{"id":39759,"date":"2021-06-21T08:28:46","date_gmt":"2021-06-20T22:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=39759"},"modified":"2021-06-21T08:28:57","modified_gmt":"2021-06-20T22:28:57","slug":"rock-sugar-reinventinator-album-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2021\/06\/rock-sugar-reinventinator-album-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock Sugar \u2013 ‘Reinventinator’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Oh hey everyone, it\u2019s been far too long since I\u2019ve done an album review (sorry!) But when something like this album comes along, I feel it\u2019s my duty to get the word out. Now\u2026 If you\u2019re not familiar with Rock Sugar, well how can I explain it? They take songs from different genres and put them together to make magic. That\u2019s pretty much it. What do I mean? Well, let\u2019s just say back in 2010 when they first hit the scene they had a song called \u2018Don\u2019t Stop The Sandman\u2019 which mashed up \u2018Enter Sandman\u2019 and \u2018Don\u2019t Stop Believin\u2019, yep, that\u2019s what I mean\u2026 and after a ten year break between albums, they\u2019re back with a follow up to \u2018Reimaginator\u2019 with \u2018Reinventinator\u2019 and a massive dose of nowstalgia! Yes that\u2019s a word, it\u2019s nostalgic but with a majority of the songs of today, hence nowstalgia. So sit back, relax, enjoy the best thing you\u2019ll hear this year! I give you our review of \u2018Reinventinator.\u2019<\/p>\n

As the opening of the classic \u2018Tom\u2019s Diner\u2019 starts us off we\u2019re very abruptly interrupted by the riff that we all know, of course that of \u2018Back In Black\u2019 by AC\/DC and just as you start to bang your head we get into \u2018Walk This Way\u2019 by Aerosmith, and this my friends is within the first thirty seconds and sums Rock Sugar up in a nutshell. As it takes a turn to \u2018Centuries\u2019 by Fall Out Boy it just works! This is the genius of this band, because they take a complete 180 and we\u2019ve hit \u2018Paradise City\u2019 mid song, and as Jess Harnell belts out those notes (damn this man can sing and more on that soon) we keep that 180 turning to make it a full 360 and now we\u2019re blessing the rains down in \u2018Africa\u2019 and the harmonies and musicianship here are just top notch. The way that they keep parts of the songs underlying here and bring some back in are just really clever. These are mashups like you\u2019ve never heard before. This opener \u2018Walk In Black For Centuries\u2019 is the best way to re-introduce Rock Sugar after a long break between albums, and to that I say welcome back!<\/p>\n

\u2018Crawling Numb To Somebody Bohemian\u2019 Oh yes, Linkin Park! Oh here\u2019s the \u201cwhoa didn\u2019t expect that\u201d part of the evening as the riff of \u2018Numb\u2019 and the haunting keyboards stays there but the verses are \u2018Bohemian Rhapsody\u2019 and it\u2019s like whaaaaaat?! Then normally it\u2019s a case of different bands but here they kick it up a notch with another Linkin Park track and \u2018Crawling\u2019 until and abrupt stop and back to Queen with \u2018Somebody To Love\u2019 and how this works is beyond me but it really does. This has just turned into a classic Queen \/ Linkin Park medley as more Queen and more Linkin Park just come in and out and two of the saddest songs ever in the world in my opinion \u2018One More Light\u2019 and \u2018Who Wants To Live Forever\u2019 get their time and well deserved time at that.<\/p>\n

Next up \u2018Faithful Child O\u2019 Mine\u2019 That all familiar riff starts us off from Guns N\u2019 Roses but then as the title suggests, yep, we head to Journey and as Jess who is born to sing Journey by the way nails this in the verses and as the band keep the GN\u2019R riff underlying and throughout this is a marriage made in 80\u2019s heaven. Lyrically the song jumps between the two songs but that\u2019s why this works, and it\u2019s the perfect song for if you think, how can I listen to two songs at the same time? Here\u2019s your answer! Sometimes, two just work perfectly!<\/p>\n

This next one is great, \u2018Shout At The Devil Dog All Night\u2019 you may have seen or heard if you were following the bands Kickstarter campaign, or check it out below, as straight away we get Slaughter \u2018Up All Night\u2019, \u2018Motley Crue\u2019s \u2018Shout At The Devil\u2019 and Tears For Fears \u2018Shout\u2019 all within the first forty seconds. How does this work? The answer to that question is it just does\u2026 it really, really just does. The heavy verses of Tears For Fears take me back to Disturbed\u2019s version as I always loved that, but with this song you just really need to listen closely as there\u2019s so much going on! Like now, here\u2019s a bit of \u2018Black Dog\u2019 by Led Zep, before it just keeps rockin\u2019 and I absolutely love it. Then we get a special guest Mark Slaughter on vocals just because they can. Like I was saying before, the way they arrange these songs is something else, as the music for \u2018Shout\u2019 has been underlying the lyrics for \u2018Shout At The Devil\u2019 overlay it and damn, who knew? Impressive! Billy Idol\u2019s \u2018Rebel Yell\u2019 riff starts us off before the Bruno Mars \u201coh yeah yeah yeah\u201d comes in from \u2018Locked Out Of Heaven\u2019 and how in God\u2019s name does this work, but this song is absolute fire, I mean I wonder what many of today\u2019s pop hits would sound like as rock songs and Rock Sugar just answer this question for me constantly ha ha. Song takes its turn back to Billy Idol and the breakdown allows Jess\u2019s voice to drop down and is there nothing this man can\u2019t sing?! Then he gets his chance to sing the chorus and it closes with the two songs overlaying and you laugh because it\u2019s so damn great.<\/p>\n

Next up, \u2018Wires of Summer\u2019 and the Motley Crue \u2018Live Wire\u2019 riff starts us off before a sped up \u2018Boys of Summer\u2019 by Don Henley verse comes in over the riff and then gets flipped with the \u2018Live Wire\u2019 chorus over the \u2018Boys of Summer\u2019 music, again the arrangement is second to none. Tempo changes for the chorus of \u2018Boys of Summer\u2019 but only momentarily but let\u2019s not ignore the subtle cowbell used in that part, well played, fellas. Sped back up to play the song out and round of applause for that sone. Let\u2019s stay with some Motley Crue and \u2018Home Sweet Home\u2019 that piano from one of the original power ballads, yet who knew that Adele would mash up with it? Right? Well, \u2018Somebody Like You\u2019 just became an 80\u2019s power ballad and I\u2019m definitely OK with this. The end result is \u2018Someone Like Home\u2019 and this process of putting these together is something I want to be in a room for, the flips in music \/ lyrics and how the arrangements are made would be so great to see, because how this works is just wrong but right but more right than wrong, because when there\u2019s no wrong then it\u2019s all just right. Right? Oh hey there Night Ranger, where did you come from? Welcome to the song! \u2018Sister Christian\u2019 fits nicely over these Adele lyrics and music and then it\u2019s a tri-layer of all three songs and why the heck not! Bravo.<\/p>\n

Ahhh 1991, what a time for music, Nirvana came in and wiped the floor of the hair bands with one riff and as \u2018Smells Like Teen Spirit\u2019 starts this off but Whitesnake come in and \u2018Still of The Night\u2019 unites grunge and 80\u2019s metal and like I said back in 1991 to my friends \u201ccan\u2019t we just like both?\u201d and here we get the opportunity to in the space of 5:24. A haunting \u201chello hello hello\u201d echoes over the slower part of this Whitesnake classic and I like it, a lot. Left field just came calling again\u2026 Lady Ga Ga\u2019s \u2018Bad Romance\u2019 is here and it makes sense with a title like \u2018Smells Like Teen Romance Of The Night\u2019 and the three once again play it out and they\u2019ve done it again.<\/p>\n

Finally some Bon Jovi! \u2018You Give Love a Bad Name\u2019 starts as it does and we get ready to rock but they have just flipped it to one of my favourite songs of the 80\u2019s in \u2018Your Love\u2019 by The Outfield. So not only my favourite band ever in Bon Jovi but to mash it up with this song is just perfection in my eyes. This one makes me happy, and special mention to Chuck on guitar here, haven\u2019t given him enough credit yet, he\u2019s nailing all these riffs and parts and kudos to that. A nice little extra Jovi track thrown in with some \u2018Runaway\u2019, but the layers here again are so impressive, as nothing gets lost, nothing is muddled and this is some killer playing, production and mixing. That\u2019s probably my favourite so far, but hey, I\u2019m biased by the song choices ha ha. Oh and that one was called \u2018You Give Your Love A Bad Name\u2019, of course.<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin\u2019s \u2018Immigrant Song\u2019 starts with that familiar opening and takes its turn to of course, Kelly Clarkson, I mean who else but right? \u2018Since U Been Gone\u2019 is one of the best pop \/ rock songs of the last decade and its awesome to hear it included. I am intrigued with the title of \u2018Since Ur Barracuda\u2019s Been An Immigrant\u2019 because without it even standing out or being thrust in your face the \u2018Barracuda\u2019 riff has been playing pretty much under the whole song, which is when I say this works, this is why! Did I hear the drums from \u2018It\u2019s My Life\u2019 in there? I wonder? This one is another stand out and truly feels like its own song.<\/p>\n

\u2018Another Edge Of The Tiger In The Air\u2019 should give you a hint as to what this song will be made up of, and as it starts with the riffs from both \u2018Eye Of The Tiger\u2019 and \u2018Edge of Seventeen\u2019 together let\u2019s go! First verse is \u2018Edge of Seventeen\u2019 and chorus, same, but as the song hits the mid-point, we slow it down with a bevvy of fun, Phil Collins, Pink Floyd all being sung over the \u2018Eye of The Tiger\u2019 riff, what is happening here?! Jess gets his chance to belt out the chorus of \u2018Eye of The Tiger\u2019 and I need to hear him sing that entire song one day as it suits him perfectly. \u2018Roll You In The Hurricane\u2019 is another appearance by Adele but this time she\u2019s hanging out with Scorpions and how Adele isn\u2019t a big rock star after hearing these songs is beyond me, maybe this could be her calling an album of rock songs, I\u2019d listen! \u2018Rock You Like A Hurricane\u2019 is the perfect music here and what I really love about Rock Sugar is you don\u2019t know what\u2019s coming, like out of nowhere Cyndi Lauper\u2019s \u2018Time After Time\u2019 just appeared and I\u2019m more than OK with that too. There\u2019s really not much to not be OK with on this album, this is just so much damn fun!<\/p>\n

\u2018Any Highway You Want\u2019 brings back two favourites in AC\/DC and Journey and you can guess it from the name \u2018Highway To Hell\u2019 and \u2018Any Way You Want It\u2019 get the Rock Sugar treatment and arrangement wise again it\u2019s great as the turn back from the Journey lyrics to the AC\/DC tune is like turning on a dime and they make it perfectly. Steve Perry isn\u2019t an easy voice to emulate and Jess as I mentioned before needs to sing these songs more, nails them. Production wise again with everything going on there\u2019s no mud and its actually fun to try and listen closely to see if you can hear everything going on.<\/p>\n

Sadly we\u2019re up to the last track \u2018Countdown to Fireworks\u2019 and as Europe\u2019s \u2018The Final Countdown\u2019 starts with I want to say the one of if not the most recognizable keyboards of the 80\u2019s (aside from \u2018Jump\u2019 don\u2019t yell at me, yes I know that\u2019s the pinnacle for most) but as it rocks up big time, it flips to Katy Perry\u2019s \u2018Firework\u2019 with a guitars underneath, again, all these pop songs could be so much better as big rockers, but hey, music these days\u2026 *sigh* I miss the 80\u2019s, but we go back to Europe as the chorus belts out before heading back to Katy. Jess, gotta say man, you can sing the hell out of this tune. Oh, I love this double chorus of both lyrically sung together. Chuck is back with a solo and nails it, and as the keyboards come back in the song turns into a big rock monster to finish it and sadly, the album.<\/p>\n

What Rock Sugar have done here is something special, something fun, and it\u2019s what we need, the world needs some fun and if you\u2019re into something different and need a change from your daily music choices you\u2019re offered then I suggest getting on board with Rock Sugar. You won\u2019t find this on Spotify, Apple music, or any streaming services, so head over to the band’s website and see just how you can enjoy these mashups and the genius that is Rock Sugar. You won\u2019t be disappointed, trust me.<\/p>\n

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Essential Information:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong>\u00a0USA<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong>\u00a0http:\/\/www.rocksugarband.com<\/a><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Track Listing:<\/strong>
\nWalk In Black For Centuries
\nCrawling Numb To Somebody Bohemian
\nFaithful Child O\u2019 Mine
\nShout At The Devil Dog All Night
\nRebels Out Of Heaven
\nWires Of Summer
\nSomeone Like Home
\nSmells Like Teen Romance Of The Night
\nYou Give Your Love A Bad Name
\nSince Ur Barracuda\u2019s Been An Immigrant
\nAnother Edge Of The Tiger In The Air
\nRoll You in the Hurricane
\nAny Highway You Want
\nCountdown To Fireworks<\/p>\n