Once more upon a time6/29/2023 ![]() It takes you right back to those early records seemingly effortlessly! It’s the early Angel sounds of ‘Without You’ though that really pulls you in again. It’s a nice hard rocker that treads a well-worn path lyrically and whilst not a stand out for me it’s worth your time. Pitching the album right is a wonderfully rocky ride as then we are treated to ‘Rock Star’ that seems to grab a snatch of ‘Layla’ to open. Honestly this could be my favourite part of the whole album! As is ‘Turn the Record Over’ which has that wonderful ‘Sinful’ vibe. It’s a wonderful Soul-infused number that though stunningly and completely out of place is simply wonderful. ‘Let it Rain’ is a wonderful song with some nice ELO overtones and great melodies that steady the ship nicely!īut if you want ‘parping’ synth then ‘Psyclone’ even has those space noises that were discontinued in the late 80’s but it’s fucking great! If you want and crave those authentic Angel sounds of yesteryear then this is one for you! And this for me is where things really come alive and it just doesn’t stop! ‘Blood of My Blood, Bone of My Bone’ starts off with a horn-like synth pattern more like old school Rhythm and Blues than Rock and Roll and those sweet backing vocals just add to the overall sound. And if you think the song is overblown then the breakdown is even more preposterous than those boys could come up with on a tequila and absinth binge! As much as I may cringe though on one level on another it is sublime! You love Pomp? Then this might be the most Pomp of all!Īfter that double white satin moment the waterfall and piano that open ‘Let it Rain’ thankfully bring you back to Earth. It’s not all gold though… The title track might just have the cheesiest lyrics I’ve heard this Century and then some! As a song ‘Once Upon a Time a Devil and an Angel Fell in Love (And it Did Not End Well)’ is like Andrew Lloyd Webber got drunk with Jim Steinman one night and created a rock opera on the back of a beermat. ![]() The first nugget comes with ‘It’s Alright’ – the Synth-infused light Rocker that graced albums like Sinful – it’s gloriously unashamedly 1979 again! It’s also a great choice for a first single and builds upon the early promise. And it doesn’t take long to make that strike. It’s a great way to open the new record and whilst it may not blow old or new fans away there’s enough in the opening to suggest there may be gold ahead. It’s a great opener and ‘Black Moon Rising’ that follows doubles down with some great guitar and wonderful melodies. Opener ‘The Torch’ has the wonderfully early Angel overblown sound that I loved as a kid but with a distinctly modern sheen that rounds off the excesses and sharpens the guitars. at the end of the 70’s ( probably a good thing in retrospect) so as I basked in the wonder of 1979’s ‘Sinful’ which I still consider one of the greatest albums of all time, I could get away without a bashing from the Punks and the Skins and the Mods as I carried my Kiss and Angel albums home.Īngel of course have rekindled the flame before with the ‘early days’ vibe of ‘In the Beginning’ back in 1999, but it was the second reformation of the band with Frank and Punky in 2019 and the resulting album ‘Risen’ that things really seemed to click and 4 years later here we are with ‘Once Upon a Time’ featuring the same line up as that album. Sadly white satin was in hard supply in the U.K. Angel was a band from the West Coast – another Universe entirely! seemed to be obsessed with Punk when I was playing ‘On Earth as it is in Heaven’, in truth I largely missed connecting with punk – to me The Clash and the Pistols were pale imitators of the past – bands like MC5, The Stooges, The New York Dolls, Blondie and Talking Heads – East Coast U.S. A band that wore all white had a spectacular stage show and were the complete embodiment of Pomp Rock – I loved it, and as a kid could never get enough even if those dreams were an ocean away in the U.S. Angel was of course everything that was over the top, overblown and gloriously outrageous about the 70’s.
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