Axel Rudi Pell - Diamonds Unlocked (11 tracks) +Album Reviews

Beautiful Cover Album.

Ugur Gündüz | Ankara, Turkey | 11/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
I like cover albums. Because, good cover album including good song. Never include bad songs. Diamonds unlocked have very beautiful songs. Specially I love (perfect song)to " like a child again ".

1. The Diamond Overture ; Good overture (messenger for good album)

2. Warrior ; perfect rock sound and power vocal. Perfect riffs. 9/10

3. Beautiful day ; I don't like from U2. But Johny said more good. 9/10

4. Stone ; starting with Super rock sound. 10/10

5. Love gun : Good ballad and good rendition. 9/10

6. Fools game : My favorite song for this album. Awesome vocal. 10/10

7. Heartbreaker : Pure rock and blues. 8/10

8. Rock The Nation : 7/10

9. In The Air Tonight : I am sorry, More bad from my expected. 6/10

10. Like A Child Again: Perfect rendition. Best song of this album. 10/10

11. Won't Get Fooled Again :Good finish. 9/10

If you like 80's metal, just buy it. No regret. You will live nostalgia.

"

Long time Metal, first time ARP

Lawrence Jones | Michigan | 10/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a long time metal fan but just recently discovered Axel Rudi Pell. He's got the guitar style that for me has always hit the spot: Rhoads, Lynch, Vandenberg, etc.

I never knew what I was missing!"

Axel Rudi Pell ~Diamond Unlocked~

RaY RaY Pine | Philly | 10/20/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

""It is not my intention to record songs from other "real" Metal bands (with 1 or 2 exceptions), because the songs are already "metal". We wanna show how songs from other music genres could sound when a Hardrock or Classicrock Band is covering em. That doesn't mean that the record will be strange sounding, no way. It will be typically ARPish and you'll not be disappointed, believe me!"

What can be said for an album like this? Axel Rudi Pell is guitar legend from the 80's that keeps going and going. His work as a solo artist and with Steeler are classic yet, as with most 80's guitar legends, his sound can come off as derivative and somewhat unimaginative.

An album like this is going to appeal to all of the Pell completest and those that have a morbid fascination with seeing a shredder covering U2's "Beautiful Day," which, btw, is just about as bad as you can imagine.

This shouldn't take away from any individual performances. Johnny Gioeli has a great voice, and has for years. He truly makes these songs his own and just from his standpoint, this is a fun CD.

"Love Gun," is just as hysterical to listen to on this trip around as it was when Kiss originally did it. Michael Bolton's "Fool's Game" is still a Michael Bolton song. Nothing can change that. To be fair though, even classic Bolton didn't have a guitar player rip like this!

The song I was most interested in hearing though was "In the Air Tonight," as there have been several cover's of this song. Clocking in a beastly 8:38, Axel takes his time getting into the song. He opens the song with a huge riff and a lot of tapping. Not exactly how I imagined it... but it doesn't destroy the entire feeling, surprisingly. This song, unfortunately though, might be Gioeli's worst performance on an otherwise good disc for him. His voice isn't desperate enough. He's too gruff, too powerful. That's not his fault, it's his natural tone. He does have his moments though. Pell and Terrana do a good job of driving this song forward and the stop and go rhythms are excellent.

Overall I would never suggest this CD to someone spending money. If you're looking for a good time album full of covers that sound like 80's metal songs, this would be the way to go. Though, I'd check out the "In the Air Tonight," cover just to say you did!

"

Unexpected and impressive covers collection

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 10/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I heard the list of artists Axel Rudi Pell would pay tribute to on his 2007 covers collection Diamonds Unlocked, I had to do a double take. I was expecting songs by UFO, Dio, Maiden, Sabbath, and Deep Purple. Instead, the guitar virtuoso opted for some less obvious choices. Here's what you get:

1. The Diamond Overture - This original instrumental track kicks things off, but is pretty unnecessary overall. I'd much rather have seen another cover song.

2. Warrior (Riot) - This was a great choice for Pell. He and vocalist Johnny Gioelli absolutely nail this classic Riot track.

3. Beautiful Day (U2) - I'll give Pell credit for attempting this universally recognized pop song, but the execution just isn't pretty. It's just one of those songs that should never be "metal-ed up".

4. Stone (Chris Rea) - This was a great choice. Pell is the perfect metal guitar hero to take on the noted blues guitarist.

5. Love Gun (KISS) - Pell went acoustic with this one, which was quite unexpected and surprisingly effective

6. Fool's Game (Michael Bolton) - That's right, a Michael Bolton cover. Actually, Bolton's early albums were pretty rockin', and this was one of his better songs. It's just a great melodic rocker, and Pell and Gioelli eat it up.

7. Heartbreaker (Free) - Another relatively bluesy number that seems tailor-made for Pell's guitar playing. I think Gioelli is not quite as well suited for this kind of song, but he does a fair enough job.

8. Rock the Nation (Montrose) - Another good choice both for Pell and Gioelli. They both totally cut loose on this rock anthem.

9. In the Air Tonight (Phil Collins) - This is a tough song to take on, but I think Pell and company did a decent job. It's not the best track on the album, but it's not bad either.

10. Like a Child Again (The Mission UK) - Wow, I definitely did not see this coming. Pell's version of this classic British goth rock track is just sublime. It's one of the highlights of this collection.

11. Won't Get Fooled Again (The Who) - This is a great song to close the album with. You can tell the guys were enjoying themselves with this one.

I'm a little disappointed with the relatively short length of this disc (55 minutes). I think it would have made sense to include Pell's previous cover songs (like Uriah Heep's July Morning, Free's Wishing Well, and Rainbow's Still I'm Sad), but that's a minor complaint (especially since I already have those songs elsewhere).

All told, Diamonds Unlocked is a very effective covers collection that showcases Axel Rudi Pell's talents as well as his diverse influences. Whatever trepidation I had going into this album was soon eased by the reliably high quality of the music. I'd consider this a must-have for Axel Rudi Pell fans, and it should prove interesting for melodic rock and metal fans in general."

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	Axel Rudi Pell Diamonds Unlocked Genres: Pop, Rock, Metal Track Listings (11) - Disc #1 The Diamond Overture Warrior (Riot) Beautiful Day (U2) Stone (Chris Rea / The Law) Love Gun (Kiss) Fools Game (Michael Bolton) Heartbreaker (Free) Rock The Nation (Montrose) In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins) Like A Child Again (The Mission) Won t Get Fooled Again (The Who)
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