I was anxiously anticipating Janet Gardner’s first solo record as I am a huge fan of the first couple of Vixen albums. In addition, the excitement was building up as it is more than 20 years since Gardner has come up with a new record (I’m talking about the forgettable “Tangerine” record with Vixen). One might ask what we should expect from a recording artist that is more or less inactive. That’s a fair point; thus I was really reserved about the final result…unfortunately, it was a wise decision.
The bad omens were rather obvious right from the very beginning of this project, as Gardner had chosen to promote her marriage to Justin James than to share information about her upcoming disc. But, I was still waiting for the album and when I received it one question came instantly to mind (one that I keep asking myself lately): why many artists that are more or less in the end of their career chose to come up with new material that has absolutely nothing in common with what they used to do in the past? Janet Gardner’s name will always be linked to Vixen and the melodic hard rock style. Naturally, her few die hard fans expect something along the same lines. And what did she do in return? She recorded a modern-sounding album that has more in common with Rob Zombie and SIXX:A.M. than Vixen or the overall hair-metal movement. At moments, you think that her husband (who handles the guitars) wants to pay tribute to Dimebag than play a more melodic style (closer to Gardner’s style).
Unfortunately, both the production and the songs themselves don’t save the day thus the debut solo effort by Gardner is bound to disappoint all her longtime fans while at the same time it won’t gain new ones. Looking forward to a comeback album by Vixen…
Highlight: The promo photos that remind a lot of the stylistic approach of the classic 80s era.
