Joe Perry
HAVE GUITAR, WILL TRAVEL
Roman Records

This is Joe Perry's third solo release.  The initial sound of it caught me off guard.  I can definitely tell that Joe is playing guitar, which is why most of the people will pick up HAVE GUITAR, WILL TRAVEL.  The initial sound almost sounds like one take.  A group of guys in one room.  The energy of the songs and the strength of  Joe's playing are definitely showcased throughout this CD.  The new line-up consists of  Joe Perry on lead guitar, vocals, David Hull on bass, Paul Santo on keyboards and guitar,  Marty Richards on drums, and  vocalist simply known as Hagen.

“We’ve Got A Long Way To Go,” the CDs first single, showcases the voice of a young German singer known as Hagen and a keyboard  The song almost sounds like a young Steven Tyler  belting out the tunes.  It's to bad that Hagen only sings on four of the tracks, I think.  Joe's guitar on this reminds me of the old Aerosmith days.  A pure joy to listen to. 

Then the CD takes a different turn, with what I can only assume is Joe singing on Slingshot.  While Joe is known for being a great guitarist, he is not known for his vocal ability and range. I generally find his voice very distracting from what otherwise sounds like good blues based music.

 The remake song “Somebody's Gonna Get (Their Head Kicked In Tonite) from Fleetwood Mac was a little lacking.  Near the end of the song, where the “Alrights” come in to play I was left thinking,, Alright,, enough already.  I think the reason I did not enjoy it that much, is the original had a lot more energy to support the “Alrights”, where as Joe's version just missed  the energy.

PITRIFF RATING- 5/10 - While I must admit that this CD has a lot of good blues style vintage Joe Perry guitar work,  I just can't get away from finding Joe's voice very flat  and not helping the songs in any way, shape or form.  I am sure that all the Joe Perry fans will find this a treasure to add to their collection, and if based strictly on the guitar work, I would agree.  But if rating on overall song, singing and  production I can't in good faith give this a higher score.

Trent Mohr