Yo-ho-ho an a bottle of rum……let’s start with a pirate cliché. Though no clichés here. A quite magnificent (bar one exception) album from Ten with the band on seriously top form. Is this the best album from one of the top exponents of melodic hard rock in business today I wonder?
A huge, lush, sweeping sound with a big epic feel to it throughout. Big production job, Hughes’ golden voice and song writing arrangements, three (yes three) guitars with a hard attack and some wicked soloing and riffs backed up by a metronomic rhythm section and excellent keys which are more to the fore and give a sort of pomp/prog feel in places. Nobody does it like this these days do they?
If you’re wondering about the pirate cliché reference – Isla de Muerta is the “Island of the Dead” in pirate folklore. If Hughes was inspired by that, who knows but if that was the inspiration for the opening salvo of Dead Men Tell No Tales (geddit…..more Pirateology) it is properly inspired. The instrumental lead-in (Buccaneers) has a nautical feel then the rocked-up sea shanty that is Dead Men Tells No Tales kicks in with a moody Hughes vocal, sweeping keys and great guitars at it pops along. What a start.
As things progress that triple guitar attack is almost omnipresent with the players getting ample opportunity to show off their skills without killing the songs with a “for the sake of it” approach. It’s all skilfully arranged and mixed to perfection by Dennis Ward.
Here’s an example of one of the songs – Tell Me What To Do. A tight rocker with some interesting keyboards and the guitar work a particular feature:
Listen in particular to The Dragon and Saint George and The Valley of the Kings. Huge, epic, swirling atmospheric rockers with some fine keys by Darrel Treece-Birch adding to the huge feel and bringing a touch of “pomp” to the proceedings. Both songs instant Ten classics.
The epicness (is that a proper word?) is further demonstrated by the tremendous The Last Pretender. Huge distorted riffage which swings along with plenty of edge and the aforementioned atmosphere added by the keys. It would have been an ideal way to close the album out of a rocking high……but…….
Oh yes, there’s a but. As well as being the composer of awesome stuff, Uncle Gary has throughout his career chucked in the occasional (not so power) ballad of (to my ears) overly soft and sugary proportions. Sometimes so sugary I can almost feel my fillings falling out as I listen. My dentist usually calls me to make an appointment in advance when he gets to know a new Ten is coming out.
Seriously for a moment – this really is nothing more than a “pet peeve”. I love Gary and Ten, I do, but argh, the sugary stuff. A couple here on Isla threaten to descend in to soppiness though are rescued admirably when the riff count gets upped and they become proper rock songs. The one which fails (for me) is We Can Be As One – the final cut (down as a bonus track). Had it ended with The Last Pretender – great. Instead it wimps out.
But please don’t let my “pet peeve” steer you away from this quite monstrous slab of first rate melodic rock with a hard edge in the typical Ten style. I’d say it’s Ten’s most consistent and hard hitting album to date. Classy stuff. If you are already a Ten fan, you’ll love it. If not then buy it and be instantly converted.
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