GETREADYTOROCK's 5/5 review, leading to VALHALLA
being voted the best
album of 2009
The
album title may not be original and the band name
may have done the rounds for close on 40 years,
but with ‘Valhalla’ Del Bromham has
just cut his best ever album. From the excellent
art work of bass player Stuart Uren to Del’s
effervescent guitar work and his best ever vocal
performance, ‘Valhalla’ is a triumph.
And the main reason for the quantum leap is simply
the consistency of the kick ass rock songs, the
thoughtful lyrics and a state of the art production
that is easily the best in Stray’s career.
‘Vahalla’ rocks from the off with a
big drum sound and the sort of killer guitar work
that anyone who has witnessed this power trio would
expect. It’s hard to believe Del only stepped
out to belatedly front his own version of Stray
in the mid 90s.
Quite
why he never did this before is as much to do with
the band’s democracy of old as with his self
deprecating lack of confidence. But that clearly
is in the past because ‘Vahalla’ is
the sort of powerful rock album that will surely
cement the current resurrection of Stray’s
recording career.
From
the soaring guitars of the opening ‘Move a
Mountain’ to the Zeppelin influenced ‘Dirt
Finger, this album takes no prisoners. And while
the hard rock edge is given a welcome and powerful
update by producer Chris Tsangarides (Gary Moore,
Lizzy, Malmsteen, Sabbath), it is songs such as
‘1600 Pennsylvania Avenue’ that push
this CD to the very top of Del’s recording
output. The above track combines a cutting edge
rock arrangement a with poignant lyrics and a big
chorus, while the following ‘Free At Last’
rocks out with rare abandon and is destined to become
a live favourite.
There can be very few bands who in their fifth decade
cut a career best album, but Del’s has managed
it with plenty to spare. He relishes the big studio
sound and the intuitive production that tellingly
pays as much attention to his vocals as to his characteristic
rocking edge. But when it does come to the guitar
parts suffice it to say that Bromham’s playing
is a joy, being full of imaginative runs, colourful
tones and oodles of dexterity. On ‘Free at
Last’ he’s pushed to the limit by a
killer rhythm section and cleverly unravels the
song’s dynamic as the solo careers into a
wall of psychedelic wah wah and arpeggios, leaving
the listener with nothing to do but crank up the
volume and enjoy!
Del
further adds some sterling guitar work on the impressive
historical biography of ‘Harry Farr’
a number that is carried along on the back of an
impressive melody line, a pounding rhythm track,
some venomous lyrics and a U2 style sing-along chorus.
This really is cracking stuff.
For the rest there’s a mix of riff driven
guitar work, a tough rocker in the shape of ‘Sing(The
Song)’ and some unlikely 70’s ‘Shaft’
sounding funk and synth-strings on ‘Rainy
Days Blues’. Drummer Karl Randall even adds
a staccato Rush style drum pattern on ‘24/7’
with Del blazing his way through several chord changes
before the hugely enjoyable album finishes with
some refracted Beatlesy vocal touches on the closing
‘You’.
‘Valhalla’
is an album that showcases both Del’s strengths
singularly and the band’s abrasive style collectively
and unlike just about anyone else from his era,
‘Valhalla’ has dragged the band’s
70’s rooted brand name into the 21st century
with plenty to spare.
