Veteran vocalist Jack Russell parted ways with the successful '80s/90s act Great White in 2011, only to form his own outfit Jack Russell's Great White, once again giving us another legacy act torn into two factions. He Saw It Comin' is Russell's new album for Frontiers Records, and much like Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy's new album for the label, Smash, it's a solid affair that doesn't fall far from the formula made famous by his former band but throws some new wrinkles into the mix. Jack's current group consists of
Tony Montana (Guitar, Keyboards), Robby Lochner (Guitar), Dan McNay (Bass), and Dicki Fliszar (Drums).
Always a decent singer, Russell is in fine form here, his bluesy, high pitched vocals sitting squarely in the middle of a selection of mid paced rockers, a few of them pretty memorable and some going into areas we might not have heard the singer travel to previously. "My Addictions" rocks pretty hard, and "Sign of the Times" has a catchy, bluesy swagger that will bring a smile to any longtime Great White fan. "She Moves Me" dabbles with calypso & rap arrangements to little success, and "Anything For You" is a melodic slice of ballady country rock, a sure fire hit for the ladies in the audience. The band opt for funky pop on the Caribbean flavored "Don't Let Me Go" and groove laden hard rock with some crisp guitar work on the energetic "Spy vs Spy". The heaviest track here is "Blame It On the Night", a furious rocker, but unfortunately there's not a lot of this type of material here on He Saw It Comin', the band even going so far as to following it and closing the album with the '50s styled a cappella vocal number "Godspeed", an odd track to say the least, though it is very well executed.
You have to give Russell credit for going out on a limb and trying some different styles here, and though not all of it is successful, he mixes in enough gritty hard rockers to keep all those loyal Great White fans happy. Vocally, he's spot on throughout, and most of these songs are pretty catchy regardless of which genre he's crossing over into. Overall, not too shabby.
Track Listing
01-Sign of the Times
02-She Moves Me
03-Crazy
04-Love Don't Live Here
05-My Addiction
06-Anything for You
07-He Saw it Coming
08-Don't Let Me Go
09-Spy vs Spy
10-Blame it on the Night
11-Godspeed
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