ARP of the sensitive side - Part IV

The German guitar legend Axel Rudi Pell had to celebrate in recent years as some, and so he did, with regular releases. For the 20th anniversary of his band of the same name was released a new best-of compilation, the successful DVD "One Night Live". Last year, the man then not only celebrated his birthday, but also his thirteenth regular studio album. With "The Ballads IV" there are now new fodder for the fans.

Well, everything is not new, because in the end it is a compilation of his ballads, "The Ballads III" have emerged since. But the German and his international force would not have this status if it would be just a boring compilation without new material. So Axel opened this factory with a new song. "Where The Wild Waters Flow" starts with beautiful cello sounds and strings in the background. Axel shines with acoustic guitar and Johnny Gioeli proves once again that he is one of the best hard rock singers of our time. Even this song is worth buying, but the troops backed by a new interpretation of a classic DIO again properly a plan. "Holy Diver" drowned in his piano version quite different from the original, but generated by the first sounds of goose bumps, which is again due to Johnny.

AXEL RUDI PELL relies on "The Ballads IV" alongside its own timeless masterpieces like "Glory Night" or "Touching My Soul" to other cover songs. "Love Gun" (KISS) is great fun, while "In The Air Tonight" (Phil Collins) rather is a filler and "Hallelujah" is perhaps a matter of taste, but has through the church choir and Gioelis performance certainly its great moments. It should be mentioned also the 9-minute epic "The Curse Of The Damned" from the 2006 work "Mystica", which closes the album and sovereign zwischendruch sometimes really accelerates.

For collectors and die-hard fans of ARP's "The Ballads IV" an absolute must-buy. For the standard fan this compilation is quite interesting, as there are to discover something new, but most of the material is then probably but already at home on the shelf.