Ronnie Atkins – Make It Count
Ronnie Atkins – Make It Count
Frontiers Music s.r.l
Release Date: 18/03/22
Running Time: 54:15
Review by Simon Black
9/10
Ronnie Atkins is one of life’s survivors for sure. A year ago I got to review his last solo release “One Shot”, and was somewhat emotional at what we all thought was the parting shot from one of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s strongest veterans. From the extensive back-catalogue of Pretty Maids to his place as part of the recording and touring backbone of the machine that is Avantasia, Atkins has lived life well, recorded some great records and delivered some fantastic live performances – a few if which I’ve been lucky enough to see. So the news that he has incurable cancer and was living on borrowed time made last year’s album really rather poignant, as it felt like a goodbye. It was also pretty damn good too…
Well fuck you cancer, because he’s still here and a year to the day later has only gone and squeezed out another record.
“One Shot” had material that mainly had been around for a while, whereas I suspect this time the material is much more fresh and recent. This gives it two dimensions that play out on the recording this time round loud and clear. The first is the material isn’t as polished on the song-writing side, as when you’ve got demo tapes recorded over the years you get the chance to refine and rearrange with the benefit of hindsight. The second is it’s a lot more immediate in feeling, focussed on his more recent experiences and was created by a bunch of musicians working together in a studio rather than a remote recording exercise. What this means is what it lacks in polished arrangements it gains in spades by having an energy and freshness that the predecessor lacked, even if some of the songs don’t have the same strength of consistency of the former.
The emotional punch is still there though, with belters like the opener ‘I’ve Hurt Myself (By Hurting You)’ is a song by a man looking back on his life with regrets for the wildness of youth. It’s powerful, honest and well-crafted and a highlight of the record. As indeed is the title track that closes the record, which like the title track of the previous record feels relevant to his current situation as his time on this earth runs through the hourglass adorning the cover.
‘Rising Tide’ is very much of the political moment, and a warning of where we are heading as a species if we continue to allow a culture of denial and fake news, which as I listen to this nearly a month into the Russian invasion of Ukraine seems painfully prescient. It’s also a blisteringly well-crafted slab of Hard Rock of the kind that Atkins does best. And that’s another reason why this record kicks, is that it’s pertinent and relevant, but delivered with Atkins trademark gravelly panache, although he can absolutely scale the higher notes effortlessly as and when required.
Is this his final offering? I hope not, as if this record of fresh and new material says anything it is that he’s far from being done and going to make every moment count.
‘I’ve Hurt Myself (By Hurting You) – Official Audio
TRACKLISTING:
01. I’ve Hurt Myself (By Hurting You)
02. Unsung Heroes
03. Rising Tide
04. Remain To Remind Me
05. The Tracks We Leave Behind
06. All I Ask Of You
07. Grace
08. Let Love Lead The Way
09. Blood Cries Out
10. Easier To Leave (Than Being Left Behind)
11. Fallen
12. Make It Count
LINE-UP:
Ronnie Atkins – Lead and backing vocals
Chris Laney – Rhythm guitar, keyboards
Alla Sørensen – Drums
Pontus Egberg – Bass
Morten Sandager – Keyboards
Linnea Vikström Egg – Backing vocals
John Berg – Guitars
Olliver Hartmann: -Guitars
Pontus Norgren – Guitars
Anders Ringman – Acoustic guitars
LINKS:
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