George Gakis has been a constant artistic fixture for the Greek rock scene for many years with continuous and uninterrupted presence on the live circuit. And he may not release albums on a regular basis but as he says he prefers to offer new material only when he has something substantial to say. “Parallel Dimensions” comes almost 11 years after the very good “Too Much Ain’t Never Enough” which in turn had succeeded the excellent “Forbidden Paradise” with a twelve-year gap. The new opus of George Gakis is very interesting for many different reasons and the final evaluation depends on the perspective that each of us adopts. The only sure thing is that “Parallel Dimensions” does not leave you indifferent…quite the opposite, in fact!
From the opening track, “Insane”, it’s obvious that Gakis is aiming to do something different both on a purely compositional level and in terms of production. In other words, we can see an attempt to avoid any interpretive reference to David Coverdale – Gakis’ main source of inspiration – and all this in a more modern sonic environment. I don’t know if this was the goal of the talented musician but this is the impression he gave me. Things, however, return to a more familiar order as “Everything You Want” and “Who Made You A Woman” are clearly stamped Zeppelin meets Whitesnake. In fact, the latter has an intro and melodic vocal lines in the verse that harken back to “Take Me For A Little While” from the sensational Coverdale/Page album.
The rest of the album is, in general, similar with Gakis pursuing compositional diversity but at the same time remaining with one foot (or is it both?) firmly committed to his blues/rock n’ roll origins. We must point out the catalytic role of guitarist Bob Saganas who did almost everything on the album and of course the…pillar of the Troublemakers, Sotiris Gakis behind the drums.
We said at the beginning that the final evaluation of “Parallel Dimensions” depends to a large extent on everyone’s perspective. For me, the new album of George Gakis gets a positive mark for two main reasons: the first because it takes real guts to redefine yourself musically after so many years and the second because the songs are really good. Personally, I would prefer them in a more…traditional sonic environment but I guess that’s part of the pursuit of diversity as well. George Gakis made a bet with “Parallel Dimensions” and I think he won it. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another decade to hear new songs from him.
Highlight: It would be a good opportunity for Roar Records to re-release the extremely hard to find “Forbidden Paradise” and of course George should honor it more regularly at his shows.
