Janet Robin “Everything Has Changed” (Hypertension, 2010)
"Still lots of hair"
Covers of CD’s sometimes tend to get overlooked, but if you look closely they usually indicate what to expect. Feisty Janet Robin delivers music the way she supposes in her cover portrait.
Tutored by the late Randy Rhoads, Robin became lead guitarist in the all girl band Precious Metal and hung out with the likes of Poison, Cheap Trick and Heart. So with a pedigree like that you’ve got to expect some guitar histrionics right?
A stint in Lindsay Buckingham’s band for his solo album in 1992 saw a change in direction and a different perspective on her music. Her move away from big hairstyles and glam rock to a more acoustic style bought her further accolades and resulted in four albums and also a stint with Air Supply. A definite change in direction.
Produced by John Carter Cash and recorded at “Cash Cabin”, where Johnny Cash recorded the majority of his latter albums, this is an album that displays Robin’s various styles, which portray her previous forays. A cover of PJ Harvey’s ‘This Is Love’ whacks in the aforementioned guitar histrionics whilst ‘View From Above’ is a catchy rocking ditty.
‘Bow & Arrow’ chugs along and her version of ‘Dream Baby’ picks up where Roy Orbison left off. An extensive tourer in the Czech Republic, Robin captures her thoughts about it on ‘Everybody Falls In Love In Prague’.
The ballad ‘Bruise Easily’ is a brief respite from the rocky approach and ‘Rumor’ straddles both camps. Instrumental ‘CHR Number 137’ again ably demonstrates Robins acoustic guitar prowess.
“Everything Has Changed” indeed. Well not everything exactly but we know what you mean Janet.
This CD contains bonus video footage of Robin recording at Cash Cabin, and you can see the youtube footage here.
Date review added: Friday, March 05, 2010
Reviewer: Phil Edwards
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link: Janet Robin website
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