Diamonds Unlocked

Axel Rudi Pell

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2007)
• Original Release Date: October 1, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Steamhammer / Spv
• ASIN: B000TX7ALU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,101 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For over 25 years, Axel Rudi Pell has been one of Germany's most versatile guitarists. With over a dozen studio albums, he has a plethora of brilliant productions and is loved by his fans. Alongside numerous original compositions, cover versions of his favourite songs have always taken a special place in his work. Now Pell is scheduled to release "Diamonds Unlocked", his first album consisting exclusively of compositions by other musicians, proving his expertise when it comes to the history of rock and pop music. Axel Rudi Pell has recorded ten cover songs, among them surprising new versions of real classics. Included are cover versions of U2, Phil Collins, Kiss, The Who, Montrose and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long time Metal, first time ARP, October 21, 2008

By	Lawrence Jones (Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a long time metal fan but just recently discovered Axel Rudi Pell. He's got the guitar style that for me has always hit the spot: Rhoads, Lynch, Vandenberg, etc.

I never knew what I was missing!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Cover Album., November 21, 2007

By	Ugur Gündüz "gunduz" (Ankara, Turkey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I like cover albums. Because, good cover album including good song. Never include bad songs. Diamonds unlocked have very beautiful songs. Specially I love (perfect song)to " like a child again ".




1. The Diamond Overture ; Good overture (messenger for good album)
2. Warrior ; perfect rock sound and power vocal. Perfect riffs. 9/10
3. Beautiful day ; I don't like from U2. But Johny said more good. 9/10
4. Stone ; starting with Super rock sound. 10/10
5. Love gun : Good ballad and good rendition. 9/10
6. Fools game : My favorite song for this album. Awesome vocal. 10/10
7. Heartbreaker : Pure rock and blues. 8/10
8. Rock The Nation : 7/10
9. In The Air Tonight : I am sorry, More bad from my expected. 6/10
10. Like A Child Again: Perfect rendition. Best song of this album. 10/10
11. Won't Get Fooled Again :Good finish. 9/10

If you like 80's metal, just buy it. No regret. You will live nostalgia.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected and impressive covers collection, October 17, 2008

By	Justin Gaines "Corporate Rocker" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When I heard the list of artists Axel Rudi Pell would pay tribute to on his 2007 covers collection Diamonds Unlocked, I had to do a double take. I was expecting songs by UFO, Dio, Maiden, Sabbath, and Deep Purple. Instead, the guitar virtuoso opted for some less obvious choices. Here's what you get:

1. The Diamond Overture - This original instrumental track kicks things off, but is pretty unnecessary overall. I'd much rather have seen another cover song.
2. Warrior (Riot) - This was a great choice for Pell. He and vocalist Johnny Gioelli absolutely nail this classic Riot track.
3. Beautiful Day (U2) - I'll give Pell credit for attempting this universally recognized pop song, but the execution just isn't pretty. It's just one of those songs that should never be "metal-ed up".
4. Stone (Chris Rea) - This was a great choice. Pell is the perfect metal guitar hero to take on the noted blues guitarist.
5. Love Gun (KISS) - Pell went acoustic with this one, which was quite unexpected and surprisingly effective
6. Fool's Game (Michael Bolton) - That's right, a Michael Bolton cover. Actually, Bolton's early albums were pretty rockin', and this was one of his better songs. It's just a great melodic rocker, and Pell and Gioelli eat it up.
7. Heartbreaker (Free) - Another relatively bluesy number that seems tailor-made for Pell's guitar playing. I think Gioelli is not quite as well suited for this kind of song, but he does a fair enough job.
8. Rock the Nation (Montrose) - Another good choice both for Pell and Gioelli. They both totally cut loose on this rock anthem.
9. In the Air Tonight (Phil Collins) - This is a tough song to take on, but I think Pell and company did a decent job. It's not the best track on the album, but it's not bad either.
10. Like a Child Again (The Mission UK) - Wow, I definitely did not see this coming. Pell's version of this classic British goth rock track is just sublime. It's one of the highlights of this collection.
11. Won't Get Fooled Again (The Who) - This is a great song to close the album with. You can tell the guys were enjoying themselves with this one.

I'm a little disappointed with the relatively short length of this disc (55 minutes). I think it would have made sense to include Pell's previous cover songs (like Uriah Heep's July Morning, Free's Wishing Well, and Rainbow's Still I'm Sad), but that's a minor complaint (especially since I already have those songs elsewhere).

All told, Diamonds Unlocked is a very effective covers collection that showcases Axel Rudi Pell's talents as well as his diverse influences. Whatever trepidation I had going into this album was soon eased by the reliably high quality of the music. I'd consider this a must-have for Axel Rudi Pell fans, and it should prove interesting for melodic rock and metal fans in general.