GREAT WHITE: Psycho City (HARD ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

After "Hooked", which allowed the band to assert its talent and identity, Great White does not waste any time and quickly follows up with "Psycho City", whose mission is to strike while the iron is hot, and to definitively settle the combo in the Pantheon of the undisputed bands of the genre. If Dave Spitz replaced Tony Montana on bass, he does not appear as an official member of the band, which does not change much in the end, Great White having decided to dig the furrow already ploughed with "Hooked".

Indeed, the delicate balance found by Kendall and his band, oscillating between the bluesy sensibility of a Led Zeppelin and the energy of an AC/DC, is still in place, the majority of the tracks stretching from now on largely beyond the 5 minutes to allow the atmospheres to settle and the soli to develop. The beginning of the album is amazing, with a succession of unstoppable nuggets that leave the listener knocked out after 5 rounds. Great White displays all the facets of his US Hard at the same time energetic and delicate, alternating the tempi within the same title to be catchy ('Psycho City'), throwing a basic riff but of a flawless efficiency ('Step On You'), letting the piano join Kendall's guitar for a feeling demonstration, in mid-tempo ('Old Rose Motel') or in power-ballad ('Maybe Someday'), before terminating the last survivors with a good big riff and a direct chorus ('Big Goodbye').

It's difficult to stand up from such a series, even if the follow-up is of high quality, and it's maybe this slight instability, provoked by the fast start, that will represent the small Achilles' heel of "Psycho City". Not to mention a real weakness, but the tension tends to afterwards. The light and semi-acoustic 'Doctor Me' and the groovy 'I Want You' are of good quality but suffering a little from the comparison with what preceded them, just like 'Never Trust A Pretty Face' for as much catchy and with a catchy chorus. They have however gained the credit to keep the attention and to prepare our ears for a 'Love Is A Lie' all in sensitivity and unfolding with mastery its progression in intensity on more than 8 minutes. It's with a new demonstration of Russell's talent on a warm and bluesy 'Get On Home' that the trip ends with the feeling of having spent another unique moment in the company of a band that is by far one of the best.

Even though they use the same elements as on their previous album, Great White still manages to make "Psycho City" a new monument to the glory of their music. By letting the tracks develop at the expense of the usual commercial format, he asserts his identity and his integrity, the latter being at the heart of the sensitivity that characterizes him.

NB: Note also a new edition by AxeKiller in 1999 with 4 quality bonuses! - Official website

GREAT WHITE

PSYCHO CITY

CAPITOL

HARD ROCK