PAWN HEARTS

This is the last of the current top 20 for me to review and for a good reason: I just can't find too much good to say about it. It's the only top 20 album I don't own - I borrowed a copy for this review. Many rate this band, and musically, they are not bad although very dark and bleak. Jackson and Banton deliver a carronade of sax and keyboards which is quite impressive. But two things spoil this (and all other VDGG albums). One is Peter Hamill's vocals. Like early Genesis, the instrumental work is largely there to showcase the vocals; unlike Genesis, the vocals are not good enough to merit it. I'm in the James Lee / Bryan Adair camp; Hamill is an acquired taste with his melodramatic vocal style and lyrics. I haven't got it and probably never will. The second weak area is their tendency to overcomplicate everything. They add extra layers to everything, regardless of whether they are necessary. So, I cannot recommend this album and I will return it to its owner without much regret (he doesn't think much of it either!).