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Neal Smith: Killsmith and the Greenfire Empire

Killsmith and the Greenfire Empire

(Neal SMith)
Label(s): 
Genre: 
Release Date: 
Friday, August 29, 2014
Grade:
A
Tracks: 
11

"Killsmith and the Greenfire Empire" is the third solo album for founding Alice Cooper band member and drummer Neal Smith. Knowing who this drummer is, is no surprise for some considering he is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he's a songwriter, and yes a founding member of Alice Cooper, so he's a well known musician. With his background in music, it's almost a given that one of his albums should be good, which in my times of listening to this album, I can say that it is, but for anyone that actually don't know who Neal Smith is, then this is a good album to listen to. "Killsmith and the Greenfire Empire" is an album that gives the listener all the years of experience that Neal Smith has in the music business in a one stop shop album.
Granted, there are some musicians that can be playing for as long as Neal Smith has been and still not have gained in experience or pleasure when it comes to their music. Not the case for Neal Smith as this man continues to produce some good music. If asked, I couldn't give a detailed history of Neal Smiths music legacy, but what I can give is that this man was good at the start of his career and continues to be as good now as when he was young. This third album is what I like in music, it's fun, it's lively, it's peppy, and it's full of lyrics and beats that are catchy. Listening to this album is an adventure in the mind and the ears. From the start I kept thinking about how well this song, the next song, and every song on here would fit great as a soundtrack to a movie. I saw it in my mind, the title being called the original motion picture soundtrack of Killsmith and the Greenfire Empire.
It's not only the individual songs that have stories being told in them but the album as a whole is a story. It unfolds before you with varying beats and sounds so that it never gets boring. I was never once thinking that any of the songs sounded the same nor did I get bored with any of the songs. The energy keeps a good pace in each song so that it keeps my attention the whole time and it keeps me entertained as I listen. I like how Neal Smith gives different sounds in the songs so that nothing is sounding rehashed in the music. It's a fun album to listen to that has good beats being played in the instruments and vocals that match. But for me though, it's that idea of a story that these songs give me when listening to them that I like the most. Having not only some good songs to listen to but also being given the idea of what kind of scene in a movie that would be played for was fun. There's power in these songs, the energy is going to keep the ear focused on the songs and where they are going to go next. That’s what a story does, that's what these songs do, and they do it quite well.

Lee Roberts
Review by Lee Roberts
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