Mr. Pollack: Black Hawk

Here is another band that has passed me by, that is until now. The Polish band is Mr. Pollack and consists of brothers Jacek Polak (guitar, vocals, bass, keys) and Grzegorz Polak (drums, arranging, production) along with Bartlomiej Filip (bass, backing vocals) and special guest Grzegorz Skawiński (guitar on track 6).

The band has been around for a while now having formed in 1989. They released their debut QN in 1990. Black Hawk is their fifth album.

Black Hawk is a well-produced classic sounding rock/pop album in the best tradition of '80s bands like Whitesnake and Coverdale/page. The musicianship is solid, the vocals are outstanding and most importantly the songs are memorable. Tracks like the album opening "Black Hawk", a soaring melodic rock song with excellent lead and harmony vocals and the heavy rock of "Socrates" complete with cool guitar fade outs and shredding guitar soli are top shelf rock songs. "The Plan B" veers in a poppier direction with some excellent acoustic guitar while "The Wheel Of Life" is a poignant offering heading into power ballad territory.

One of my favourites is the bluesy heavy rock of "Gold & Money", hearkening back to '90s Deep Purple with some excellent organ riffs throughout.

Included are five bonus tracks sung in Polish, all retaining the melodic richness found in the first nine songs.

Folks, melodic rock does not get much catchier than this hence the 3.5 star rating. Released on Metal Mind Productions.

Track Listing:
1. Black Hawk Mielec Rock (4:00)
2. Stand Up And Run (4:11)
3. The Plan B (3:29)
4. Socrates (3:45)
5. The Wheel Of Life (4:59)
6. Gold And Money (4:14)
7. I Know You (3:30)
8. Power And The Glory (3:50)
9. Sunday Track (4:10)
Bonus Tracks:
10. Black Hawk Mielec Song (4:00)
11. Jak Skala (4:10)
12. Plan (3:28)
13. Sokrates (3:43)
14. Kolo Życia (4:59)

Added: July 21st 2015
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 1826
Language: english

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