Vargas Appice Bogert | VBA
by Nikiforos Skoumas
Staff Writer
After the triumphant return of King Kobra with their self titled album released earlier this year, the team seems to be up for any musical challenge/experimentation that may come their way. This time ‘Kobras’, Paul Shortino and legendary stick-master Carmine Applice join forces with talented up-and-coming Spanish blues/rock guitarist Javier Vargas while reuniting with veteran bassist Tim Bogert (Appice’s band-mate in Vanilla Fudge).
The outcome of this musical union is VBA “Vargas, Bogert and Appice featuring Paul Shortino”. Clearly the project is modeled after the classic “Beck, Bogert & Appice” album of 1973, this time centered on Javier Vargas, without resuming the power trio formation since Shortino lays the vocals on the entire album.
A look at the track-list certifies that VBA is indeed a covers-album of classic rock hits; Predictable as it seems, covering such classics as “Parisienne Walkways,” “You Keep Me Hanging On” and “Surrender” is quite the musical bet for any artist as criticism and comparisons are inevitable. In the case of VBA, the team has chosen an interesting mixture of songs from a list of very different rock bands including Cheap Trick, Paul Rodgers, Rod Stewart, Mike and the mechanics, Deep Purple and AC/DC as well as their own outfits Vanilla Fudge and Beck-Bogert-Appice.
In terms of musical approach, VBA is far more rocking an album that one would expect; the label blues-rock suits them perfectly with the rock aspect often obscuring the busier side. Musically, VBA has little in common with Beck-Bogert-Appice which only makes sense considering the nearly 40-year gap separating the two albums. Instead VBA leans more towards the sound of the latest King Kobra release, perhaps a bit smoother in terms of performances due to the bluesy vibe.
Songs like Purple’s “Speed King” and AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” are far too obvious choices, having been covered excessively by various artists do not leave a lasting, or any, impression. On the other hand “Set Me Free” is a monument of a performance where the full quartet shines and Shortino in particular who sings the song as if it was his own, add to that the horns section and you have a track that alone makes the album worthwhile. “Surrender” is another great delivery being probably the most melodic song on offer where Paul sings in a range higher than his usual making it easily the most exciting tune on VBA. Unfortunately “Parisienne Walkways” does not work as well, as Paul seems to be struggling to stay on top of it, while the guitar parts do not bring any ‘feeling’ into the song.
Conclusively VBA is a quality blues-rock album, baring its fare share of artistic ups and downs; it can sound rather bland and uninteresting on certain tracks while it very well may amaze the listener on others. If you are a fan of the new King Kobra and Carmine’s Guitar Zeus Project, VBA is expected to work best from you.
Genre: Bluesy Hard Rock
Band:
Paul Shortino: Lead Vocals
Javier Vargas: Guitars
Tim Bogert: Bass, Vocals
Carmine Appice: Drums & Percussion, Vocals
Tim Mitchell: Keyboads, Backing Vocals
Track List:
01. Lady (Beck, Bogert, Appice)
02. Surrender (Cheap Trick)
03. Right On (Ray Barretto)
04. Parisienne Walkways (G.Moore & P.Lynott)
05. You Keep Me Hangin’ On (Vanilla Fudge)
06. Soul Of Love (Paul Rodgers)
07. Black Night (Deep Purple)
08. It´s A Long Way To The Top [If You Wanna Rock N Roll] (AC/DC)
09. Tonight Is The Night (Rod Stewart)
10. Over My Shoulder (Mike and The Mechanics)
Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5/10