This CD -- The Lost Tapes -- is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise murky and dismal musical world.Mostly because the lead singer -- David Glen Eisely -- is one of America's greatest rock vocalists.
Never heard of him? You're not alone. Thanks to a lot of bad breaks, including the wrath of KISS' Gene Simmons who ousted DGE from Giuffria, brought in vocalist James Christian and changed the name of the band to House of Lords (why Gregg Giuffria went along with that backstabbing is beyond me), and poor distribution, David Glen Eisely remains one of the greatest relatively unknown vocalists the rock world has ever seen.
This CD, the discovery of long lost tapes from the Giuffria and early House of Lords days, showcases DGE's superb voice (a sort of slightly rougher Steve Perry) and the guitar power pop/melodic rock sensibilities of Gregg Giuffria, guitar whiz Lanny Cordola and others. It's vintage '80s and early '90s upbeat rock -- full of flashy guitar solos and soaring vocals about lost love, jealousy, and all your typical rock star themes from that era.
Only done better than anyone else has done them before.
If you remember Giuffria (they had a radio hit with the beautiful song "Call to the Heart"), or if you have followed DGE's career over the years as I have (he made an album called Dirty White Boy, one called Murderer's Row and, most recently, Stranger From the Past -- find them if you can), this is essential. In fact, this CD is more than that. It's life-affirming. It's perfect.
Yet, in a way, it's sad. Giuffria could have been huge if Simmons hand't gotten hold of them. And David Glen Eisley could have been one of our national musical treasures.
The sound quality on this CD is great. Crystal clear. The 13 tracks rock like a big dog, yet always have that perfect '80s and '90s production.
I enjoy all of the songs, but I'm most surprised by "Slip of the Tongue" and "Pleasure Palace," the hard-rocking songs that House of Lords recorded for their first album -- after DGE had been ousted. The versions featured here (with DGE's vocals instead of James Christian's) are so much better than the ones on the first House of Lords album it's not funny. DGE is a master vocalist with a ton of charisma.
I can't recommend this CD highly enough. It deserves a place in your collection. And DGE deserves a serious round of applause for bringing this collection of "lost" tracks to light.
Thank you, Mr. Eisley.
A must have for any fan of Giuffria