Frank Marino
Juggernaut
Reviewed by Steve Park
This is another artist my cousin Greg turned me on to years ago.
For some reason one of the big taboos in music of the 90's has been the guitar solo. One theory in explanation could be that it's much easier & cheaper to find & market (exploit) young (& mildly talented) 3 chord punk/core band for 3 minute one hit wonders, than to keep up with the album rock arena bands who put on a production live experience. Today, short & simple is "in", while more involved, expressive guitar oriented rock ain't "hip". When you've got bands who are surprised by their record deal & admit that they can't even play very well, one begins to wonder. And I, for one, hunger for some good, emotive guitar playing. I once heard that Marino thought he was Hendrix reincarnated. Whether he did or not, he easily continued on Jimi's legacy. After all, he had Jimi's vibe to draw from & add to his own. Sure, the later Marino/Mahogany Rush albums like World Anthem & What's Next include some simple rock "hits" as comedic by today's standards, as some of Hendrix's. But songs on Juggernaut like "Strange Dreams", "Midnight Highway", "For Your Love" & the title cut, are played with more power than even Hendrix seemed to display. One intense element missing from most of today's music is musicians who actually pour out their souls through their instruments with passion & power. Maybe it's because people today are soulless & stand for nothing. Where as in a song like "Stories Of A Hero", you can feel the pain of the soldier and his widow. And the title track ends the album with all the pummelling power a Gibson was meant to put out, as Marino tears up the frets like no one today seems to know how. After all, a good part of rock 'n' roll in the 80's was about power, with each year witnessing an even more powerful band than the year before. Frank and his early band, Mahogany Rush covered well many Hendrix songs, but the most moving song they did would have to be the classic "Norwegian Wood" on the Tales of the Unexpected. However, for pure guitar-god rock 'n' roll power, the choice must first be his 2nd solo album, Juggernaut.