Ritchie Kelly's Overture
Opus #1

Kelly and his guys are releasing their first opus, a fifteen-chapter story that seems to be going on the nostalgic path. The press information also speaks of looking backwards towards the eighties and all of those things, it would appear as though very many bands of the rock and metal genres are looking back at the past with rose tinted glasses, dreaming nostalgic dreams of a past that never really was as good as it is in the mind of these nostalgic people. But saying one thing and the appearance of the cover art and such and such is one thing but what about what Kelly and his band of musical heroes have to offer?

Well, it isn’t modern if I say so. Well, the production is modern but the overall mood of the album still feels like reminiscing on memory lane. There are fifteen tracks on the album, the variation is pretty decent and they break off with some piano tunes and other little things but overall it is classic rock songs. The vocals are good, there are both male and female vocals on this album, the tempo is pretty typical of the genre and the song structures are quite similar to what we get to hear in most bands of the genre, strong choruses are the most prominent features of the album. But the album is long, 77 minutes long to be exact – that is on the long side no matter which way you look at it. But this album has variation and some things that break the common style of the album meaning that there is a possibility for it to remain interesting throughout.

Quality of the album is good, though I think it plays a little bit too much on the genres past glories rather than finding an own and more adventurous route. It clearly starts best but after the fourth or fifth track it sort of tumbles a bit downwards in quality, it never turns bad but it is hard to keep the interest up when one nostalgic dream after another play through the speakers. I am not that impressed with living in the past, but for the nostalgic people it will probably be something to look at. I however, think that the album is a bit on the long side even if they slightly remedy that with the ending piano tune.

Other than that I do not think there is much more that is needed to say, it is nostalgic rock music and it is well made – those who like that sort of thing will probably like this album as well. The second track Happiness and the forth track All Life Long is the sharpest tunes on this album, these tracks stand out very much in my opinion and makes the album worth a look. Other than that there aren’t much, decent tracks and good performances but I doubt you will sing along with these songs all life long – if I may say so.

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