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REVIEW – Let’s talk about sports for a second. How many baseball fans would want to see the stars of the 80’s, on the field trying to compete with today’s athletes? What about Football? Who would want to see the hall of fame players on a field today trying to compete with today’s stars? Musicians, I feel should be viewed in the same light. Great White, was my very first metal concert in 1984. Jack Russell is a great singer, who has put out many a classic song. How many people got married and had “Save Your Love” playing in the late 80’s or 90’s? How many people watched MTV and saw the acoustic version of “The Angel Song” and rushed out to buy “Twice Shy”? These are albums, songs and a band that did so much for music. Where they fit in with today’s music scene is where my problem lies. We have yet another band that broke up, but yet share elements of the same name. This is when the fans get the bite off this. This bickering back and forth causes confusion for the fan-base that they should be so lucky to still have. I understand that this is not new, but I cannot remember a time in music history that we have had so many bands that are just so dead set on fighting for their own fan base among each other.
“He Saw it Comin'” is a prime example of an album that is so misleading to fans. For people expecting the “classic” Great White sound or musicianship, is going to be sadly let down. I am not saying this is a bad record, but this is just an ordinary and plain record. This reminds me of the album, that the band Great White put out a few years back called “Elation” which was also a huge let down. The opening track on this record sounds like Jack Russell is trying to be a parent to this generation. It seems more like a social commentary on the internet age, more than a rock song. I did not mind the song, but it sounds so preachy. A song like, “Crazy” is a little song for the old school. That is Jack trying to go back in time and recapture the past glory. This record suffers from being so standard, paint by numbers inside the lines. Jack Russell, to his credit sounds incredible on this album.
The problem is, this is not Great White. This is nowhere near Great White. The same argument can be made about the other band as well. I think the first hint that the gravy train was ending, was when the band released the album that shared the R.E.M song title, “Can’t Get There From Here”. The album just tanked badly. They were on modern rock radio with “Rollin’ Stoned”, and the album still tanked. Jack Russell has lived the lifestyle of a rocker. Now, he is trying so hard to get it all back again. This record is not the answer. It is too flat at times and at others very uninspiring. The record does have some redeeming qualities. The man can still sing. The song writing and the band as a whole is problematic and lacking direction. If you are a fan of the band, I would say that there are some songs, you will like for the most part. As a whole, Jack is not offering nothing new or exciting. This is clearly someone who is putting out an album for financial gain more than anything else. Someone who is down to whore his name and sound to make a dime. Who would have thought, the man who sold millions in 1990 and bragged about sleeping with 300 women in a month, is now out to whore himself for a dime?
