ZION – Zion

Zion, the band, is vocalist Freddy Curci’s latest project. Freddy, as you may or may not know, was the vocalist for the late 70’s band Sheriff as well as the late 80’s band Alias. Freddy also put out a solo effort in 1994 as well as a compilation disc, including some unreleased material, in 2000. In present day, Freddy has decided to work with a full line-up made of professional musicians such as Jason Hook (ex-Bulletboys) and Joey Scoleri on guitars, Paul Marangoni (Kim Mitchell, The Works, Coney Hatch) and Joey Greco on drums, Ken Malandrino on bass, and Ross Greene on keyboards. He gathered songs that he co-wrote with Steve DeMarchi (Freddy’s Alias and Sheriff songwriting partner), Jeff Paris, Marc Ribler, and Bob Marlette, among others, and Zion, the CD, was born.

The result of all this collaborating results in a great disc full of Melodic Hard Rock much in the vein of classic, early Toto … melodic and catchy, but with a resounding guitar “bite.” The release starts out with the chugging guitar riff of “All It Takes Is A Minute,” backed by some melodic vocals, chorus, and harmonies by Curci. Freddy definitely has seemed to age well and puts in a commanding vocal performance here and throughout the album. If you’ve never heard Freddy, he comes across as a mix of a young Glenn Hughes and a less falsetto Steve Perry (Journey). The opening track also features a healthy dose of some of the outstanding lead guitar work that weaves its way in and out of this release.

“How Much Longer Is Forever” has another strong guitar melody line that almost has a John Sykes feel to it … even to the point of having an opening false harmonic. This track also highlights one of Curci’s strongest moments, vocally, on this release and a wicked guitar solo caps it all off. “I’m Running Home” is the first ballad, but is palatable and is indeed well worth sticking with to the end, if not for the closing guitar work.

The remainder of the disc follows the same sparkling formula with the only weak point being, other than a ballad or two, areas of spotty production. A majority of the tracks will have you reaching for your system’s tone control, especially the treble side. Overall, it just doesn’t have the “brightness” or “big” sound as quality music like this should have. Freddy handled most of the production, and on three tracks he (?) brought in Frontiers’ master Fabrizio V.Zee Grossi. Even so, Fabrizio doesn’t seem to make that huge of an impact here compared to job he’s done on some of his other works.

Bottom line, if you can get past the spotty production, this release does have some great, catchy Melodic Hard Rock backed and driven by some fabulous vocal and guitar work. Hopefully, Freddy can continue to produce quality music like this in the future, with the same guitar and melody appeal, and at the same time manages to brighten the production. Nevertheless, Zion might represent one of the last candidates of 2006 for the “Comeback Of The Year” award!

Lineup:

Freddy Curci – All Vocals, Drums, Bass, Guitar, Piano Organ
Joey Scoleri – Guitars
Jason Hook – Guitars, Bass
Paul Marangoni – Drums
Joey Greco – Drums
Ken Malandrino – Bass
Ross Greene – Piano Organ

To find out more about Zion, visit their label’s Web site at www.Frontiers.it.