www.hardrockhideout.com

Great White seems to live by the old addage “If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It” and after 27 years, 12 original studio albums, and countless live and compilation albums it has worked, but sometimes even if it doesn’t need fixed a little tweaking can do wonders. On their newest release “Rising” the guys could have definitely used a little tweaking. Now don’t get me wrong “Rising” rocks it just doesn’t rock hard enough at least on a consistent basis.”Rising” starts out promising enough as the first three tracks “Situation”, “All Or Nothin’”, and “I Don’t Mind” are absolutely vintage Great White. Jack Russell’s voice is still one of the best in the business and doesn’t sound like it has lost in power over the years as some singers are prone to do. Newcomer, bassist, Scott Snyder makes his presence known right from the start with a great foot tapping bass line on “Situation” and follows it up with another great performance on “All Or Nothin’”. The rest of the band, guitarist,  Mark Kendall, who is still one of the most underrated players in the music business, guitarist/keyboard Michael Lardie, and drummer Audie Desbrow are all outstanding and give solid performances from start to finish.

The problem I have with “Rising” are the songs themselves. They seem to be stuck in the mid-tempo range and rarely break out into full fledged rockers I have come to expect from Great White, with “Danger Zone” being the one exception, and to be completely honest they just aren’t very memorable. Of the 12 tracks on this album there are 4 songs I would consider standout tracks as I said before ”Situation”, “All Or Nothin’”, and “I Don’t Mind” are all vintage Great White and you can add the ballad “Only You Can Do” to that list also. “Loveless” is almost there but it is missing that little something extra to make it special. It would not surprise me at all if a country artist ended up covering “Is It Enough” or “the Last Chance”, even the versions on “Rising” could get airplay on today’s country stations. The rest of the songs are just there more like background music than anything you would crank the stereo up too.

I’m sure for the fans just discovering Great White “Rising” will fill their cup, but for lifelong fans, like myself, “Rising” will definitely leave you feeling a little deflated. “Rising” is a prime example of the pieces being better than the whole.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:

01. Situation
02. All Or Nothin’
03. I Don’t Mind
04. Shine
05. Loveless
06. It Is Enough
07. Last Chance
08. Danger Zone
09. Down On The Level
10. Only You Can Do
11. My Sanctaury
12. Let’s Spend The Night Together

Great White is:

Jack Russell – vocals
Michael Lardie – guitars, keyboards
Mark Kendall – guitars
Scott Snyder – bass
Audie Desbrow – drums