Yesterrock/Universal (2012- re-issue)

People most remember this guitarist/vocalist as being a part of Alice Cooper’s band during the “Constrictor” and “Raise Your Fist To Hell” albums- or the fact that he could be a power-lifter with his muscular physique. After leaving that group this first self-titled solo album came out in 1987 - an 11 song journey into melody-driven hard rock, very much focused on commercial hooks and in line with what Dokken or Keel may have been releasing at the time.

Beyond the normal Eddie Van Halen instrumental shred number “Gorilla”, Kane prefers to straddle the lines of catchy 80’s oriented hard rock and slightly AOR/arena rock leanings. “Outlaw” has Kane’s vocals exploring that southern rock drawl, while “Rock Doll” possesses one of those Gene Simmons-like Kiss swaggers in its main riffing and arrangement, while the chorus is straight out of Def Leppard-school. “Full Pull” has Alice Cooper penning the lyrics, one of the heavier, driving tracks on this recording with a killer energetic solo spot to boot.

Where Kane doesn’t light up the airwaves is when he goes for the cliché chorus, such as the Michael Bolton-ish “Too Much (For Anyone To Touch”) or the closing anthem “A Strong Arm Needs A Strong Support” that probably fits any Karate Kid-like movie soundtrack more than a hard rock solo outing. The fiery guitar work makes this worthy of investigation if you were always into that Shrapnel/Berklee musician mentality- just remember this screams of a time period where image often outshined the music, and your ears will make the final call.

www.kaneroberts.com
www.yesterrock.com

Rating: 4 / 6

Composed by Matt Coe