Israeli composer and musician Avi ROSENFELD has been an active creator of music ever since he first appeared back in 2010, at this point in time closing in on his fiftieth studio album with six full length productions released in 2019 alone. “Very Heepy Very Purple IX” is the first of his albums from this year, and was self released in the late spring of 2019.
As one might surmise from the title of the album, Rosenfeld is a passionate admirer of retro-oriented hard rock in general and a passionate fan of bands such as Deep Purple and Uriah Heep in particular. With a total of ten albums in this series of albums to date, this is a field of music he has given a thorough exploration so far.
Like with many other of his albums this is a collaborative effort much more than a strict solo album as such, and while I believe Rosenfeld is the composer throughout, a lot of additional musicians are involved with most songs featuring different musicians and vocalists contributing with Rosenfeld himself supplying the guitars. Despite this, the overall sound is distinct throughout, making this much more of an album experience than the overall context normally would signify.
The songs themselves navigate inside a triangle made out of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and classic era Rainbow, with guitar and organ combinations being the bread and butter of most of the compositions. Sometimes exploring a distinct sound fairly close to one of the aforementioned bands, at other times blending elements from all of them into a tight, retro-oriented hard rock grove. Occasional use of acoustic guitars and piano and a bit more liberal use of keyboards opens up the landscapes ever so slightly resulting in material being slightly more expressive.
The negative aspects of this album are a few though. Some due to subjective tastes, other due to the very nature of the album itself. I suspect quite a few of these recordings have been done in different nations, sent over as files and then mixed together at a later stage. Not all of them have come out of this process sounding unified, with various instruments and even vocals taking up either too much or too little space as the end result. The songs themselves have something of a formula sound to them, and gives me a slight association of being music by numbers. And as this is a type of music explored by countless bands over almost 50 years, creating a striking song in this style is fairly challenging as it is to boot. And finally, at least to my ears, the lead vocalists tend to use too much power with too little intent, and I lack hearing a vocalist having a go here with a bit more finesse and a bit more of an expressive take on the vocal lines. One of the most important skills one can have, also as a vocalist, is to know when less is actually more, and when to use more to the best effect.
There’s no denying the talents of the vocalists and musicians involved in this venture, but the end result here isn’t quite as satisfying as one might hope for. There aren’t any songs here that are ready to jump out and become an instant classic, although concluding track ‘The Time of Ancient War and Hunger’ arguably is the one with the greatest intent and qualities as far as this topic is concerned. But for passionate fans of bands such as Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Rainbow, and especially for those fond of all of these bands, this is an album that should deliver in spades on mood, atmosphere and overall sound. And a production I figure will be treasured among many who can recognize themselves in such a description.
My rating: 60/100
