Ron Vogel - The Forest

Hear The Track Here

Following on with what I was saying the last time I reviewed American rock musician Ron Vogel, I did underestimate what he was about at the beginning (that would be late 2009) seeing him more as a guitarist/songwriter than a singer/songwriter. The last couple of tracks have put that right though big time, and this track is only going to add to that reputation. As I mentioned in my review of Our Way Home (October 2010) I am a big lover of vocal harmony work, the closer the better if you know what I mean and Ron has proved to be very adept indeed in this department. Both On Our Way Home and Human (June 2010) feature vocals and backing vocals performed with style and grace and I'm definitely down for that.

The Forest, surprisingly enough, builds and extends that vocal reach but this time applies the whip too. No, no dear, not that way. Calm down.... I mean, of course, that the tune zips along at a good rate of speed, which considering its rock isn't a bad thing. The vocals on this are much rougher than before but that's also down to the style I guess. In tone and feel, I am reminded of early Neil Young and Crazy Horse, just playing music for the heck of it, and having a great time doing it and Ron has captured that feel magnificently. Here is a track that would have been a smash back in the day, but does it cut the mustard in this digital world?

Hell yeah. Drrrrrbrain. When all said and done, most people want, and require, music to be either uplifting, inspirational or just plain silly (I know, don't ask) and for me uplifting generally means something with rock running through it. So it's a given that I am going to like The Forest, although not as much as On Our Way Home if I were honest, but that's an insignificant quibble in the scheme of things. Fact is, with each successive track Ron Vogel is impressing me more and more and that leads to maybe an excellent year for him next year. Who knows?

High grade vocal rock. Highly Recommended.