In hopes of breaking into the US market, popular Russian rock band Pushking have enlisted quite a group of All-Stars for their latest release The World As We Love It. Featuring 19 tracks and a virtual 'who's who' of the hard rock and heavy metal world, The World As We Love It is sure to get some folks over on this side of the pond talking.
If you're not very familiar with Pushking, fret not, as I'm sure most outside of Russia more likely than not have never heard this band before. That might change though, as The World As We Love It is a pretty solid hard rock affair, given even more appeal thanks to the wide list of guest stars. Konstantin "KOHA" Shustarev (vocal, guitars), Andrey "DRUNIA" Kruglov (drums), Oleg "IVANICH" Bondaletov (keyboards),
Dmitriy "MITYA" Losev (guitars), and Roman "ROMA" Nevelev (bass), are joined by legendary ZZ Top guitarist/vocalist Billy Gibbons on the rockin' Nightrider", and he also returns alongside hotshot Extreme guitar stud on the frenzied "It'll Be OK". A trip down 80's hair metal can be heard on "Troubled Love", featuring Alice Cooper on lead vocals, and former Uriah Heep/Luceifer's Friend belter John Lawton lends his powerful pipes to the melodic rock gem "Stranger's Song, a tone that also sees Steve Stevens deliver some explosive guitar licks. Other strong pieces on the CD include the down & dirty funk metal track "Cut the Wire" with Paul Stanley of KISS and guitarist Stevie Salas, guitar virtuoso Steve Vai on the atmospheric "My Reflections After Seeing the Schindler's List Movie", ex-Rainbow/MSG/Alcatrazz vocalist Graham Bonnet delivering some passionate lines on the rootsy "God Made Us Free", and well-travelled singer Glenn Hughes on the melodic blues rock cuts "Why Don't You", "Private Own", and "Tonight", the latter also featuring his current Black Country Communion band member Joe Bonamassa on lead guitar.
Also noteworthy are "I Love You" and "My Simple Song", two bluesy ballads featuring the whiskey soaked vocals of Nazareth frontman Dan McCafferty, the crunchy AC/DC styled heavy rocker "Nature's Child", complete with a venemous Udo Dirkschneider, and a trip to 70's hard rock with Joe Lynn Turner on "Head Shooter". However, the best track seems to have be saved for famed vocalist Jorn Lande, as he delivers a truly inspiring performance on the nasty "Heroin", a blistering hard rock piece that invokes images of the 70's greats like Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Humble Pie, Uriah Heep, Rainbow, and Aerosmith. There's even "Kukarracha", a tune that features Turner, Eric Martin, Hughes, Stanley, and Bonnet, as well as Toto's Steve Lukather on guitars, which has a real party atmosphere about it. Too bad they didn't do a few more ensemble numbers like this throughout the album.
Overall, The World As We Love It is a lot of fun, and while it might not be the chartbuster here in North America that Pushking is looking for (too many songs, and perhaps a lack of enough killer tunes), there are some solid numbere that hard rock fans over here should easily pick up on. Also, with all the guest vocalists and musicians, it's kind of hard for Pushking's own identity to rise above what everyone else is doing on the album. Despite that, this one is easy to recommend.
Track Listing
01. Intro 0.14
02. Nightrider 3.36
03. It'll be OK 4.16
04. Trouble Love 4.12
05. Strangers Song 4.11
06. Cut The Wire 4.18
07. My Reflections After Seeing the Schindler's List Movie 4.17
08. God Made Us Free 3.49
09. Why Don't You 4.57
10. I Believe 3.57
11. Tonight 5.59
12. Private Own 4.19
13. Open Letter To God 4.47
14. Nature's Child 4.03
15. I Love You 4.44
16. Headshooter 3.31
17. Heroin 4.56
18. My Simple Song 4.37
19. Kukarracha 4.16
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