Dirty Shirley Debut Is A Classic Rock Smorgasbord

 A crazy thing continues to happen in places like Croatia. Classic rock. Dino Jelusic fronts a band called Animal Drive and lives in Croatia. Now for those who are geographically challenged, let's just say it's somewhere east of Italy. In truth it doesn't matter. What matters is many great musicians are beginning to emerge from places like Croatia. Dino will remind you of a guy who had a slightly shorter name - namely Dio! With that said, Jelusic has his own snarly, gritty, bluesy sound. Team him up with George Lynch and you get Dirty Shirley. Frontiers Music is on a roll.

The first single "Dirty Blues" is a how-to manual on how to create hard rocking bluesy melodic rock. Not only that, the song is catchy as hell. The band is rounded out by Trevor Roxx on bass and Will Hunt on drums. This record is going to blow you away!

Lynch is in the midst of a creativity boom. These songs brim with originality and dig into the Lynch Mob tradition without being too derivative. "Here Comes The King" is a lengthy guitar rocker with plenty of emphasis on Lynch's intricate guitar excursions. The song goes from warm to hot to warm back to hot again with Dino obliterating the lead vocals with the authority of a vintage Paul Rodgers or Roger Daltrey. He simply commands the mic.

"I Disappear" bubbles under with expectation, bursting out with monster vocals and great interplay from the rhythm section. There's even a Hammond organ back there adding even more depth to the track. As if Deep Purple and Dio had teamed up. Lynch then unloads his guitar into the stratosphere with trippy leads followed by a cacophony of noise. "The Dying" is one of the weirdest tracks (in a good way) on this record. Lynch finds a funky little riff that opens up into a big circus with Jelusic finding the right balance within all these different styles. "Last Man Standing" is a big rocker, with big hooks. It showcases Dino's vocal talents which in all honesty are on par with some of the great vocalists in rock history. "Siren Song" continues the perfect string of memorable hard rockin' tunes with Lynch finding new grooves to groove in. There's got to be a radio station in the world that will throw this into heavy rotation!

"The Voice of A Soul" proves to me that one album shouldn't have this many great songs. A touch of hard rocking Gospel music? I mean c'mon George. He's tapping into all kinds of elements and designing an album for every classic rock fan that ever lived. "Cold" just flat out rocks. It has a hook that will immediately grab you and shake you. "Escalator To Purgatory" definitely references Led Zeppelin and Tesla. The riff is so damn original. And Dino kills this track. The hooks are completely off the hook. "Higher" is another freak out track. George Lynch must have gone through all of his unused great riffs from his long career. This one rocks harder and Jelusic pushes his voice, which is to say he sings normally. He proves over and over again why everyone on the planet is lined up to work with him. "Grand Master" is another weird song with psychedelic acoustic guitars and vocal effects. This seems totally normal considering the album is filled with left turns and creative mojo. Another version of "Higher" (alternative cut) is added to the end. This version has more bass and is a little punchier than the other take. I guess if you liked the first version, you might end up liking this version even more.

In summary, don't underestimate how good this record is. Lynch kills it from start to finish. Dino Jelusic is a force to be reckoned with. The two of them have made a record that completely pillages everything great from the 70's and 80's. The production is clean and clear. The playing is crazy good. This is something you are going to need to hear. Each song is it's own musical country. It's tied together by an amazing vocalist who's paired up with one of the world's most underrated guitarists. You should be very curious about Dirty Shirley. This is not your average "project band".

Album rating 9.3