RUSSIA BY SHADOW KING - A LOU GRAMM SPECIAL

Following on from my previous blog on KING'S X's GOLDILOX, i thought i would dredge the barrel of commercial obscurity a bit more and showcase an absolute acoustic ballad pearler off a brilliant but sadly overlooked adult orientated rock album by the one off supergroup band SHADOW KING in 1991, a band that boasted the participation of former FOREIGNER lead singer LOU GRAMM and DEF LEPPARD guitarist VIVIAN CAMPBELL, who originally hailed from Ireland.


Previously i did write a blog on SHADOW KING many many months ago, but i really wanted to feature the band on here once again to highlight one particular song on their one and only self titled album, and throw in the video as well.


Of the ten songs on the album, nine are your typical AOR fare, they're either rock ballads with big choruses or typically FOREIGNER inspired melodic rockers with a macho man theme. But track number 10 is very diffrent, it's called RUSSIA, and it displays a side to Lou Gramm and his vocal style which you will never hear on any FOREIGNER album or on his two solo albums in the late 80`s.


RUSSIA is the story of two people who are seperated by war, whose only way of communicating is via telegram, a soldier stalked by the shadow of death on the battlefield, both not knowing if they will ever see each other alive again.


Lou Gramm brings the story to life with heartfelt richness and intensity, aided only by Vivian Campbell and the barest of instrumentation. It remains one of the greatest vocal performances of any AOR singer ever recorded.