American Amadeus
John Diva And The Rockets Of Love
– By Rob Jones –
I will not speak for anyone else here, but one thing I feel has been lacking in a lot of rock music these last few decades, is a sense of fun. That is not to say there are not loads of great bands out there or that rock n roll has not maintained its essence in style and attitude. That’s why I like American Amadeus by John Diva and the Rockets Of Love.
So much of rock music post-90s has lost its emphasis on having a good time and I think we can all agree that given the current state of the world we could all use some fun. Enter John Diva and The Rockets Of Love.
When I first heard their debut album, titled Mama Said Rock Is Dead, I instantly thought of the Open Up and Say Ahh! era with Poison and Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi. John Diva’s albums are the type of music, fans have waited for, for decades since the days of Poison and Bon Jovi.
John Diva ups the ante with American Amadeus, an album as bombastic as its title. Right out the gate, you have a charging opener in “Voodoo, Sex, and Vampires” which even has a banjo in the mix, and it works! Next up is the title track which really embodies the ambition and swagger of this album. Rocking riffs and an anthemic chorus are set to a backdrop of strings and a harpsichord of all things.
In the song, John declares “I’ve got the power, I’ve got the tricks, I like it louder, I like it big” and he backs that up in the sound of this album. While there are a lot of similarities to the bands of the 80s found here, American Amadeus is no mere throwback album, there’s definitely more modern sounds and production here and John and the band really bring them all together in style.
“Bling, Bling, Marilyn” is another energetic track to keep the party going, and “Weekend for a Lifetime” has a strong Def Leppard vibe. “Karmageddon” brings it down for an epic power ballad before “Wasted (In Babylon)” revs it back up for a borderline sleaze metal track.
“Drip Drip Baby” could be the successor to poison’s “Unskinny Bop” and “This Is Rock n Roll” is one of those great celebratory songs to toast to.
This album is incredible, whether riding in your car or having a good time with friends this is the kind of album to really get your rock n roll party vibe on to.
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