Published on Apr 15, 2000
Even on paper, Westworld seems like it would be a risky
proposition. Take members from hard rock bands who one tasted
greatness and add a drummer who could well be one of the fastest
rising stars on the scene, and make a new band.
Such a combination could have been as lethal as nitroglycerine.
Instead, the self-titled release from Westworld takes the best
portions of each musician and creates a whole new sound that is as
catchy as it is pleasant. These four guys might not be willing to
quit their day jobs, but they’d be fools if they wrote
Westworld off as a one-shot deal.
The group – TNT vocalist Tony Harnell, Riot guitarist Mark
Reale, Danger Danger bassist Bruno Ravel and drummer John O’Reilly
(presently with Blackmore’s Night) – doesn’t pretend to try to be
anything like the groups each individual member comes from. In
retrospect, this works to their advantage; by carving out their own
sound and style, they force people to take this band at face
value.
For the most part, this attack works well. Kicking things off
with a strong track in “Illusions” (and with the help of a few
other performers along the way), Westworld creates an enjoyable
pop-rock mix that slices through all musical boundaries. Tracks
like “Bring The Water To Me,” “Suicide” and “I Belong” all help to
advance Westworld’s case.
The biggest complaint I have isn’t even the band’s fault. Maybe
this has been fixed on more recent pressings, but don’t even bother
trying to follow the tracks as listed on the back of the case, as
that order goes out the window once you pass “Heart Song”. I don’t
know why the track order is so bungled (and why all ten tracks
aren’t listed – is this reminiscent of The Clash throwing “Train In
Vain” onto
London Calling at the last minute?), but it sure didn’t help
me the first time I sat down to give this disc some brain
cells.
And while
Westworld is quite pleasing on many levels, there is the
occasional misstep. “Love You Insane” just fails to click for me,
as does “Heart Song”. Maybe it’s because I got thrown with “Love
You Insane”‘s opening line “I’d like to feel you inside / the way
that you feel me”. In truth, the song isn’t speaking about sex,
though it’s real hard to break that mentality thanks to that one
portion of the verse.
Westworld is the kind of disc that you can appreciate on the
first listen, but it also is a disc whose majesty is discovered
only through multiple listenings. Each time I thought I was ready
to write something about this disc, I eventually found myself going
back for one more listen, almost as if I was dusting another layer
of dust off an excavated antique. (At a shade over 45 minutes, it’s
a rather smooth and quick listen.) And each time, I found that the
time hadn’t been wasted.
Westworld might have been the result of an interesting side
project, but here’s hoping this is just the first chapter of a
musical partnership. If this disc is indicative of what this group
can do, I’m hoping we’ll see much more real soon.