Kelly Keeling Interview at metaluk.com - April 2005 http://www.metaluk.com/interviews/viewInterview.cfm?iInterviewID=55

http://www.hardrockhaven.net
Giving Sight to the Eye - Kelly Keeling
Mascot Records

Comments: Hum…let’s see, Kelly Keeling has recorded and performed with Baton Rouge, Heaven and Earth, Carmon Appice, MSG, Blue Murder, George Lynch and Dokken over his 20 year music career. This Louisiana native found his calling at an early age and spent long hours perfecting his craft. Originally the guitarists for the band Baton Rouge he was catapulted to become the front man for the band when the label heard him sing his songs to the then current singer (who then took over guitar duties) as the label would not give the group a deal without this change in the bands lineup.

The rest as the cliché goes is history. Many years and various gigs have led Kelly to slowly creating and crafting his first solo release. Which sounds nothing like his previous projects and at the same time sounds eerily similar. With Kelly handling the majority of the instrumentation, including the guitar, he is joined by a who is who of the industry; Don Dokken (Dokken), John Norum (Europe, Dokken), Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder, Whitesnake), Kerry Livgren (Kansas), Mitch Perry (Talas, MSG), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, King Kobra, Blue Murder, Guitar Zeus Project) and Roger Daltry (The Who) being the most notable.

One is always left to ponder when hearing an artists who takes out on his own, whether he can get the job done by himself or if the musicians that the artists has been surrounded by, help to carry them. Don’t be surprised when you realize that Kelly is the real deal. He is a songwriter who not only excels as a vocalist but is a great musician in his own right. He has crafted some great songs that dabble in many influences but seem always to be based on a blues-rock foundation.

ESP guitar in hand, (current endorser) Kelly Keeling starts the 11 track journey on the song “Rising of the Smoke.” The song starts with a Stuart Smith/George Lynch style rhythmic groove and the vocals distinctly remind me of the work done on MSGs Unforgiven CD. This a mild comparison so you have a handle on what this CD is going to sound like because this CD is truly all about Kelly.

Standing along side so many great guitarists could make any guitar player leery to perform his own fret work. Kelly has no reason for shame; he has a handle on the guitar and has his own definitive style. Very blues oriented with the flair for flashes of speedy riffs. The next song “Parasite” is a very bluesy number, it starts out in a nicely paced groove as Kelly’s vocal growl lets the lyrics flow from his lips. The song builds into the chorus and maintains your interest along the 5 minute ride. A great bluesy solo to boot, if your interest hasn’t peeked yet then you’re not paying attention.

“Broken” another blues influenced rocker rolls into the fourth track “Perfect Day,” which is a pleasant ballad-esque type song that builds from tranquility to a moderately paced ending. Kelly really pulls on your heart strings with a stellar vocal performance. You can hear Tony Franklin’s familiar bass riffs amid the ambient instrumentation. Great Hendrix-y guitar solo and cool keyboard textures highlight the track.

Haunting organs led into “Ground Zero” a mid tempo rocker where Kelly’s vocal growl teases the listener. Lyrically hinting at the resurrection (you now the one I am talking about), the song was written by Kerry Livgren and has a Kansas inspired vibe. “Nothing” features yet again Tony Franklin, and his bass playing is the driving focal point for the chorus here. The vocals are harmonized in the verse and chorus which are very catchy, memorable with there groove oriented delivery. John Norum handles the guitar solo duties.

“Believe,” opens with an eloquent acoustic guitar, before Kelly pours his heart out into the verse which really could be the chorus, the song doesn’t followed the typical verse-chorus-verse stereotype. Don Dokken handles the harmonies and co-lead vocals in the chorus. Kelly performs the guitar solo which is an energized romp, very melodic and fits the atmosphere of the song. “Sunlight Needs the Day” the 8th track, returns to the ballad style format, which features a soft, mellow vocal, stylish vocal harmonies and sparse instrumentation.

“Hell is on the Way” opens with a Zep-ish drum groove and guitar riff. The quiet verse leads into the up tempo chorus. Vinny Appice mans the ‘skins, he provides a solid groove for the guitars to lay their rhythms over. Very Zep-ish guitar solos on this track as well. “Peace with the World,” is an interesting song, having a very 70s influenced feel. Very open sounding track allowing the music to breathe. “Hell is on the Way,” features another nice guitar solo that fits the vibe of the song without being intrusive.

The final track, “Jesse,” features Kelly sharing vocal duties with Roger Daltry and Denny Laine. The song with Daltry on vocals has a very “Who” feel to it and is another track reaching into the 70s era of influence. The song maintains a moderate tempo and is well constructed and enjoyable to listen to. Also the track is graced with flowing guitar solos that add to the ambience of the track.

In all, to date this is one of the best CDs of 2005. Giving Sight to the Eye strongly represents well constructed songs and musical ideas that flow, pushes and pulls the lyrical, vocal and instrumental concepts into a melting pot of well balanced and entertaining song constructs that make up this CD. Two thumbs up!!!

Line-up: Kelly Keeling (v)(b)(g)(k), Carmine Appice (d) Guests: Don Dokken (Dokken), John Norum (Europe, Dokken), Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder, Whitesnake), Kerry Livgren (Kansas), Mitch Perry (Talas, MSG), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, King Kobra, Blue Murder, Guitar Zeus Project) and Roger Daltry (The Who)

http://www.virtuosityone.com/march05reviews.htm
Giving Sight to the Eye - Mascot Records

Kelly Keeling has been around the rock scene since the mid 1980's when he joined Baton Rogue. Since this time Kelly has sung on numerous projects including MSG's The Unforgiven, Blue Murder, John Norum's Worlds Away and Another Destination and more recently wrote alot of material for Dokkens last couple of releases. However its taken almost 20 years for Kelly to get around to releasing his own solo album which is entitled Giving Sight To The Blind. Kelly has roped in several old friends for guest performances on the album including John Norum, Don Dokken, Tony Franklin and Carmine Appice amongst others.

The album is home 11 solid hard rocking tracks that in many ways are not a million miles away from the material he has collaborated on in the past. Opener Rising Of The Snake is an up-tempo rocker that seems to fuse early Deep Purple with more modern tones. Parasite has a low down and dirty blues vibe which leads into a strong chorus. Broken has a great atmospheric opening which leads into Stormbringer era Purple funkiness the Hammond organ work here is superb. Perfect Day is not the Lou Reed classic but rather a slice of classic song writing with its mid tempo ballad feel. Kelly delivers a very tasty guitar solo here. Ground Zero is very emotional with excellent orchestration whilst Nothing sees John Norum deliver some smokin' lead lines on this rocking track that has great harmonised vocals from Kelly. Believe is a great AOR feeling track co written with Don Dokken and Michelle Meldrum (wife of John Norum and guitarist in Phantom Blue) and is not a million miles away from the excellent material found on the Heaven & Earth - Windows To The World release. Sunlight Needs The Day has a lazy weekend feel about it and being acoustic led is a moment of mellowness. Hell Is On The Way seems to fuse classic hard rock with the vibe of The Beatles and Queens Of The Stone Age! Peace With The World is another orchestrated number which showcases Keeling's writing abilities whilst album closer Jesse sees vocal legend Roger Daltery (The Who) delivery this Cream-ish sounding track.

Giving Sight To The Eye is a very solid album which showcases Keeling's song writing abilities more than using musical virtuosity to get the message across. I was surprised just how good a musician Kelly was (I always presumed he just sang) but as he plays a lot of instruments here to excellent effect you can now see what he has had so many high profile gigs over the years. Simply if you enjoyed any of Kelly's previous musical offerings then you will enjoy this. Rating - 82%

http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=5262&lang=en

Kelly Keeling - Giving Sight To The Eye
Mascot Records
file under Hardrock/AOR

Richard G.: Singer and multi instrumentalist Kelly Keeling has an impressive resume: Baton Rouge, Blue Murder, John Norum Band, Carmine Appice Guitar Zeus, Michael Schenker Group, King Kobra and Dokken. His long experience pays off in a major way on his solo debut "Giving Sight To The Eye". In terms of composition this album is a breath of fresh air compared with 98% of the releases in the hardrock genre. There's plenty of variation both between songs and during the songs and the balance between hard rocking and mellow parts is almost perfect. Kelly Keeling is inspired by bands from the seventies and just like those bands lets a whole range of emotions shine through, some moments he sounds melancholic, on others euphoric. In terms of instruments there's plenty of diversity too: a mellotron, hammond organs, piano, flute and even a trombone.

Every song is worth mentioning. "Broken" reminds us of Deep Purple in their heyday, "Ground Zero" has the opera grandeur of Queen's best music, "Parasite" sounds just as relaxed as Free and "Peace With The World" can easily compete with the best pieces David Bowie ever wrote. Kelly Keeling is a multi instrumentalist, but fortunately is wise enough not to play everything himself and got himself a hand from artists such as Roger Daltrey, Carmine Appice, John Norum, Don Dokken and Tony Franklin. "Giving Sight To The Eye" is pure class and without doubt one of the surprises of the year. With this album Kelly Keeling and Mascot records are sitting on gold.
Rating: 94/100 (details)

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/09/044825.php
KELLY KEELING ‘Giving Sight To The Eye’ Mascot Records (2005) website

Vocalist Kelly Keeling (Baton Rouge/Blue Murder/John Norum) has produced a fine solo debut and amazingly it’s his first one as well! There are plenty of guests as well including Roger Daltrey, Don Dokken, Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin to name but a few. The album also covers many musical areas ranging from the hard rock opener ‘Rising Of The Snake’ (not a song about David Coverdale) to the funky vibe of ‘Broken’ (for me the weakest track on here). Stand out tracks are ‘Ground Zero’, a truly magnificent piece of pomp rock and it’s no wonder as it is written by Kansas’s Kerry Livgren and ‘Jessie’, a wonderful acoustic number in the vein of CSNY and the Eagles. Roger Daltrey and Denny Laine (ex-Wings/Moody Blues) guest on this one and if any song on here would suit airplay it is this gem. Elsewhere former Dio/Rainbow drummer Vinnie Appice drums up a storm on ‘Hell Is On The Way’, with Keeling proving he’s no slouch in the guitar department either as he widdles up a solo storm a la Steve Vai.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this album was as many albums with long guest lists tend to have a disjointed feel to them. Well worth adding to your collection and it highlights what an underrated vocalist Keeling is.

http://www.metal-temple.com/review.asp?id=843

METAL TEMPLE.COM

This is Kelly Keeling's first solo album! Kelly has worked together with mega Rock monsters such as Alice Cooper, John Sykes, Blue Murder, John Norum, Michael Schenker, Don Dokken, both as a guitarist and as a vocalist from time to time. Although Kelly doesn't like solo albums - because he feels it usually doesn't work out "unless you're Sting or McCartney" - he launches his first assault here! Kelly describes his solo material as "the softer side of Kelly Keeling". Kelly intends to be a contender in all areas of the music business for a long time to come. He is obviously very gifted and talented as his diverse approach and his wide range of co-operations show the extent of what a bright career he has built and achieved!

From the names we have just stated you would imagine that this would be a straightforward American type of Hard Rock album! But this is where it all begins! If you expect to listen to a typical super inspired Heavy/Rock album in the likes of Dokken, Cinderella or Bon Jovi then you might get a slight disappointment! This album definitely rocks but it also presents a more mellow and inner approach and revelation of Kelly Keeling's musical character and songwriting approach! You have to listen to it at least 2-3 times, before it starts revealing its true musical potential.

Kelly's voice is truly remarkable - sometimes someone really wonders if he is really a guitarist or a vocalist! However there are certain moments in this album that the whole musical approach sounds a bit nerveless. The participation of mega monsters such as Don Dokken, John Norum, Carmine Appice and many more really adds to the strength and impact as well as the glam of this album! This is not a typical Hard Rock record. It mostly covers a wider range of emotions and feelings. Funky jazz moments make their appearance here very often in a sometimes Glen Hughe-ian way of song writing! You will also find this music as an excellent relaxing experience which can put you into deep thoughts about life in general! It additionally has a very nice artwork which is really a plus for the whole artistic proposition! Top moments definitely include: "Rising Of The Snake", "Believe", "Jesse", "Hell Is On The Way", and "Sunlight Needs the Day" amongst others! The scheduled release worldwide is at March 23, 2005 on Mascot Records so we are very eager to watch the release of this true hard rocker's assault! Let's hope that "Giving Sight To The Eye" will be the new beginning for the continuation of Kelly's (already) bright path!

http://rateyourmusic.com/view_album_details/album_id_is_284153

I have waited for this album for three years. It has been well worth the wait. I saw Kelly with George Lynch and MSG. They did not play any of his songs to my dismay but he is still the best singer I have seen live and is one of my favorite recording artists. This album starts with a song called "Rising Of The Snake".Kick ass opener. I wondered who was playing guitar as I listened while driving home. It was Keeling. Great guitarist. He plays almost everything on this album. Another Lenny Kravitz but much better in my opinion. Another highlight is "Perfect Day". Also "sunlight needs the day". Very Pink Floyd. Kerry Livgren from KANSAS guests on an epic song called "Ground Zero". Amazing song. Keeling does all choir parts, guitars, keys , bass, production, Carmine Appice On Drums with the help of Kerry Livgren on Piano. Great album. I will be enjoying it for some time. Denny lane from Moody Blues and Wings!! John Norum!

Well worth the wait

brian

Rated: 4-1/2 stars

http://www.prog-nose.org/metal-nose/engels/albums%202005/keeling_kelly_giving_sight_to_the_eye.htm

Reviewed by Edwin
Kelly Keeling has quite a resume. He's performed and/or recorded with Baton Rouge, John Norum (Europe), John Sykes' Blue Murder, MSG, King Kobra, Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus, George Lynch (Dokken), Lana Lane & Erik Norlander and Heaven and Earth, but he's never stayed in a band long enough to really make a name for himself. Travelling around does have its benefits, though: Keeling has met a lot of famous names, and he has persuaded a lot of them to participate on his first solo album, "Giving Sight To The Eye". The list of guest musicians is impressive: Don Dokken, John Norum, Carmine & Vinnie Appice, Kerry Livgren (Kansas), Mitch Perry (MSG), Tony Franklin (The Firm, Whitesnake), Denny Laine (Paul McCartney's Wings, Moody Blues) and Roger Daltrey (The Who), just to name a few.

On this album, it seems Keeling wanted to explore the whole range of his musical interests, which results in lots of variation: The album starts off with the very powerful "Rising Of The Snake", a first class melodic metal track. Apart from the drums, KK does everything himself, very convincingly. "Parasite" is a slower, bluesy song with a nice Hammond and great, raw singing. "Broken" wouldn't have been out-of-place on a Glenn Hughes record. A funky tune, with very Coverdale-like vocals and a prominent Hammond, which make this song sound very much like a Deep Purple (Tommy Bolin-era) track. A Beatles influence pops up in the slow "Perfect Day" (just listen to that mellotron and the guitar sound). This song was co-written by KK, Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin. Keeling again tries his best to sound like David Coverdale. Great song.

The piece de resistance of the album is "Ground Zero". Written by (and featuring) Kerry Livgren, this over 8-minutes-long epic is exactly what you can expect from this ex-Kansas member: a symphonic masterpiece, with lots of variation, great lyrics, loads of emotion, angelic backing vocals. On par with some of the best work Livgren has done for Kansas, Proto-Kaw, AD or solo. Keeling fits right in, providing convincing vocals and great guitar work. John Norum plays lead guitar on "Nothing", a song not unlike Norum's recent solo work. Along with the opener this is the heaviest song on the album. Not really my favourite, though. Don Dokken makes an appearance on "Believe", another highlight of the album. A great melodic rock track with a nice melody, superb vocals and some fantastic instrumentation. Great drumming from Carmine. There's some more Beatles in "Sunlight Needs The Day", a nice acoustic ballad with some gentle singing.

"Hell Is On The Way" has an obvious Nirvana influence, Keeling clearly mirroring his vocals on Kurt Cobain. A dirty, grungy song with great guitar work. This song features Vinnie Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio). "Peace With The World" is an orchestral / acoustic ballad, which reminds me of the Moody Blues. Some nice symphonic rock. There's some Eagles influences in "Jesse", another marvellous track, with Roger Daltrey and Danny Laine guesting. Yet another different musical style. On this album, Kelly Keeling shows he's not only a great singer, but also a fantastic guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He also proves he can handle different styles of music convincingly. Supporters will no doubt argue that Keeling is showing all his diversity on "Giving Sight To The Eye", others might find the album lacking direction. Both are true, of course, depending on what you expect from an album. As far as I'm concerned, this is a very satisfying CD, which has increased my respect for Kelly Keeling immensely.

http://www.getreadytorock.com/reviews/kelly_keeling.htm

KELLY KEELING ‘Giving Sight To The Eye’ Mascot Records (2005)

Vocalist Kelly Keeling (Baton Rouge/Blue Murder/John Norum) has produced a fine solo debut and amazingly it’s his first one as well! There are plenty of guests as well including Roger Daltrey, Don Dokken, Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin to name but a few. The album also covers many musical areas ranging from the hard rock opener ‘Rising Of The Snake’ (not a song about David Coverdale) to the funky vibe of ‘Broken’ (for me the weakest track on here). Stand out tracks are ‘Ground Zero’, a truly magnificent piece of pomp rock and it’s no wonder as it is written by Kansas’s Kerry Livgren and ‘Jessie’, a wonderful acoustic number in the vein of CSNY and the Eagles. Roger Daltrey and Denny Laine (ex-Wings/Moody Blues) guest on this one and if any song on here would suit airplay it is this gem. Elsewhere former Dio/Rainbow drummer Vinnie Appice drums up a storm on ‘Hell Is On The Way’, with Keeling proving he’s no slouch in the guitar department either as he widdles up a solo storm a la Steve Vai. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this album was as many albums with long guest lists tend to have a disjointed feel to them. Well worth adding to your collection and it highlights what an underrated vocalist Keeling is.

Review by Jason Ritchie

http://www.aor-europe.com/reviews.htm
KELLY KEELING: "Giving Sight To The Eye" 9
Mascot Records
2005
Review by Martien Koolen,
26 February 2005
Finally vocalist and guitar player Kelly Keeling releases his first solo album. Who the hell is Kelly Keeling, some of you readers might wonder?? Well, here’s some information on this rock/AOR workaholic. K.K., born and raised in Louisiana, was involved in four professional bands in his hometown, namely: Warlock, Tyrant, Trilogy and Castle. In 1986 he became the singer oof Baton Rouge and in 1991 he became the singer for John Sykes’ Blue Murder… Four years later he joined The John Norum Band and after doing two albums with Norum he sang on the Carmine Appice’s “Guitar Zeus” CD. In 1998 Kelly became the Michael Schenker Group vocalist, and together hey made the “Unforgiven” album. In 2000 KK moved to this current band called Heaven And Earth and he also did some work with Carmine Appice and Don Dokken. This guy has seen and done it all… and now he finally releases his debut album as a solo artist, on which he was assisted by Don Dokken, John Norum, Kerry Livgren, Carmine Appice and Roger Daltrey.

On this album KK not only proves how well he can sing (which we already knew), but also what a great guitar player he is. “Giving Sight To The Eyes” has become a real guitar album, mainly due to the fantastic riffs and solos of KK. Right from the opener “Rising Of The Snake” you know that this iis a “heavy” album. The song is followed by a rather bluesy rock track where Kelly screams like I have never heard before, and where he plays his guitar like I have never heard before; love it! The third highlight is “Ground Zero”, a Kerry Livgren composition, which clocks over 8 minutes and which could be on any Kansas album or maybe even on the new Proto-Kaw CD. It is a dramatic epic, very diverse, with piano and keys passages and most of all, great melodic guitar solos and superb vocals.

John Norum features in a song called “Nothing”, and his guitar riff makes this one the heaviest song on this album. The speedy solos and the raspy voice on “Nothing” create an extra dimension, making this one my personal favorite. “Hell Is On The Way” is a sleazy, dirty rock and roll kind of song, which is again filled with rather fast guitar solos, and I could go on like this, but I will not….. “Giving Sight To The Eye” is a fantastic album, it is progressive, eccentric, and soulful and it rocks like hell. Keep on rockin’ in the free world. Dude!!

From: Metal-Rules.com
http://www.metal-rules.com/review/viewreview.php?month=January&year=2005&pos=37

Kelly Keeling - Rising Of The Snake (single)
January 2005 | Released: 2004, Mascot Records | Rating: 3.5/5 | Reviewer: Anders

Kelly Keeling has been in the music business for a long time now. He was born in Louisiana and involved in 4 different bands called Tyrant, Warlock, Trilogy and Castle. During 1986 he joined a 5th act by the name of Baton Rouge and it was about then that things started to happen for him. Baton Rouge did very well and during 1987 he moved to Los Angeles. In 1991 Baton Rouge closed down because of artistic differences. By that time Keeling had started to work with the legendary Alice Cooper and wrote HEY STOOPID for him and he also co-wrote the song “Snakebite”. At the same time he put back up vocals on Alice’s album. It was also with that album he got his first platinum record. Other artists/bands Keeling has worked with are Blue Murder, John Norum Band, Michael Schenker Group, King Cobra, Don Dokken and Dokken.

This CD single is the first preview of Keeling’s solo album GIVING SIGHT TO THE EYE, which is going to be released in early 2005. The disc contains two tracks taken from the new album and features guests like Don Dokken, John Norum, Tony Franklin, Kerry Livgren, Carmine Appice and Roger Daltry to mention a few.

The first song is called “Rising Of The Snake” and is written by Keeling. The other song, “I Believe”, is written by Keeling together with Don Dokken and Michelle Meldrum. I don’t know who’s done the production or when or where it was recorded.

“Rise Of The Snake” is a mix between bluesy, melodic hard rock with tempo changes. Keeling is at the top of the mix and in the middle of the song we have a nice guitar solo. This song has influences of 1970’s hard rock.

In “I Believe” Keeling has help from Don Dokken with vocal harmony and a co-lead in the chorus. This song leans more into an up-tempo ballad and has the ability to become a real radio-hit. Keeling has an amazing voice and it works really good with the help of Don Dokken. At the end the song turns into a real ballad with a lot of tempo changes through the songs.

Keeling delivers two very strong songs and the only negative I can think of is why he hasn’t added a song that isn’t on the album instead of two songs from the same one. Keeling really deserves success on his own now. He’s always worked with other artists and hasn’t got the credit he’s worth. I don’t have any line-up so I don’t know who the brilliant guitar player is, unfortunately.

Right To Rock Concert Review By Mark E. Waterbury

Right to Rock gets the Rock Right

Some may raise an eyebrow about how a show can be labeled as "rock" when all the acts are acoustic. When you have two of rock's top vocalists and a guitar phenom who has a lot of rock and roll in his soul sharing the stage together, you can make anyone rock. That is what Kip Winger, Kelly Keeling and Dominic Gaudious did to the crowd at Atlanta's Vinyl on Saturday, October 25th. The event was called Right to Rock, which germinated from a seed planted by M4Radio.com's Banzai. The idea was to bring anyone who does not want to see their civil liberties and freedoms threatened together with a night of great music. No matter what anyone's views that night may be on politics or civil liberties, their right to rock was upheld in supreme fashion by three astounding performances.

Atlanta's guitar virtuoso Dominic Gaudious opened the show, joined on stage by bassist Preston Ashworth and other guests including electric guitarist Caspar McCloud. Known more for instrumental music that borders on new age to the nod of Leo Kottke and Pierre Bensusan, Dominic took his more upbeat songs and jolted them with a little extra injection of Van Halen. Formerly a guitarist for an Iron Maiden inspired rock band, he made the guitar work just that much phatter without compromising the incredibly intricate picking that he is highly regarded for. Songs like "Naked Arabians," "Sharpening the Saw" and "Acoustic Captivity" took on a new dimension of intensity. Preston's gutsy bass licks and Carlos' frenetic bongo thumping added even more flavor to the music, as Dominic's finger's whipped up tasty delights throughout the forty-five minute set. His shows are known to be intense solely on the virtue of his guitar prowess. On this night along with his expected talents, Dominic and his friends flat out smoked.

Kelly Keeling took the stage for the second slot, presiding over a keyboard and twelve-string guitar. Although Kelly is quite talented at both instruments, they are basically accompaniments for his stunning vocals, which were displayed in a unique way on that Saturday night. Admitting that he had a cold, Kelly's voice none the less shined like a midday sun, perhaps one reason being his incredible range afforded him the opportunity to drop down an octave when he had to, keeping the music in key and the vocals powerful in a situation where some singers will try to over sing off-key. The Coldplay sounding "Perfect Day" was a great example of how he could mix lush lower voiced harmonics with a soaring high range that could make Ian Gillan turn his head. Only a week from Halloween, "Beware the Vampire" infused a rocking drive into haunting piano and a sonic vocal power like a banshee returning from choir practice. "Morning Song" was a ballad with emotive intensity that awed the audience, who then were also given a hearty dose of Kelly's more rocking edge with "Believe" which was co-written with Don Dokken. In an almost too brief seeming hour, Kelly not only proved that you can get up on stage no matter what condition and still sound fantastic, but that he is one of the top weavers of frontman power and charisma with stellar instrumental abilities.

Kip Winger has had more than his share of unkind remarks made about him in the past. Whoever has slammed Kip should have been in the crowd that night in Atlanta because Kip's show would have stifled even the staunchest critics. His voice has not lost any of its power. In fact it is even more prominent accompanied just by the frenetic strumming of his rich-sounding Alvarez acoustic guitar. Winger fave's like "Miles Away" and "Headed for a Heartbreak" actually seem more potent in the stripped down acoustic atmosphere than they did with the full band. Although the fans loved hearing the older songs, they also raved over the rousing renditions of "Blind Revolution Mad" and "Down Incognito" from the excellent but sadly overlooked third Winger album "Pull." "Daniel" from Kip's first solo album "This Conversation Seems Like a Dream" was seething with emotive power, nudged even further over the top by the appearance of Kelly Keeling who was invited onstage to sing harmonies. Throughout the set, Kip's energy level and interaction with the audience prove again why he is a consummate frontman, always able to entertain whether in a band in front of tens of thousands or by himself in an intimate club setting. From the soaring ballad "Who's The One" to his rowdy acoustic takes on "Madalaine" and the smash Winger hit "Seventeen", Kip was more than on his game. He looked to be enjoying himself immensely, and after he told the audience in all sincerity that this was the best show he had ever done, and the way he gave his all throughout the performance, there was no one who doubted those words. Add to that a Fender guitar donated by Guitar Center given away by event emcee SeanRox of RockSocial.com and autographed by Winger and Keeling, it was an excellent way to top off what had been a great evening for everyone at Vinyl - performers and fans alike, who exercised their right to rock to the fullest extent.