Short Reviews [Andrew Roussak - 2019 - "Storm Warning"]

It has been about ten years since I last wrote about keyboard player Andrew Roussak. Back then I was reviewing both his debut solo album and the debut from Dorian Opera where he was keyboard player, and I see that both of them have released an album I haven’t heard, but now he is back with his third solo release. Andrew is a multi-instrumentalist, but he has brought in some additional guitarists on a couple of songs, as well as a couple of singers, but for the most part this is all Andrew. He is a keyboard player who is more Wakeman than Emerson, but way more Emerson than Jarre, and the result is an album which moves, twists and shifts like any good rock album should. The use of Hammond sounds will always make me sit and up and pay attention as that is one of the truly classic rock keyboard basics, and here he deploys it to great effect. Keyboard-based albums can be boring affairs at times, even when there are other musicians involved, but here we have loads of rock songs which just have a keyboard base and often a keyboard lead. In many ways this is very reminiscent of Wakeman when he is in full rock mode, except not quite as bombastic. He has no problem with stopping on a pin and pivoting the sound to acoustic guitar, while the use of lead singers (sparingly) also points more to the caped crusader. This can be enjoyed the very first time of hearing, while it is also a grower and the more it is played the more there is to be discovered and enjoyed. Personally, I would prefer if he had kept the album fully instrumental, as I am not a huge fan of Max Kottler’s vocal style, but overall this is an album which keeps the listener engaged throughout and if classic Seventies-style keyboard-led albums interest you then this is definitely worth discovering.