Appice Perdomo Project - Energy Overload

by Kevin Wierzbicki

This new album finds journeyman drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart, King Kobra) teaming up with veteran guitarist and in-demand session player Fernando Perdomo (Jakob Dylan, Todd Rundgren, Curved Air.) These guys both know how to rock and they get to it right away on "Blown Speaker," the opening cut of this set of instrumentals. Appice sets a speedy rhythm and Perdomo reels off hot, fast and fluid guitar parts; you'll want to turn it up and, depending on the quality of your gear, you may indeed risk blowing out a speaker. "Funky Jackson" finds Perdomo doing a sort of chicken pickin' at song's onset; the earthy groove gets jazzy right about where a chorus would normally lie. Title cut "Energy Overload" is a Joe Satriani/Steve Vai-type rocker where Perdomo plays multiple guitar parts and Appice nearly takes his drum playing into the thrash zone in a couple of places. Hippie dream "Flowers Child" slows things down while "Rocket to the Sun" blasts off appropriately as Appice rides his hi-hat, and yes Fernando dials up a little psychedelia as the rocket hits outer space. Two notable covers are included; a sublime take on Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" and a psychedelic and reggae-fied version of "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," the cut that was a big hit for Stewart, Appice's former boss. "Thunder" opens with a big drum sound but as with most of the album, Appice is showy but not overbearing.

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