PHENOMENA: PsychoFantasy

Cover	Release	Style
	2005-02-10	Melodic hard rock
	Label
	Escape Music / AOR Heaven
	Website
	Phenomena
	Contact

	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	47:06	ESM 125
	Review by	Rating
	Edwin	8,5/10
nederlands	Review
The first Phenomena album (1985) was an all-star effort, led by songwriter/producer Tom Galley and featuring a.o. Glenn Hughes, Cozy Powell, Mel Galley, Neil Murray and Don Airey – it still ranks very high in my list of favourite melodic rock albums. N° 2 was also impressive, boasting lead vocals by Hughes, John Wetton, Max Bacon and Ray Gillen. This one even generated a minor hit single, ‘Did It All For Love’. ‘III – Inner Vision’ followed in 1992 (with vocals by Keith Murrell) but turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. Rumours of a 4^th instalment have been around for ages, but it took until now to finally get released. With a cast of mostly unknown musicians, Galley still managed to get some big names involved: Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin and Keith Murrell on lead vocals and JJ March and Tom’s brother Mel Galley on guitars. ‘PsychoFantasy’ is decidedly the heaviest of the four albums, but still with that very melodic dimension that also characterized the earlier records; most tracks are midtempo and are often comparable to Tony Martin-era Sabbath, albeit with a bit more twists and turns. Some great songs here, with a fair amount of variation and some quite surprising developments. ‘Killing For The Thrill’, for instance, begins very heavy, with almost hard-core metal-like scatting vocals, but features the most melodic chorus present. Then there’s ‘How Do You Feel?’ (sung by Glenn Hughes), which also starts off pretty heavy, but evolves into something like a pop/soul ballad. Very peculiar, but it does work. Hughes also puts his stamp on the terrific rockers ‘Touch My Life’ and ‘Higher’. On ‘Chemical High’ and ’60 Seconds’, Tom Galley manages to re-create that special Phenomena mood that was present on the first two albums. The latter in particular is very impressive – sung mainly by Joy Strachan and featuring a Led Zeppelin – ‘Kashmir’-like riff, an excellent chorus and great harmony vocals. ‘So Near So Far’ is an excellent power ballad. The doomy ‘God Forgives’, with the distinctive vocals of Tony Martin, is also one of the highlights. ‘Crazy Grooves’ is the only track I don’t really like. Recorded in 2004, ‘PsychoFantasy’ took quite a while to get a release, but it was definitely worth the wait. Recommended!
Musicians
Main vocals: Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin, Keith Murrell, Lee Small, Matt Morton, Joy Strachan Backing vocals: Pete Howerth, Keith Murrell Drums: Orlin Radinsky Guitars: Mel Galley, Andy Shortland, J.J. Marsh Bass: Richard Lymn Keyboards: Ian Rowlands, Tom Brown Strings & arrangements: Rumen Boyadgiev
Tracklist
Sunrise Touch My Life Killing For The Thrill So Near So Far Chemical High Higher 60 Seconds Crazy Grooves How Do You Feel All That I Need God Forgives
Discography
Phenomena (1985) Phenomena II: Dream Runner (1987) Phenomena III: Innervision (1992) PsychoFantasy (2006)


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