Flashback CD Review #113 - Carmine Appice Project - Ultimate Guitar Zeus

This review was written for the Rock Is Life.com website in 2006.

Carmine Appice Project
Ultimate Guitar Zeus
Escapi Music - 2006
http://www.carmineappice.net

What's The 4-1-1?

Here's a 14 song collection of rock and roll featuring an all-star cast of guitarists filling out the band roster of Carmine Appice on drums, Kelly Keeling on lead vocals and Tony Franklin on bass.

Genre

Rock / Hard Rock

The Good

The CD kicks off with a great little number in "Days Are Nights." It is a real uptempo song featuring a ripping guitar solo from Ted Nugent. The album's closing number is an instrumental called "G Z Blues". It is a quick little track and I though it was a nice way to end the disc.

While I thought the music was a bit overkill on "Doin' Fine" during the chorus, the slow bluesy vocal at the beginning was a nice touch as was the guitar solo from Vivian Campbell.

The best tracks on the CD are the burning rocker "4 Miles High" featuring Steve Morse, "Killin' Time" with Ty Tabor and the balls out rocker "This Time Around". I like that track the most because it showcases some frenzied playing from Yngwie Malmsteen and King's X vocalist Doug Pinnick provides a guest lead vocal that is superb.

The Bad

"Code 19" features a guitar solo from Zakk Wylde, but nothing about the song really enthuses me. It is overlong and rather boring.

I found the Slash solo driven track "Where You Below" underwhelming. The solo is interesting but the song surrounding it is kind of one note, slow with a temporary pick up in pace. Kelly Keeling vocals aren't something I enjoyed on the track either.

The guitar work on "Stash" was good but I thought the entirety of the vocal track was trash.

There's a cover of the Rod Stewart song "Do You Think I'm Sexy" that while it has a much heavier sound than the original version features vocals by Carmine Appice that are significantly weaker, particularly in the chorus. "Gonna Rain" is another track (featuring Richie Sambora) that I didn't like.

The Verdict

I thought a bunch of the tracks were really good. The CD is some fine heavy rock music. But I found some of the songs weak. They just didn't appeal to me whether it was the vocals or the music.

The main thing that bugged me was the inclusion of all the guest performers. Carmine Appice and Kelly Keeling wrote most of the songs on the disc, along with a couple of tracks from bassist Tony Franklin. You've got 3/4 of a band already, it leaves me wondering why they didn't just try to find a single guitarist to join in a more cohesive band unit.

I know I'd like to hear more of the music they come up with, but having a new guitarist to provide a solo on each and every song is just boring to me.

The songs I mentioned above in the good section are really worth checking out. Ultimate Guitar Zeus is a good, even very good CD. But it is not a great one and I think it could've been.

Did You Know?

The CD back cover credits tennis legend John McEnroe on the song "Stash" but the inside CD booklet doesn't say what he contributes to the song. Stevie Salas plays the song's solo.

Action movie star Steven Seagal helps close the album with the bluesy instrumental "G Z Blues".

Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5