The pairing of the great Mike Slamer and Heartland/Virginia Wolf vocalist Chris Ousey produced one of 2011’s best albums in Rhyme And Reason.
Why it has taken 4 years for the pair to work together again I’m not sure, but Ozone is the result.
The “O” zone of course is “O”usey working alongside Steve “O”verland – FM vocalist and fellow British AOR crooner.
This album is everything I expected – super slick Slamer production and guitar playing, pristine mix and the “O’s” absolutely killing it on vocals. And you know the sound already – fans of Production-by-Slamer will get another dose of his production magic and layers upon layers of harmony vocals – even bigger here given the vocalists involved.
So as expected I played this album to death in the first couple of weeks. But something I did not expect – a certain disconnect with a few songs that have failed to draw me in for the long haul.
Ousey’s album I still play today – it’s just superb.
But I think the songwriting here is a little safe, a little predictable and for that reason there are patches in the album that haven’t ignited my passion such as albums like Seventh Key, Steelhouse Lane and Terry Brock/Slamer had.
In the superb category come the opener Tiger By The Tail; the big ballad So Blind (positioned too early in the album though); the fast moving Save My Soul and Evolve and the equally fast moving but even better Self Defence and Smile Before You Lie and perhaps the best track of all, the anthemic rocker Practice What You Preach.
In the “oddly not that compelling” category are the tunes Let The Good Will Out, Destiny and Lifeline (all a bit one-paced); Shadow On The Sun (annoying chorus) and Visionary Man which rocks, but just doesn’t blow me away.
Interestingly, while this is credited to both vocalists, it is Chris Ousey who has the most dominant role throughout the album.
I’m hoping the songwriting isn’t spread too thin for is long awaited follow-up solo album due in the next several months.
Another great sounding album for all involved and another production winner for Slamer, but not quite the musical home run I was expecting as far as songwriting goes. Still a lot to like though.
