Arts Entertainments

The Alliance Band New Horizons – An Honest Review

It is true! I have never written, reproduced, recorded or produced my own CD. Practically alone. much less a single song. So what entitles me to write this review? Seventeen years as a disco DJ. That is what! I’m going to try as the heck to give my unbiased review of this CD.

WHERE IS THE REVIEW? OK, let’s get to that. But before we begin, let me just say it for the record. Nigel, I love you like a brother! I will always do it.

New Horizons Alliance:

Track 1

The CD begins with “Weekend Warriors”, which is more or less what any rock band is. Have you ever seen a Rush concert on a Monday or Tuesday night? maybe.

Nigel is a huge Kiss fan just like Paul Wollert and me. This track has Paul Stanley written all over it. But something is seriously missing in the production. You need Mutt Lang!

Track # 2 Love’s AB ****

It’s not like that? With a bit of BTO Overdrive flavor. If it had had that low, dirty voice of C. Fred Turner, it would have been a hit. Not to mention, this entire CD has a sweet, sticky taste to it. You need Mutt Lang.

Clue # 3 Halfway home

No! This is one of the clues he would have left in the writing process. Weak. Good idea but no.

Clue # 4 Another Other?

Weak, weak, weak! There is simply no improvement on Judas Priest! Looks like Rick Springfield’s bus crashed into Priest’s bus! Although I have to admit that Nigel Blows away Ian Hill as a bass player on this one. There’s some pretty decent guitar in this one though, and a ton of creativity. It’s just Wimpy. If this exact track was redone by Primus or Green Day or Linkin Park it would be a success. I’d be playing for all the strippers. Ok? Let’s do it. Listen to this track and then go see Judas Priest live at the budokan. Tell me which one is better.

Clue # 5 Her Mister

Nigel can’t take all the credit for this one. Originally titled “My MIster” The lyrics were written by Lucinda McDougle about a Rhode Island band “OUTRAGE” guitarist Scott Marshall. Who then recorded the basic tracks by himself with his own equipment. Later, Nigel analyzed an old cassette tape and transformed it into this track.

Note: What my Cindy or Nigel don’t know is that OutRage appeared at a concert my brother and I were playing in the late 70’s with the original “Dead Center” and it blew us away! With our own team! Playing an original Outrage called “Baby X”.

Clue # 6 All I Want

A melody inspired by Devo. This is without a doubt one of my favorite songs on the CD. If left alone, it is a great melody. You need a more aggressive keyboard line. You know Rammstein, Evanescence. Nigle see Mark Mothersbaugh for this one. I also think if this track was slowed down like “Girl you want” from the “Tank Girl” soundtrack. And a much bolder guitar and bass was used. Like “Rammstein” or the modern “Gary Numan” with “Nine Inch Nails”. It would be a success today! Although the voice would have to be deeper and bolder.

Track # 7 Jackie Metal

OMG! Where do I start? The story behind this track is too long to print here. Without a doubt the funniest track on the CD. Even Bryan Berkebile himself must have been saying “Finally some balls!”. The song owes its life to a pure accident, the analytical genius of Mr. Zett, and the dreamer of one of the Dead Center members. One night at a Dead Center rehearsal, Mr. Paul Wollert plays this killer guitar riff. Bassist Says Wait! Play that again! When it did, the bass said it had lyrics for it! A letter that had haunted him for years. For the next hour or so, Nigel put the rest of the handwriting out of his head by asking questions nonstop. What was Jackie like? What do you mean about her? Etc. It goes without saying that at the end of practice the five minute epic draft was finished.

Note: It should be noted that the drummer, Mr. Dan Borden almost lost his position on this. They practiced “Jackie” for some time until they felt they were ready to record it. They needed to record a new demo anyway because they had just fired their lead singer. Mr. Borden knew of the date for two weeks. All three, Mr. Wollert, Mr. Zett and the Bass, performed at BCM Studios on the day in question. And I hope! And I hope! Finally Bryce Chicoine said that “man’s time is money.” He suggested placing the tracks with a click track. Than everyone hated the idea. But they did it anyway. When they reached the end of the song, without Dan, they all looked at each other a little stunned. Without the drummer they didn’t know how to end the song. So they hung up the last note. This is how the ending of the song was created. A week later the bass returned to BCM Studios with Robbie Bridge. Whoever had never heard the song before, left the drum track on the first take. Thanks Robbie!

Clue # 8 undercover

Another clue that has Kiss written all over it. But once again, the guitars must be more bad. You need Mutt Lang. You know what I think. This could be a great country song.

Track # 9 What I Knew Then

Sorry nige! A really weak attempt at a ballad. You can do so much better, I know you can. It sounds like a gospel song that never came.

Clue # 10 The Meaning of Life

This could be a powerful ballad with some work. Nige, you have to collaborate with the guys at SpeedWagon on this one.

Clue # 11 Nothing but trouble

Which I’m sure was to record. My photo number two as the best on the CD. Following an old Rush tradition of including at least one instrumental on every album. The guys close the CD with this one. I’m sure it took me a long time to write, organize and record. I have used this sweet little number in various ways to talk about music in various clubs I have worked for.

To summarize all of this. A valiant effort by Mister Zett to fulfill a lifelong dream of writing, recording and producing his own CD. After listening to this CD hundreds of times, it is easy to see how it was ignored by record companies. However, Mr. Zett is a great singer and songwriter. And a better bass player than I’ll ever be. Hopefully, armed with this overhaul and better gear, you will continue to create something truly remarkable. Enough talk. I hope you found this article informative. If you want to know more about this band or CD, follow the link below.

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