Joel Hoekstra’s 13: Crash Of Life

It’s been an interesting journey for Joel Hoekstra’s 13, the current Whitesnake and former Night Ranger guitarist hitting it out of the park with his Russell Allen/Jeff Scott Soto co-fronted debut Dying To Live back in 2015. With a mix of hard rock and a side of something a little heavier, the legendary rhythm section of Vinny Appice and Tony Franklin nailed the whole damn thing in place with the help of a few phenomenal guests, including Derek Sherinian on keyboards among their number.

By the time of 2021’s belated follow up Running Games, Hoekstra solidified his wish to make his solo outfit a band, Allen, Appice, Franklin and Sherinian now onboard across the whole album, while JSS offered up some tasty backing vocals. Impressive if maybe not quite up to the debut’s lofty standards, as an album it still struck all the right notes and again highlighted just what a fantastic guitarist Mr Hoekstra truly is. Two years further on and JH’s13 are back for a third outing, Crash Of Life, and only one change in membership, as Girish Pradhan (Girish And The Chronicles, The End Machine) takes on vocal duties in the absence of Russell Allen - although he is again ably backed by Jeff Scott Soto.

In terms of attack, the approach of album number three doesn’t veer too far from the path already laid out, a hard rock base sometimes steered into metal (of old) territory to good effect, but try though it might, this time the effect isn’t quite the same. In all honesty, Pradhan pales compared to his illustrious predecessors and when you can actually pick out some (in truth, quite a lot) of Soto’s backing vocals as being better than the leads, it becomes something of an issue. Don’t get me wrong, the guy is a decent singer, but his gruffness at times feels at odds with the music and rather than boldly owning these tracks, this time the singer is merely following them. That wouldn’t be quite the problem it becomes if the songs were catchy, hook laden and memorable, but that’s not really the case either. Instead, while the likes of “Torn Into Lies� possesses a stunning, dextrous guitar solo, nothing else about it really grabs you. “Not Tonight� feels just a little too much like a whole host of tracks you’ve already heard before, Whitesnake (natch) and a heavier commercial era Rainbow attack being the strongest flavours, while “You’re Right For Me� is a go through the motions bluesy number.

With a more enigmatic vocalist “Don’t Have Words� could have had real impact, but again, you can’t help but feel that Pradhan is searching for something that’s just out with his grasp, while the imperious thump and grind of “Find A Way� is simply crying out to be taken by the scruff of the neck and hammered home. Ultimately, Crash Of Life is all just a little too forgettable and while Hoekstra, Appice and Franklin really do try to slam things into place, it never really comes off, with even Derek Sherinian’s contributions sometimes feeling a little welded on to the main songs for effect. Hopefully Joel can steer things back on track for the 13’s next outing, but in truth to do so I think he needs to change the voice behind the mic - and just in case he isn’t paying attention, let me just suggest that it might well be the guy singing backing vocals that he needs…

Track Listing
1. Everybody Knows Everything
2. Crash Of Life
3. Damaged Goods
4. Torn Into Lies
5. Far Too Deep
6. Not Tonight
7. Over You
8. I Would Cry For Love
9. Don't Have Words
10. Find A Way
11. You're Right For Me
12. Through The Night

Added: October 14th 2023
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Joel Hoekstra online
Hits: 602
Language: english

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