THE BAND:
Carl Sentance - vocals/guitars
Chris Childs - bass
Don Airey - keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 5, 8,9,10,11
Harry James - drums
TRACK FRAGMENTS:
1.) “Rain” – The intro to this track opens with a very simple rhythm guitar riff. There is what sounds to be a double tracked minor lead guitar solo connecting the intro riff with the first lyric line of the opening verse. There also is a small lead vocal accent opening the first verse. This vocal accent that Carl does was very reminiscent of older Steve Perry Stuff (pre-‘Frontiers’). Carl kind of lays back on the rhythm riffs of the musical verse letting Chris’s bass line carry the music. There is a small minor lead guitar solo connecting the first verse with the pre-chorus. This solo runs underneath the vocal lines of the chorus. You can tell Carl added a nice little hook to the lead vocals of the chorus. The last lyric line of the first pre-chorus was double tracked a couple of times. This gives the effect that they’re several back-up vocalists. There is a minor solo that connects the chorus. The bass and drum lines are so full on this track that you really can’t hear Don’s keyboard at all. Carl chose the perfect guitar effect for the major guitar solo of this song. There is a small breakdown section connecting the two guitar solo halves together. There is a minor lead guitar solo along with a lead vocal accent over the top of the outro section of the song.
2.) “Mind Doctor” – The special effect that ends track one opens track two. This intro opens with several Carl lead guitar licks over the top of the rest of the guys following suit. On a few of these lead licks Carl added a little vibrato to the ending note. Every fourth note was either a solo lead guitar note or a Harry James tom-tom fill. It seems the way Carl wrote the intro has, four lead guitar licks, then three lead guitar licks-Harry James tom-tom fill. Don Airey connects the intro with the musical verse with a heavily influence Jon Lord of Deep Purple keyboard riff. The rhythm guitar riffs of the musical verse are in sync with Don’s keyboard arrangement. There is a small lead vocal accent over the top of the musical pre-verse. The opening two lead vocal accents kind of give the song an older Bad Co. feel. However, just as soon as Carl starts to sing the first verse you begin to see why Krokus made the decision to replace Marc with Carl when Marc made the decision to leave the band. Musically the verse was a cross between seventies AC/DC with Marc of Krokus singing. There is a minor lead guitar solo underneath the lead vocal lines of the musical verse. For the chorus Carl kept both the vocals and music very simple. There is a small minor solo connecting the first chorus with the second verse. In fact, there is a solo section connecting everything together. The song really does not have an actual lead guitar solo just a string of minor solos.
3.) “Girl’s Got Fire” –This track opens with a very simple AC/DC influenced intro section. There is a small rhythm guitar overdub connecting the musical intro with the musical verse. Carl’s vocals are heavily influenced by Marc Storace. There is a minor lead guitar lick connecting the pre-verse with the verse. The lead/backing vocals of the chorus were taken right from an AC/DC fake book. There is a second minor solo in between the second and third lyric line if the verse. The chorus was arranged in a classic AC/DC style. There are times when Carl really shows his vocal control on this track. Much like the song the solo was very laid back. There is a breakdown section after the solo connecting the solo section with the next verse.
4.) “In My Dream” – Harry James opens this track with a huge sounding drum pattern. There is a minor lead guitar solo over the top of the main intro. The musical verse consisted of Carl double tracking two different rhythm guitar riffs. There is a rhythm guitar change underneath the musical chorus. There was a backing vocal harmony section added to the third lyric line of the first chorus. There is a small musical rest underneath the last lyric line of the first chorus. Several lyric lines of the next chorus where double tracked. The breakdown section had a solid groove to it. Even though the song has a very abstract sound to it and so far the worst on the release, the longer the song progresses the more it draws you in. Being a former musician I can see musically was Carl was coming from however as a fan most people will skip to the next track.
5.) “Believe” –The acoustic guitar that opens this intro has a Jimmy Page “Battle of Evermore” from Led Zeppelin ‘4’ (Though fans call this release ‘IV’, there never was no actual titled to the album.) feel to it. About four seconds into the intro Harry kicks the drum pattern in with a bass drum kick. As the intro builds Carl adds a second guitar rhythm that is electric. There is a very laid back melodic minor lead guitar solo over the top of the main musical intro. The musical verse consisted an acoustic guitar arrangement. In between the second and third lyric line there is a small lead guitar lick. Every other lyric line of the chorus consisted of a backing harmony. There is a minor wah-wah lead guitar solo connecting the first chorus with the second verse. There are small lead guitar licks underneath the lyric lines of the second verse. Carl sings a string of lead vocal accents over the top of the first half of the lead guitar solo.
6.) “Life Goes On” – This intro is kind of reminiscent of Thunder. This only makes since since two of the band members were members of Thunder. There is a small lead guitar solo connecting the intro to the musical verse. The last four lyric lines of the verse were double tracked. There is a small rhythm guitar change for the simple chorus arrangement. There is a minor lead guitar solo connecting the first chorus with the second verse. If you could imagine Marc Storace of Krokus singing for Thunder than this is what this song sounds like.
7.) “Revolution” – This track opens with a very simple musical intro that consisted of two different rhythm guitar riffs. In many ways this intro reminded me a lot of the stuff Deep Purple wrote on their ‘Perfect Strangers’ release. There is a small rhythm riff change for the musical verse. Every last lyric of each lyric line of the verse were echoed. There is a small lead guitar lick connecting the pre-chorus with the chorus. Musically this song is structured very simply and allows Carl to showcase his vocal skills.
8.) “I Want Your Name” – There is a small lead guitar solo over the top of this intro. In the way Carl wrote the lyric lines give the song almost early eighties feel. The musical verse consisted of two different rhythm guitar arrangements. There is a minor lead guitar lick underneath the vocal lines of the chorus. Gene Simmons of KISS always said when it comes to songwriting remember one thing…Keep It Simple Stupid…and that is exactly what Carl did with this song.
9.) “Don’t Walk Away” – The intro to this ballad consisted of acoustic guitars and piano. Carl & Don used the same musical arrangements for the musical verse as the intro. I loved the way they overdubbed Carl’s backing vocals on the chorus. After the first chorus Harry kicks-in the drum line. There isn’t much you can say about this track outside of the fact it is very laid back and subtle showcasing every musician talent.
10.) “Crazy” - Don Airy opens this song up with a Jon Lord of Deep Purple influenced organ arrangement. Carl’s vocal lines of the verse have a sixties psychedelic feel to them. There are two minor lead guitar solos laced within the vocal lines of the musical verse. Chris’s bass line really bleeds through the arrangement during the musical choruses of the song. This song has a very abstract feel to it and is cool as hell!
11.) “Fire Rock” - In many ways this song is very difficult to breakdown because there is so much going on yet, it is so laid back and simple. All one can really say is it really expresses Carl’s writing ability.
12.) “Old School” –There is a small minor lead guitar solo over the top of his intro section. The minor solo bleeds into the arrangement change of the musical verse. The rhythm guitar riffs of the song have a Malcolm Young feel to them. The musical and lyrical verse was taken right from a Krokus fake book. If you are a fan of classic hard rock how in the hell could you not like this song!!!!
The first time I heard the name Carl Sentence was when I reviewed legendary keyboardist Don Airey’s release titled, ‘Light In The Sky’. The three songs Carl sang off the release completely blew me away! So I was thrilled when asked to review this freshman solo CD. Most music fans like me will notice first thing is Carl’s back-up band, Don Airey on keyboards and Thunder members Harry James (drums) and Chris Childs (bass). I propose one question?
However, this review is not about Don, Harry or Chris, it is about Carl. Carl as three things going for him, songwriting, guitar playing and vocals, speaking of which Carl’s Marc Storace of Krokus vocals alone will make this CD worth having!
Even though the rescission is world-wide and music fans just can’t run out and buy every CD they want or hear. I can say with all honesty ’Mind Doctor’ is one that will be well worth your hard earned money!!!! As far as Carl sounding like Marc Storace, all I will say is Marc ought to count his blessings he got his job back!