LOU GRAMM, the former legendary voice behind FOREIGNER is back with his first solo effort since 1989’s “Long Hard Look”. It’s well-known that GRAMM has had health issues for a number of years now and when he first came back into the spotlight with FOREIGNER back around 2000 it was at times hard to see him in concert. He had obviously been through a lot and his voice was to put it politely, rough at times.

It seems he has been working hard at getting back on track, so much to the point he has now released this self-titled disc under the new “Lou Gramm Band” moniker. It’s also no secret this is a Christian-based disc, made obvious with song titles like “Redeemer”, “That’s The Way God Planned It”, “I Wanna Testify” and “You Saved Me”. Joining Gramm in his band this time around are brothers Ben (drums) and Richard Gramm (bass & guitar) along with Andy Knoll on keys and the talented Don Mancuso on guitar.

GRAMM’s voice sounds in much better shape then when I witnessed him in concert earlier in the century, which is a pleasant surprise. Although if you didn’t tell me this was GRAMM singing I may have mistook him for equally legendary vocalist Bob Catley from British rockers MAGNUM. Overall that’s not a bad thing but it’s still a bit strange coming to the realization this is a LOU GRAMM album. So after getting past that lets talk about the songs…

The record opens with the rocking “Made To Be Broken”, which is a quality melodic rock tune with some edgy guitar work and actually doesn’t sound all that far away from the aforementioned MAGNUM. It’s a good start to the album!

“Redeemer” is up next with a more subdued sound accompanied by some organ work. The song isn’t bad but doesn’t quite live up to its title. “Willing To Forgive” brings things back up to speed a little with its acoustic-based arrangement and actually makes me think a little about Roger Daltrey and his solo outings of the past.

“That’s The Way God Planned It” misses the mark for me with its sort of 60’s vibe and gospel-like arrangement. In reality it almost sounds like a HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS tune at times and I’m a HUEY LEWIS fan, but this one just didn’t work for me. Now the next track “Baptized By Fire” gets things back on track. The song is one I’ve heard being played on internet radio and it’s a solid mid-tempo AOR tune with a nice little guitar solo to complete the picture. “So Great” continues with more nice AOR sounds yet with a slightly more urgent vibe. Another cool tune for sure.

“Single Vision” brings back the MAGNUM comparisons and is a lighter, airy AOR-styled tune while “Rattle Yer Bones” brings, for the first time on the disc, a FOREIGNER vibe complete with vintage guitar riff. The album ends with “You Saved Me”, which a somewhat uplifting tune as the title may suggest.

Overall, the record is a solid affair without ever reaching the heights of being spectacular. Still, it’s a welcome return for a legendary singer and good to see LOU GRAMM back in the game.