Phil Lanzon
If You Think I'm Crazy

Phil Lanzon should not really need an introduction but in case you don’t know who this gentleman is then I can tell you that he has been the keyboardist for Uriah Heep since 1986. He has also been doing stuff for some other musicians/band, this album called If You Think I’m Crazy is his first solo effort for which he has enlisted the help of some great names from the rock music scene. And he has also managed to get a pretty cool artwork for the album where we get to hear ten tracks that require 55 minutes of your time if you want to play them all.

How it sounds can be described as somewhat different from Lanzon’s main band Uriah Heep, it is more in the vain of the melodic or progressive rock music. I would say that it most likely has a wide appeal in terms of audience and might do quite well commercially thanks to that kind of wide appeal. There are different vocalists on the album which means that it is rather varied throughout the album, but it always remains coherent despite going from Genesis-esque progressive rock to more commercial pop-rock. I think it remains interesting for the entire playing time, and I think the sound is modern and very good as are the vocalists that we hear on this album, especially the ever-great John Mitchell who can be heard on the opening and the third track of the album.

I like this album; the opening track gives us a magical start that makes me think of It Bites and other great stuff from the progressive rock genre. The third track where Mitchell also sings is another one of my favourites of this album, but it is not only those where Mitchell sings, Kellys Gang and Carolin are two other tracks that are very memorable. And I don’t think there are any weaknesses on this album, it is a very strong effort and a good step away from the main band for Lanzon – that is always a positive aspect of a solo album, it is very boring when the solo albums sounds the same as the main band’s albums. This is certainly an album worth checking out, it has some great progressive stuff and some great simple stuff as well, it is an album that has much to offer to any listener.

Lanzon’s first solo album is definitely one worth checking out, I think it is great and give it a highly recommended rating. It is an album that keeps growing each time you play it and stands up really well to repeated listening, and with a magical beginning it is hard to resist playing this album just one more time, over and over. But before I lose the thread completely I end this review by recommending that you have a closer look at this great album, you will not regret it.

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