Great White – ELATION Review

Great White – Elation review

So, I got my hands on the new Great White CD, Elation, today. I’ve given it a thorough couple listens and thought I would drop my review of it for others that are on the fence about it due to all the rumors/mud slinging currently going on. For those with any reservations, let me put those to rest. The bands has delivered a solid, stomping, rompfest of a CD here.

The songs are as follows:

Something For You: Fast groove with a bit of a Led Zeppelin/Humble Pie feel. Great song that shows the band having a blast. Terry’s voice is very strong and the rhythm section is pumping on full blast.

Feelin’ So Much Better: classic sounding GW guitars. Great lead vocals with backup vocals. Once again, the rhythm section really propels this along.

Love Train: great guitar/harmonica combo in beginning of song. Terry’s vocals extremely bluesy sounding. Hints of old XYZ sneak in here (not a bad thing at all.)  Great bluesy solo without being flashy. Songs are definitely in a groove.

Heart of A Man: Another bluesy rocker with great vocals and groove. Terry’s vocals really are great sounding. There’s a very earthy, gritty passion about the way he sings these songs. The choruses on the songs are very singable. Songwriting on these songs really shine. Mark’s guitar playing is razor sharp throughout.

Hard To Say Goodbye: Great acoustic bluesy ballad. Very strong vocals and hollow body guitar tones. Hints of Steven Tyler-ish vocals at end of song.

Resolution: bluesy rocker, big bass sound, bluesy vocals. Song gets stronger as it goes along. My least favorite track but it’s really grown on me the more I listen to the CD.

Shotgun Willie’s: Great rocker a la Lady Red Light. Catchy as hell vocal harmonies and chorus. Amazing hook. Rhythm section really cooks on this one. You can almost picture the swing doors or the old Saloon on this one.

Promise Land: Terry’s vocals really stand out here. Great chorus again. Another song that’s all about the groove and the song.

Lowdown:  HUGE, nasty sounding guitar riff to start. Has a Rocky Mountain Way type of swagger. Terry’s vocals are perfect for it. The groove of this song is just nasty. This is MY kind of blues song.

Just For Tonight: Another rocker. Has a bit of an Old Rose Motel style vibe to it. Classic Great White sound throughout. The band is firing on all 5 cylinders here. Another nasty groover of a song.

Love Is Enough: slow, smokey ballad with piano intro that moves into a great groove. Perfect combination of the GW and XYZ sounds.

Complicated: Great bar room rocker style song. You could almost hear Spike(Quireboys) singing this one. Guitar and piano are really great on this one.

Conclusion: An overall amazing sounding CD. Top notch production and songwriting really stands out. Terry’s vocals are amazing in all the right places. IMHO, he is a vast improvement over Jack. He carries these songs flawlessly. The guitars smoke and swagger throughout. The rhythm section is in top form as well. They carry the groove of these songs very nicely. Any reservations I had about whether the band could still bring it are emphatically answered here. It’s awesome to see the guys once again not only playing but having FUN doing it.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Love Train, Shotgun Willie’s, Lowdown, Love Is Enough, Just For Tonight

SCORE: 9 out of 10