Customer Reviews

Sahara

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While most follow-up releases to a debut are not good, or are just average, SAHARA shines as a better follow-up to an impressive debut from House of Lords. This album contains several tracks -- "Chains of Love", "Can't Find My Way Home", and "Remeber My Name" -- that help give SAHARA.

SAHARA is an even better follow-up to an impressive debut from House Of Lords. This album contains five great cuts- "Shoot", "Chains Of Love", "Can't Find My Way Home", "Remember My Name", and "American Babylon." The others are just average, but those five are enough to give SAHARA a 5-star rating.

"Sahara" is the second studio album by American melodic hard rock super-group "House of Lords" originally released in 1990. This second full-length effort found the "Lords" under a slightly different line-up than the original, featuring lead singer James Christian, keyboardist Craig Giuffria, bassist Chuck Wright, drummer Ken Mary along with new entry guitarist Michael Guy. The album also features guitar contributions by such heroes of the genre as Chris Impellitteri, Doug Aldrich and Rick Nielsen.

While fitting perfectly within the pomp hard rock genre, "Sahara" was substantially differentiated from its predecessor in terms of musical style. The song-writing would rely much more on riffs and tempos rather than melodies; at the same time integrating eastern-scale harmonies to the structures. The eastern-vibe is mainly traceable on Greg's keyboard arrangements, being an element that would partly characterize the group's later releases.

James Christian once again proves himself the ideal singer/front-man for the group, perfectly adapting to the demands of the compositions though the end result is far less catchy than the material found on their debut album. In addition this effort features a surprising consistency in tempos, for the biggest part being either standard or slow pace; clearly a far cry from the rhythmic variety found on later "Lords" releases. While far from the greatest moment in the "House of Lords" catalogue, "Sahara" offers a fair amount of memorable songs namely "Can't find my way home", "It ain't love" plus the classic/minor hit ballad "Remember my name" possibly the album's strongest moment.

This second full-length album from House of Lords--Sahara--was released in 1990. It has ten tracks. One of these, "Can't Find My Way Home," is a rendition of a song from Blind Faith. All in all, this album's material is in a straight-ahead hard rock musical direction. There is solid songwriting, pleasing musicianship, and nice sound quality. Gregg Giuffria does not disappoint when it comes to his gratifying keyboard playing. James Christian does an effective job with his gravelly-voiced vocal delivery. The songs that I consider to be favorites are "Shoot," "Sahara," and "Remember My Name." The earnest, stately "Shoot" starts off with mysterious-sounding keyboard work from Giuffria. "Sahara" is a well-written, epic-sounding, regal composition; Giuffria provides majestic, tasteful keyboarding, the backing vocals are smooth and spirited, Ken Mary's drumming is enjoyable, and the song wraps up nicely with a well-crafted outro. The power ballad "Remember My Name" is attractive, and Christian supplies industrious singing. "American Babylon" is another example of a cut that I like--it is fun and sprightly, and Christian sings enjoyably. Even though the CD booklet does not have the song lyrics, a couple of color photos of the band are included; one of these is spread over two pages and is interesting. The disc is just over 44 minutes. Sahara is a recommendable album.

Not much to say other than what a great piece of work. I love harmony and these guys are better at it than just about anyone I have ever heard. Confuses me why all of their CDs have not gone platinum.

1990's Sahara may have been the second release from melodic rockers House of Lords, but it was their first album that truly felt more like a House of Lords effort than another Giuffria album. It's also an album with a huge sound, thanks in some part to the roster of impressive guest appearances. Departing guitarist Lanny Cordolla was replaced by Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Chris Impellitteri (Impellitteri), Doug Aldrich (Lion), and Mandy Meyer (Krokus), and background vocals were provided by Mike Tramp (White Lion), Steve Plunkett (Autograph), Ron Keel (Keel), Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) and even sacked Giuffria frontman David Glen Eisley. I don't know if it was the band that pulled such impressive talent in, or if it was label boss Gene Simmons, but it's hard to argue with the results.

Sahara is about as perfect as a melodic hard rock album can be. Unlike the Giuffria albums (and to some extent the first HoL album), Greg Giuffria's keyboards aren't the main focus of Sahara. Instead, the album has a huge guitar rock sound, including melodic hooks to die for and some flat-out incredible solos. The vocals also take center stage, and not just because of the impressive array of backing vocalists (though that certainly helps). Singer James Christian really comes into his own here. He sounded like he was trying to stick close to David Glen Eisley's vocal style on the debut, but here he sounds like the strong, confident, unique vocalist that he is. The production is great, and the songwriting is impeccable. You listen to songs like the unforgettable ballad "Remember My Name" (killer solo on that one), all-out rocker "American Babylon" and the cover of Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home" and wonder how in the world Sahara wasn't the biggest album of 1990. That was a very good year for melodic rock albums, but I'd put Sahara up against all challengers.

House of Lords ranks alongside Giant and Hurricane as one of the decade's most impressive (and most overlooked) melodic rock artists. Anyone interested in 80's rock and metal really should check out what House of Lords was all about, and since Sahara is probably the best of the early HoL albums, it makes a great starting point.

NOTE: The 1999 Axe Killer reissue of Sahara features digitally remastered sound, and a remixed version of "Can't Find My Way Home" as a bonus track. The bonus track isn't much, but the improved sound quality makes this reissue well worth tracking down.

SAHARA is a second great album by House Of Lords. The first three songs, including a powerful cover of Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home", are great, and side two has the exceptional "Remember My Name" and "American Babylon." There is some filler, as on the debut, but the great songs are enough to make this a five-star album.

This CD is hot, every song has a driving rock beat, heavy rock that is great, I love this CD, wore my original one out, played it so much!

This band was formed and produced by Gene Simmons and who would know great rock better than he? This album is an excellent follow-up to their self-titled first. Greg Giuffria provides some excellent vocals to compliment the hard rocking sound of this band. This band was a sleeper, but one listen and you'll be well surprised.