{"id":56514,"date":"2017-12-31T09:58:18","date_gmt":"2017-12-31T14:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=56514"},"modified":"2017-12-31T13:59:18","modified_gmt":"2017-12-31T18:59:18","slug":"jaimz-vokins-time-machine-music-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2017\/jaimz-vokins-time-machine-music-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaimz Vokins | Time Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n— Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"The tendency among the renowned acts to record the cover albums paying homage to their early influences seems to grow these days. It always evokes mixed emotions among listeners \u2013 especially those who dare to think the lack of new, original ideas might have been the cause of that sudden desire to pay tribute to one\u2019s music heroes. It has to be admitted that the cover albums are usually somewhat of a filler among the respective artist\u2019s works, no matter how good the delivered versions would have been. Also, they quench the fans\u2019 thirsts only to certain extent. In the case of Steevi Jaimz, the former Tigertailz singer whose most recent full length saw the light of day almost a decade ago, the cover album might not have been exactly what his listeners waited for. Obviously, that doesn\u2019t mean that Time Machine, a cover compilation released with the guitar player Phil Vokins (ex-Persian Risk, ex-Tyrant and Wrathchild) under the moniker of Jaimz Vokins is a worthless album. Actually, it\u2019s quite the contrary.<\/p>\n

Time Machine<\/em> starts with \u201cBabylon\u2019s Burning,\u201d originally a 1979 song by the Punk Rock act The Ruts. Jaimz does his best Punk-ish impersonation here, successful at proving that Glam Metal and Punk are not that drastically far from each other style-wise. His interpretation also sounds surprisingly genuine as far as conveying the message of the angry and the disillusioned is concerned. And talking about disillusion \u2013 \u201cLook At Last Nite\u201d is a bitter Slade song off their Slayed?<\/em> album, here reproduced in all its glory minus Noddy Holder\u2019s signature howl in the song\u2019s outro. Phil Vokins steps forward in the third track which is the duo\u2019s take on Rory Gallagher\u2019s \u201cPhilby,\u201d a groovy and feisty piece of Blues Rock. <\/p>\n

Some may find the choice of Gordon Lightfoot\u2019s \u201cIf You Could Read My Mind\u201d as the next song on the album a bit surprising. The sentimental, wistful ballad doesn\u2019t quite match Steevi Jaimz\u2019s usual style, but even more surprisingly, the singer rises up to the challenge with a less polished yet heartfelt performance. \u201cGod In Louisiana,\u201d first recorded by ex-Sex Pistols guitar player Steve Jones, retained the sinister aura of the original albeit with a slightly Southern Rock vibe added to it. A theme song to the 1974 film of the same name, \u201cStardust\u201d abandons the psychedelic, a bit Bowie-esque sound of the original in favor of emphasizing the track\u2019s Blues element. It therefore becomes a confession of a weathered Rock singer, something Steevi Jaimz might have felt particularly comfortable at after years of experience in the music industry. <\/p>\n

\u201cGypsies, Tramps And Thieves\u201d is an atmospheric vocal duet between Jaimz and ex-The Runaways singer Cherie Currie, the latter being notably good at recreating Cher\u2019s signature notes known from the original performance of the song. The 1970s being still on Jaimz\u2019s eponymous time machine, he delivers rather unremarkable version of Tom Petty\u2019s \u201cThe Wild One, Forever\u201d before revisiting his Punk roots again with Magazine\u2019s \u201cShot By Both Sides.\u201d <\/p>\n

Next to the last song on the album, \u201cShot By Sides\u201d precedes what is \u2018only\u2019 a bonus track but also perhaps the best cover and also the biggest surprise for Steevi Jaimz\u2019s staunch fans. It\u2019s a re-recorded version of Tigertailz\u2019 1987 single \u201cLivin\u2019 Without You.\u201d Stripped down to an acoustic arrangement, its choruses no longer big and catchy, the song turns out to be the real highlight of the entire album. This proves there was some point in all that unplugged craze in the early and mid-1990s. Perhaps there\u2019s no exaggeration in Glam Metal artists saying that the songs we associate with the genre\u2019s larger-than-life aesthetics were really nothing but fueled-up and electrified tales of love and life written on a cheap acoustic guitar\u2026? <\/p>\n

Overall, Time Machine<\/em> is an enjoyable journey back to the past provided by the duo of Jaimz and Vokins, and perhaps it\u2019ll remind their peers about some obscure tracks of their youth. It may also teach the younger listeners a lesson about \u201870s Glam Rock, Punk and everything in between. And isn\u2019t that what the cover albums are for\u2026? Other than that, the versions the duo delivers are hardly a novelty, and their adherence to the original sound of every song fails to surprise a listener (with an obvious final exception to the rule). Let\u2019s hope it\u2019s only a matter of time when the apparent musical chemistry between the former Tigertailz singer and the current Wrathchild guitarist results in genuinely new material. <\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nSteevi Jaimz – vocals
\nPhil Vokins – guitars<\/p>\n

Tracklist:
\n1. Babylon’s Burning
\n2. Look At Last Nite
\n3. Philby
\n4. If You Could Read My Mind
\n5. God In Louisiana
\n6. Stardust
\n7. Gypsies Tramps & Thieves (ft Cherie Currie)
\n8. The Wild One, Forever
\n9. Shot By Both Sides
\n10. Living Without You (Bonus track)<\/p>\n

Label: AOR Blvd. Records<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: [usr 6 size=20]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska — Sr. Columnist — The tendency among the renowned acts to record the cover albums paying homage to their early influences seems to grow these days. It always evokes mixed emotions among […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":56511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[14082,14086,14080,2847,12354,14084,14083,12789,12132,12788,14081,14085,13304],"class_list":{"0":"post-56514","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music-reviews","8":"tag-aor-blvd-records","9":"tag-cherie-currie","10":"tag-jaimz-vokins","11":"tag-melodic-hard-rock","12":"tag-music-review","13":"tag-persian-risk","14":"tag-phil-vokins","15":"tag-steevi-jaimz","16":"tag-the-runaways","17":"tag-tigertailz","18":"tag-time-machine","19":"tag-tyrant","20":"tag-wrathchild"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}