don’t have a great delivery in this genre and he does an adequate job. It’s about feeling and I felt what he was trying to get across. My personal favorites on Two Sides of If are; “I’m Ready,” “Come on in My Kitchen,” “The Hunter,” “I Ain’t Superstitious,” “32/20 Blues,” and “Willin’ for Satisfaction.” This is a solid effort, by a guy that didn’t take the easy way out, it would have been easier to do an instrumental record, instead he took a risk and it paid off. If you don’t know blues, this would be a good introduction for you.[/FONT]
Rating: 4/5
[/FONT]review can be found on www.pivotalrage.com/webzine
