ROBIN BECK – Do You Miss Me

Readers of Metal Express are probably not as familiar with Robin Beck as they are with her husband James Christian (House Of Lords vocalist fame). That doesn’t mean that Robin isn’t an accomplished vocalist in her own right. She grew up in a household where there was very little music. This equates to no formal vocal training and being discovered while singing on the streets with friends. Even so, she’s learned how to excel in music the hard way – doing everything from playing in local bands in the club circuit, being involved in Broadway musicals, partaking in the jingle business (e.g., a Coca-Cola theme tune, “First Time,” which scored a #1 spot on the UK charts), and singing back-up vocals for David Bowie, Michael Bolton, Deep Purple, and Cher, to name a few.

Believe it or not, this is Robin’s sixth album, and represents a return to her solo career, as her previous album was released in 2003. What you’ll find here is straight-ahead, lighter, Melodic Rock, which is reminiscent, at times, of latter day Heart, Melissa Etheridge, and, not to scare anyone away (as this statement might be viewed as a death knell but should be perceived as a compliment), the Rockier side of Shania Twain.

The release starts in strong fashion with the title track “Do You Miss Me.” This track has a strong, memorable, multi-tracked hook line that you’ll remember well after the CD is over. Couple that with some nice, sharp lead guitar by Savio, and you have one strong candidate for a USA Radio hit. This is definitely one of the album’s finest moments, along with the similar track “Coming Back For More.” The next track, “Walk On The Moon,” starts to slow the tempo down a little, and this is where you really hear the Heart comparisons. There is one subtle difference though; this song and the entire album seem to have more of a guitar presence/edge then other similar releases in the same category. Almost every cut has a bona fide lead guitar solo, some slightly shorter then others, but still there, nonetheless. Lyrically, the release is about love, emotions, relationship, etc., with titles like “What About Us,” “I Wanna Hear It From You,” etc. There really is not much to complain about here, assuming you’re a fan of this classification of music. The songs on this release are all consistently presented with the same overtones, stylings, formula, etc.

While probably not for every Metal Express listener, it certainly is a commendable effort that any avid music listener should appreciate. Overall, this release is a strong effort by Robin with a clean production, an 80s era Rock sound, solid song writing (supposedly some material was provided by Desmond Child, Michael Bolton, Amy Sky, and Marc Jordan), and a solid vocal performance by Robin.

Lineup

Robin Beck – Vocals
Steffi Hazan – Guitar
Nick Savio – Lead Guitar
JM Scattolin – Additional Guitar
Fabrizio V.Zee Grossi – Bass
Francis Koch – Drums
Lisa Dalbello, James Christian – Background Vocals
Fabrizio V.Zee Grossi – Production