Often compared to White Sister, San Diego band Flyweil’s brand of 80’s melodic rock had a good sound, everything all in order musically, with a mix of songs that shift between pomp, mid-paced rockers and a couple of ballads.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Flyweil
ALBUM: Flyweil
LABEL: BGTM
SERIAL: 44-69
YEAR: 1990
CD INFO: Discogs Info List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Kevin Panizza – vocals, keyboards * Danny Donnelley – guitars, vocals * Patrick McMichael – drums, vocals * Steven Tally – bass, vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 Never Cry * 02 Keep On Dreamin’ * 03 Calling After You * 04 Phoenix Rising * 05 Bobby Can You Hear Me * 06 Number One * 07 When You’re There * 08 On Our Way
Background
I recall this album from the mid 90’s, I ended up buying a copy of the CD from hard rock retailer Dream Disc out of Indianapolis. At the time, I was intrigued with Flyweil, based on Dream Disc’s little snippet saying these guys were like White Sister clones.
Whoa, that was enough to get me interested, though I have to say, the snippet and comparison wasn’t quite a 100% doppelganger of Dennis Churchill-Dries band, but Flyweil came close on occasion.
From San Diego, Flyweil were quite popular around the Southern California locale, their brand of 80’s melodic rock had a good sound, everything all in order musically, with a mix of songs that shift between pomp, mid-paced rockers and a couple of ballads.
The lead vocals of Kevin Panizza are an interesting listen, with a helium induced style, not quite in the Tony Harnell or Tony Mills league, but, one other point to be made, the production on this indie CD is pretty darned good.
The Songs
The band delivers just 8 tracks, a touch on 37 minutes of playing time, the three tracks of most interest are those which feature the most keyboard work. These are: ‘Keep On Dreaming’, ‘calling After You’ and the last one ‘On Our Way’.
‘Keep On Dreaming’ is a bit of synth overkill, you can clearly hear some of the stock Korg patches on this track (the famous ‘Universe’ patch or derivative thereof can be heard on the intro). This track is the best thing on the album by a long shot. ‘Calling After You’ is pretty reasonable too, with lots of melodic ivory tapping going on.
The ballads are less interesting, ‘Phoenix Rising’ is an acoustic/electric hybrid, so too ‘When You’re There. However, ‘Bobby Can You Hear Me’ has an epic quality about it, I was sort of reminded of Angel in places, the way this song works toward a climactic finish is a bonus, very cool track. ‘Number One’ has a jangly pop feel to it, the absence of significant and powerful guitar riffs is most noticeable.
In Summary
Don’t know a lot about Flyweil’s subsequent fortunes, they were around during the late 80’s and early 90’s, my guess is that they folded once alternative rock and grunge made their presence felt. A web search sees Kevin Panizza now involved in underwater photography. Flyweil’s only album is a neat little disc with a couple of good tracks. Again, probably not a compulsory acquisition but Flyweil are worth a listen, particularly ‘Keep On Dreaming’.
Flyweil on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
