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July 16th 2003
In May I got a flight to Alicante, Spain, to meet
Ken during the recordings of his upcoming album, The Last Dance.
I spent 2 days at his house, a very nice one in the middle of nowhere.
We went to his studio where I could listen to the new songs, and
all I can tell you is... be prepared, for this will be a killer
CD! Especially Ken's vocals sounded incredible to me. I had
the impression that he's "taking more risks" when singing,
and that's good. I am very confident that this is going to be his
best solo album ever, at least from the vocals point of view.
Maybe his voice used to have a longer range in the past, but now
he has probably more control and knows better how to use it.
"The Last Dance", the song, is easily the best thing Ken
has done in ages! He seemed to be very proud of it, and he should
be! The song has something like 8 minutes, with 4 different "movements",
with different moods, some heavier, some slower, including some
touching moments at the piano, and an incredible slide guitar solo
a la "The Spell"! I noticed some elements on it that for
a long time I wanted to hear on an album. Some special things
that some bands and artists, including Ken and Uriah Heep, used
to do in the 70s, and that are so rare these days. A song
very well crafted, and "no hurry to come to conclusions".
His vocals on it are very good, too. I am absolutely sure that people
will love it, and I am particularly curious to see (hear) it being
played live!
The other songs are very nice as well, and some really different
elements have been included, probably some influences from the "Spanish
airs". The new songs sound fresh and more modern when compared
to the Running Blind album, for example, but don't get me
wrong: it's still Ken's music! His trademarks are there. The Hammond
is present throughout the album, and there's Ken's acoustic and
electric guitars. There are rocks and ballads, and instrumental
bits and pieces. But, there are some small details that make
difference: a Spanish guitar here and there for example, adding
a special flavor even to heavier songs, which is really cool. Additional
Spanish players are on it too, playing bass, drums and lead guitar,
and they sounded excellent to my humble ears! And don't be surprised
if there's a Hammond organ solo in one of the songs... this
is Surely Ken's most acclaimed trademark, and on the latest albums
there were not even one. I kept pushing Ken to record one, so let's
see what he eventually comes up with! ;-)
Some of the songs on this new album are not exactly new, as "Gimme
All You Want" and "The Voice Of Love" were even recorded
for the "Running Blind" album, but not used as Ken didn't
consider them still properly finished at the time. The song "Running
Blind" will be included now too. Anyway, we'll have some sound
excerpts available here on the site pretty soon.
Danny, the co-producer and sound engineer of the new album, is quite
a nice guy and has been providing a lot of good ideas, as I could
notice. I did my part, bringing from London a huge pack of 600 PG
Tips tea bags, so they can be inspired till they finish the CD (which
they're not far from anyway!). Thanks to Rob Corich for taking me
to a place where I could find the tea bags... in fact, I had some
problem to find what I wanted, given the thousands of options, ha!
There are also some plans for special features that will most probably
be included on "The Last Dance" CD, which I can't announce
for the time being. ;-) But wait for this, it will be a special
album for sure.
Besides, the plans for the recordings of the DVD are still valid.
It will possibly happen in a castle in Spain, with an orchestra,
and featuring some "unexpected songs". besides, the planned
anthologies will be recorded and released too, as previously announced.
The recordings will begin as soon as "The Last Dance"
is finished and released. Ken is also working on his book, and from
what he told me, it will be a good one. Not an autobiography at
all, but rather a collection of memories and connected thoughts.
I'll leave this here for the moment... ;-)
I also took the opportunity of visiting Ken to show him my new line
of special custom-made bass guitars, using the best Brazilian hardwoods.
See the photo on this page... more details at www.dalegria.com
! (shameless plug here, I know! ;-)
So, plans for 2003 seem to indicate a very good and busy (in a good
way!) year!
All the best,
Rod
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