Overall I wasn’t completely engaged with the material here from 80’s heroes Axe. Like many, I was hoping the band would bow out with guns blazing. Not to be.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Axe
ALBUM: Final Offering
LABEL: Escape Music
SERIAL: ESM 334
YEAR: 2019
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Bob Harris – lead vocals, keyboards * Bobby Barth – guitars, keyboards, vocals * Gerald Berger – bass * Scott Misner – drums * Brad Banhagel – guitars * Craig Gysler – keyboards
Additional Musicians: David Landes, Ray Patterson, Greg T. Walker, Billy Kitchens, Thana Harris, Nate Harris
TRACK LISTING: 01 Born To Lose * 02 Bad Romance * 03 Fire & Stone * 04 Land Of Our Fathers * 05 Make A Dream (Last Forever) * 06 Money * 07 Old Scratch * 08 Road To Damascus * 09 Who Will You Run To * 10 Ty Ochen’ Krasivaya * 11 Years Slip Away
RATING: 60/100
WEBLINKS: FB Page
Background
When news filtered through that Glory Daze yesteryear favourites Axe were to present their swan song in 2019, interest in their final album then took hold with a vengeance. It did take awhile for things to finally emerge, the release date put back several months to late September 2019.
Now it goes without saying, this band and its captain Bobby Barth have been to hell and back since their formation in the late 70’s. Someone should take the time to sit down with Bobby now that the Axe journey is about to conclude and write a book about his musical adventures, both the good and the bad.
After stints with MCA, Atco and MTM Music, the last chapter of the Axe book concludes with Escape Music. An apt combination don’t you think? ‘Let’s get out of here’, I hear someone saying. So, as the deck chairs on the good ship SS Axe are about to be cleared away, what does the band leave us with as a departure note?
The Songs
Axe kick it off with a tried and true blues blazer in ‘Born To Lose’. Yes it does have some trademark Axe features but you have to listen real hard for them. The next track ‘Bad Romance’ is more like the Axe of old, with big vocal chants, a guitar presence despite the song not picking up much tempo.
Apart from the slow acoustic intro, ‘Fire & Stone’ is one of the picks on the album, containing the familiar Axe riffs many of the Glory Daze readers know so well. At six and a half minutes, ‘Land Of My Fathers’ is more like a fireside tale than a song as such. It has good intent, big choir like backing vocals but not a lot else. The ballad ‘Make A Dream (Last Forever)’ has a Steve Perry flavoured lead vocal, while the guitar solo is lush with swampy effects.
Axe turn the amps up on ‘Money’, it’s the most aggressive track here. Yes money does that to the best of us! The pairing of ‘Old Scratch’ and ‘Road To Damascus’ were probably the weak links on the album, both having a tempo committed to the slow lane.
The next pairing of ‘Who Will You Run To’ and ‘Ty Ochen’ Krasivaya’ are good but not great, neither really containing any significant points of interest. Completing the album is the acoustic ballad ‘Years Slop By’, Axe leaving the stage on a mellow note rather than a bang.
In Summary
Overall I wasn’t completely engaged with the material here. Like many, I was hoping the band would bow out with guns blazing. Not to be. It was forty years ago that I first heard about the band in an issue of Creem magazine back in 1979. My fascination was peaked, and when they were (unfairly) compared to Foreigner that was it, I was sold.
If this is the last hurrah for Axe then I bow my head and give thanks to all who have passed through their ranks, and thank them for their service to the melodic rock scene. It’s been a fascinating journey with more downs than ups I would suugest, but fascinating nonetheless. Thank you Mr Barth and friends. Escape Music have issued this in both CD and vinyl format, get in quickly before they disappear.
Axe on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
