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KINGDOM COME
TOO
Eagle Records EDL EAG 302-2
Produced by: Lenny Wolf
Released: OUT / Website
Closest Relative: Robert Plant
GENRE: Rock
OVERALL: 70%

  1. It Ain't So Bad
  2. Free Your Mind
  3. Waiting
  4. Too Late
  5. You're My Secret
  6. Hey Man
  7. Tease
  8. Mighty Old Man
  9. Tell Me What I've Done
  10. Should Have Told You
  11. Joe English

From the opening bars of this new Lenny Wolf opus, it is clear to see that things have changed a little over the years and this album is a much matured sounding rock album.
It has been several years since I last heard a Kingdom Come record, despite the fact that Lenny has released several and a solo album also.
I am not sure how this album fits in with a few past releases, having not heard them, so I will review the album on face value and in comparison to the band's first couple of records - which in a blaze of publicity, were the most popular of his colorful career.
I was pleased to see that the Robert Plant likeness of his voice and some of the Led Zeppelinesque riffs and musical comparisons are still there, even if they are no longer as blatant as the debut album, which caused a storm of controversy when it was released in 1990.
At the time I can remember articles describing how every track on the album was derivative of a classic Zeppelin tune and how each one disguised artistic theft.
Despite all that, it was a bloody good album and a classic slice of commercial hard rock.
Now, ten years plus later, the band's line up has changed, as has the attitude.
The atmosphere is far more relaxed, the vibe somewhat mellow and the delivery of the album restrained to say the least.
It's not an album of power ballads, but it is soft. The delivery of the songs, high quality ones at that, has matured, as if the guys have grown up from the wild days of excess.
The album is quite moody and mellow in places, like on the passionate and haunting Waiting.
The opening number It Ain't So Bad is one of the rockier moments, but you can tell that things are never going to hit overdrive with an opening number of the pace. There are several good ballads on the album, better appreciated if you are in a similar mood to the album.
Waiting is the best of them - a top notch slow, haunting and passionate song.
There is a couple of downsides to the album, the main one being the fact the album drags a little through the middle, as the pace remains at mid-tempo throughout.
That is until the last two tracks.
I am not sure why any artist would save his two best tracks to finish the album, but Should Have Told You & Joe English are both excellent.
Joe English is the great uptempo rocking song with a more pronounced hard edge guitar that we have been hoping all album for, while Should Have Told You is a moody rock track with a harder very catchy melodic chorus. Above anything else, check these 2 tracks out, they are very good indeed.
BOTTOM LINE: A new side of Lenny Wolf and Kingdom Come, certainly a more thought out and matured approach.
A mellower than expected album, but still with a deal of class. It will just depend on what mood the listener or buyer is in as to whether this album gets high rotation.
I suspect I will play it every now and then, quite possibly after the Luke Morley album as part of my morning music! But those last 2 tracks might come out a little more often of find themselves on a best of compilation.
PRODUCTION: 85% SONGS: 65% VIBE: 65%ATTITUDE: 65%
ESSENTIAL FOR: Long time fans of the band and Lenny Wolf, fans of mature soft rock albums.



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