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Tipton, Entwistle, & Powell: Edge Of The World

Glenn Tipton's first solo recordings are finally seeing the light of day. While the guitarist released his first solo album in 1996 he mentions in his liner notes that he had earlier recordings that featured legendary players John Entwistle and Cozy Powell. The record company decided this music's fate and as a result a different solo record Baptizm Of Fire would be released. Fast forward a few years and now courtesy of Rhino Records fans of the axe slinger will finally get to hear the music he wanted to present in the first place. Overall this is a solid Hard Rock album with nothing too over the top by the rhythm section except their expected level of skill and professional sound. It's my guess that they took this as a studio project more than a band and that's why they merely did what was necessary and not filled this with wild displays. Let's face it, the music listener world would have to agree with you on Entwistle having the title as one of the greatest Rock bassists ever. The same can be said for Cozy Powell who was one of Rocks more accomplished drummers and with recordings withJeff Beck, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and Whitesnake under his belt who can question. These two forces combined with Glenn's guitar work and vocals gave a sound that that was different enough from his work in Judas Priest to be easily enjoyed for it would still Rock. Touring was debated but would never come to pass as Fate's ever cruel hand ended any plans of this by taking both Powell and Entwistle from us far too soon. As a result instead of looking forward to shows with this music we can find this a fitting memorial of their great contributions to music.

There are a number of great songs on the album and each flows very well into the others on the recording. Some of my favorites were "Unknown Soldier", "The Holy Man" and "Edge Of The World". Its more Hard Rock than Metal which is a refreshing change for one would probably not be served well by releasing "Priest II", as this at least shows us the level of player that Tipton is. His guitar work is smooth and technical at the same time and I think anyone who enjoys his work in The Priest will find some stuff on here that rocks well enough for them. The booklet includes lyrics and some commentary from Glenn but there are no pictures to view which was sad. Even stuff from session would have been nice with these guys passed on I felt. Yet I'm glad Glenn was able to showcase the music that the two legends took part in just the same. They will never be forgotten and they can never be replaced.


Track Listing

  1. Unknown Soldier
  2. Friendly Fire
  3. The Holy Man
  4. Never Say Die
  5. Resolution
  6. Searching
  7. Give Blood
  8. Crime Of Passion
  9. Walls Cave In
  10. Edge Of The World
  11. Stronger Than The Drug

Added: May 14th 2006
Reviewer: Ken Pierce
Score:
Related Link: Judas Priest Website
Hits: 5963
Language: english

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» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews:

Tipton, Entwistle, & Powell: Edge Of The World
Posted by Steve Pettengill, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-05-14 10:36:32
My Score:

Shelved for a decade due to lack of record label interest, Tipton, Entwistle & Powell's Edge of the World finally sees the light of day. While it's not at all a bad album, one can almost understand why it was given the red light by label executives. Considering the talent involved, Edge of the World is a little underwhelming. While Glenn Tipton's guitar playing and Cozy Powell's drums are in fine form, the songs are nothing special and Tipton's vocals are, to be kind, an acquired taste. The early tracks on Edge of the World, such as "Friendly Fire" and "Holy Man" show promise, but things get pretty shaky halfway through the album. "Searching" is an acoustic ballad that perhaps would come off better with a stronger singer. "Give Blood" is a rather hokey get-the-crowd-rocking anthem while "Walls Cave In" is an unconvincing stab at funk metal. But "Crime of Passion" has a nice chorus and "Resolution" is a decent enough anthem. The title track is quite solid as well. All told, Edge of the World is good, but should be much better. When you have one of the greatest rock drummers in your band, as well as the bass player from The Who, not to mention an underrated talent like Don Airey playing keyboards, one should expect more than a slightly dated metal-lite album. Still, Glenn Tipton fans will likely love this album.

Tipton, Entwistle, & Powell: Edge Of The World
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-04-30 18:14:13
My Score:

OK, so the story has it that Glenn Tipton actually had Edge of the World done and ready to submit to the record label before Baptizm of Fire, but the label rejected it so it sat in the vaults for years until now. Rhino Records has recently released both albums, hot on the heels of the reunited Judas Priest album and tour to get that extra emphasis on these solo works from Tipton. Here, the legendary John Entwistle and Cozy Powell get to share billing with Glenn Tipton, and the results are a mixed bag but there is some solid hard rock, less Priest influenced than Baptizm of Fire, and more in a groove-laden hard rock style, with tight, beefy rhythms and stellar lead guitar work. Vocals are again handled by Tipton, and while he won't win any awards for the best singer, he does a good job considering this is his first time out.

There's some crunchy and rockin' material here, like the bombastic "Friendly Fire, complete with lightning lead work, or the symphonic "Never Say Die" (Don Airey plays keyboards on the album by the way) which has some catchy hooks and plenty of keyboards. There's also some tunes that have a Magnum or Ten kind of feel, like "Resolution" and "The Holy Man", the latter complete with a rip-off of the Mellotron line from The Moody Blues song "Tuesday Afternoon". There's even a few acoustic/pop based numbers, like "Crime of Passion" and "Searching", but these show the frailty of Tipton's vocals, and quite frankly I'm surprised the guys put as many mellow tracks as they did on this album, as overall I was expecting more fireworks.

That's probably my main gripe with Edge of the World-there's just not enough "oomph" that I would have expected from such powerful players. Powell pounds the skins just fine on the more rockin' pieces, and Tipton's lead work and rhythm guitar are solid as always, but you just don't hear enough of Entwistle here to make this anything groundbreaking or noteworthy. In the end, solid, but lacking is the best way to put it.

Tipton, Entwistle, & Powell: Edge Of The World
Posted by Jack Toledano, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-04-07 17:06:05
My Score:

As I stated in my review of Glenn Tipton's Baptizm of Fire, immediately following the Angel Of Retribution world tour, Tipton chose to release not one, but two CD's. One being the re-release of Baptizm of Fire with bonus material, and the other being Edge of The World, in which Glenn rightly gives equal billing to the late, great Who bassist John Entwistle, and late, great Rainbow and Whitesnake drummer, Cozy Powell, to name a very few of the bands that he lent his great drumming ability to. But, as with Baptizm of Fire, this clearly is a Glenn Tipton project, as he handles all of the guitars, vocals, and songwriting. Also lending his expertise to Edge of The World is former Rainbow and Ozzy Ozbourne (again, to name a very few) keyboardist Don Airey, as he did on Baptizm of Fire.

This CD was actually recorded before Baptizm of Fire, and the story goes that Glenn approached Atlantic Records with these recordings, and while they liked the idea of him making a solo CD, they felt that the line up of Tipton, Entwistle, and Powell were a little old school. Atlantic suggested that Tipton mix in some younger musicians to give the CD a more modern feel. After meeting with Rhino Records recently, a deal was struck to bring this collection of songs, now known as Edge of The World, to light. While there is definitely some good guitar and vocal work (yes, vocal work!!) on this CD, as well as some stellar bass and drums from Entwistle and Powell, for once I have to agree with the establishment (Atlantic Records) in their decision to opt for the Baptizm of Fire recordings.

For me, the highlights of this release would have to be about the first half of the CD, as the second half is actually a little too mellow for my tastes. I know, some people will say that they don't want this recording to sound exactly like what Judas Priest normally sounds like. That may be true, but there are times where I can't tell if I'm listening to Glenn Tipton or Paul McCartney. That is never more evident than in the song "Crimes of Passion". My point is that if I wanted to hear Paul McCartney, I would buy one of his CD's. But when listening to Glenn Tipton, a certain amount of metal should be a pre-requisite. Fortunately, Tipton picks the pace back up toward the end on the title track.

Otherwise, there is some great guitar work interspersed throughout the CD, even some melodic acoustic guitar work. John Entwistle gives us some nice bass work in "Walls Cave In", while Cozy Powell gives us more great drumming throughout the CD. Don Airey is actually quite involved on this CD as well. Surprisingly, I found Glenn's vocals to be very good and more powerful on this CD than on Baptizm of Fire. This CD is worth a try for avid Priest CD collectors, or for those curious to hear the collaborative efforts of three legendary performers.



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