By DJ Monk
I must admit that when I first saw that Room Experience was an Italian melodic rock “supergroup” I fully expected the stamp of a certain record company, and especially a certain composer/songwriter/all-round master-of-everything-AOR to be branded all over it, so it was a pleasant surprise to find out that this was not in fact the case. Room Experience are the result of a collaboration between another well-known Italian keyboard player, Gianluca Firmo, and the Burnley-born vocalist David Readman, best known as the frontman of retro-rockers Pink Cream 69. Having said that, my former suspicions also proved not to be too far off the mark, as it turns out that the diminutive genius by the name of Alessandro del Vecchio handled the mastering duties on this, the project’s second full-length offering.
Readman, of course, will be a name well-known to regular ÜR-readers, as we have covered PC69 several times over the years, most recently when they filled the special guest slot on the opening night of what turned out to be the final iteration of the wonderful Rockingham festival. Regular visitors will also know that I’m not a professed fan of the German-based quintet, having found their output over the years to be something of a curate’s egg – patchy to say the least. But, that is a term which you most definitely cannot employ in the context of this collaboration, as it is solid from start to finish, consistent in its impact and powerful in its final impact, especially in relation to Readman’s stunning performance throughout, which elevates each and every one of the 11 songs to the next level required to make you sit up and take notice.
It has to be said that ‘Another Time And Place’ could very much be seen as a showcase for the singer, as from his opening declarative on ‘Hear Another Song’ he grabs the album by its balls and truly makes it his own. It is a true powerhouse of a performance, perfect in every way, from the utilization of his full range to the way in which he uses his considerable voice to complement the other instruments, and particularly the almost-equally impressive guitar work of the immensely talented Steve Di Biasi, who is one of those guitarists who is as capable of holding back and adding atmosphere by what he leaves out as much as by shredding the absolute shit out of his fretboard, as shown on his exemplary performances on the early duotych of ‘Disappointed’ (a song which definitely doesn’t live up to its title) and ‘Strangers In The Night’.
Of course, there have to be power ballads. And, there are. But where most bands operating in this AOR/retro/melodic rock field turn such things into cheese fests worthy of a day trip to a cheddar manufacturer, RE place the emphasis on the “power” aspect, eschewing the tweeness which so often drags down such inclusions. It perhaps helps that Readman makes them sound so easy, as he does with every track presented here (we’ll ignore the “bonus” version of ‘The Distance’, sung by band mastermind Firmo), a prime example being closer ‘Your Voice Inside’, which could have ended things on a massive downstroke but instead soars like an eagle over the Appenines.
The overall impact of ‘Another Time…’ is an exemplar of how to provide a platform for a great singer, by providing him with a bunch of superbly talented musicians and equally supremely crafted material, and just letting him get on with it, while at the same time paying cognisance to the expertise of those allowing him to do what he does best. If you like you classic melodic rock with plenty of oomph and passion, then this album should already have been at the top of your playlist…
- ‘Another Time And Place’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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