Stonebolt were a Canadian band. They put out for albums between 1978 and 1982 with New Set of Changes being the third of the quartet.
Now, I’ve had a bit of a soft spot for Canadian bands since I went to Rush on their first tour of the UK all the way back in 1977.
In addition to Rush over the years I’ve listened to much Triumph, Max Webster, Kim Mitchell, Prism, Zon, April Wine, Honeymoon Suite and many others from the country.
Stonebolt were somewhat under the radar and, indeed, not a band I’d heard of until reading that Escape Music were reissuing New Set of Changes and from the blurb I had to have it. Oh yes, I had to have it.
It’s a great album. Catches the pomp/prog/melodic rock of the time really well indeed. Think period Styx, Prism, Zon, Boston and you’d get the idea. The songs range from full on heavy pomp to really catchy melodic stuff all with the big hooks, soaring guitar, harmony vocals, rangy synths and some nice chunky riffs. All classy stuff.
The opener – Take the Time – being a fine example. It’s got the lot. The riff punches it along apace, tasty guitar work, the swelling keys and mazy synth runs, huge hook and big harmony vocals. A proper pomped up rocker which Styx in their heyday would have done well to match.
You Don’t Care more of a straightforward melodic rocker with some excellent soloing over the latter half of the song. Crying Again Tonight and Landing in Love tone things down – perhaps attempts at a big hit single – then we have a cover of the Beatles’ Please Please Me. Wonder of John Lennon and Paul McCartney thought their stuff would get the pomp-rock treatment……
Next up is the title track and back to glorious heavy/pomp which is up to eleven and beyond. Moves fast with the chunky riff, lead breaks and those massive swirls of keys and synths in with the impossibly catchy chorus and melody. Simply superb. Have a listen:
Come and See Me, All By Myself, Here Comes the Rain and Midnight Angel as good a quartet of melodic rockers with some bite amongst the melody you’ll hear anywhere. All so catchy and enjoyable. Particularly the bass-led Here Comes the Rain and the quirky Come and See Me.
Lastly we have Back on the Bottom Line. It’s added here as a bonus track as apparently it wasn’t ready in time to go on the original album. Top song it is though. An excellent hard rocker with a soaring riff and clever, humorous lyrics telling a cautionary tale.
With an album this good Stonebolt should surely have gone big with it not least some of the more radio-friendly stuff to draw attention to them. Alas not. After New Set of Changes there was one more album and out.
If you like your classic pomp/rock stuff with that typically quirky, edgy Canadian slant to it – this will be properly up your street.
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