Glenn Hughes-"Chosen"

 

GH says this is going to be his last-solo- album and if this is true he closes a prolific career with a real winner. You could easily expect him to rest on his laurels but a man who has played with almost anyone  and has come back from chocolate and coke addiction can still pen tunes like "Heal" a magnificent mid tempo grandiose rocker. He pays his respect to his 70s roots with the Zeppelinesque "In the golden". What is the most astonishing reality, especially if you haven't caught him live on stage lately is how bright and strong his voice,soulful and with a great alteration between high and low octaves, is a true delight to listen to. Opener "Voice in my head" is a true tour de force, groovy,heavy and with a solid,bit funky performance from Hughes who makes his terms non negotiable from the start, funk, hard rock and soulful vocals is the name of his game and you have to respect it and accept it."My alibi" keeps the structure of the punchy hard rock song with the groove but has a dark bass groove that Hughes delivers with the passion of a 20years old man although he is already 74."Chosen" is another mesmerizing hard rocker, epic and up tempo with some nice 90s alternative feeling.

Been a close friend to Tony Iommi makes the "THe lost parade" an excellent example of how BLACK SABBATH would sound if Hughes has decided to be their singer, with some great organ and the dominating bass lines, a muscular song that winks at the early 70s and the Birmingham bkcaleys. "Hot damn thing" is another 70s inspired ,funky rock tune, groovy and addictive and although you know he has the same title under his belt many times, its among the specialties of the house. "Black cat moan" gets deeper to the funk rock territory making guys like Lenny Kravitz to want to drop their instruments and leave us in question what would happen if Richie Kotxzen and Glen Hughes decided to collaborate, a song that scream to be played onstage, groovy, funky and heavy as only Hughes know to make them. "Come and go" is the ballad you were expecting with Hughes ,expressing his inner soul man, in a golden honeydripper ballad. The 10 tracks on "Chosen" are mostly heavy due much to drummer  Ash Sheehan  (of The Twang, Laurence Jones, Ginger Wildheart) as to Hughes’s aggressive bass playing but also due to the influence of his musical partner in the last years, Swedish guitarist, Soren Andersen. 

 

At 74 he still manages to drive songs like "Into the fade" a ballsy hard rocker with some alternative edges, a mid 90s aroma that makes the song stand out,as the closing track of an inspired album. It might be his 15ht solo album and possibly his last one but its definitely an album with no fillers, full of ambition, passion and Hugh in excellent form. For those who are still wondering how the 70s sounds, here is your answer ,updated and delivered in full force.

7,5