CHARMING GRACE / CHARMING GRACE (2013)

Charming Grace is a new all-star project that consists of some very talented musicians of today's Italian melodic hard rock scene such as Davide Barbieri of Wheels Of Fire, Pierpaolo "Zorro11" Monti of the incredible Shining Line and Amos Monti.

Except the three above mentioned musicians in this record, we have the participation of an impressive guest list such as Roberto Priori (Danger Zone), Mario Percudani (Hungryheart), Stefano Zeni, Nick Workman (Vega), Stefano Lionetti (Lionville), the mighty Michele Luppi and Josh Zighetti of Hungryheart to name a few!!! Most of the songs here are written by Zorro and Davide and they were, also, picked two songs to cover, Bon Jovi's "Everybody's Broken" and Belinda Carlisle's major 1989's hit single "Leave A Light On".

Their music is a melodic rock/AOR paradise and, for sure, it will make every single fan of this particular scene very very very happy!! Davide Barbieri has released two excellent efforts with his band Wheels Of Fire and the team of Zorro/ Amos has shown its talent with Shining Line!! The opening tune of "Everytime You Touch My Heart" is simply breathtaking!!! A smooth rocker with a catchy and extremely melodic chorus line to whisper for days!! "The Way You Feel Inside" has a cool harmony, great arrangements and a nice guitar line. In "Shining Line", we have a really good ballad while "Just Take My Hand" could easily appear in any of Shining Line's previous releases. "Close Your Eyes", which features Michele Luppi, is another highlight from this record. A mid-tempo rocker with the signature of the great Michele Luppi and the melodies to bring back memories of Luppi's works with Los Angeles. A great tune!! After two nice songs, "Still Dreamin'" and "The Sound Of Your Heart", comes up the first cover tune of "Everybody's Broken" (Bon Jovi). I really like this Bon Jovi tune and, in my humble opinion, this one fits perfectly in Davide's vocal range. In this track, we have the participation of Josh Zighetti of Hungryheart. "The Answer Was You" is just ok while "Run Away" is a more up-tempo tune with a brilliant chorus line. "Through The Stars" and "Endless Flame" are both rocks in a very good way and in "Bring My Life Back" we have again a great ballad with passionate performances and solid arrangements. Last but not least we have the cover of Belinda Carlisle's big hit "Leave A Light On"!! This is a classic track from Belinda and believe me it's a classic tune from Charming Grace!!! Excellent!!!

Bottom line is that this is a great melodic rock release all the way! Great performances, stunning guitar work and a top notch musicianship!!! These guys are so talented and that's a thing that reflects to their music. The Italian melodic rock scene here is stronger than ever to offer another high quality record. Well done! One of this year's highlights!
Heavy Paradise's Rating : 9/10

Track List :
1) Everytime You Touch My Heart - Duet with Nick Workman (Vega)
2) The Way You Feel Inside Duet with Moon Calhoun (Michael Thompson Band)
3) Shining Light - Duet with David Forbes (Boulevard)
4) Just Take My Hand - Duet with Gui Oliver (Auras)
5) Close Your Eyes - Duet with Michele Luppi (Los Angeles, Secret Sphere)
6) Still Dreamin’ - Duet with Thomas Lassar (Crystal Blue)
7) The Sound Of Your Heart    Duet with Alessandro Del Vecchio (Edge Of Forever)
8) Everybody’s Broken - Duet with Josh Zighetti (Hungryheart)
9) The Answer Was You Duet with Bente Smaavik (Perfect Crime, Blonde On Blonde)
10) Run Away - Duet with Jesse Galante
11) Through The Stars - Duet with Stefano Lionetti (Lionville)
12) Endless Flame - Duet with Henrik Launbjerg (Toys Of Joy)
13) Bring My Life Back - Duet with Kimmo Blom (Urban Tale)
14) Leave A Light On (Bonus track) - Duet with Aurλ

Charming Grace

LEAD VOCALS

Davide Barbieri (Wheels Of Fire)

LEAD VOCALS GUESTS
David Forbes (Boulevard)
Nick Workman (Vega)
Moon Calhoun (Michael Thompson Band)
Michele Luppi (Los Angeles,  Secret Sphere)
Thomas Lassar (Crystal Blue)
Bente Smaavik (Perfect Crime, Blonde On Blonde)
Stefano Lionetti (Lionville)
Kimmo Blom (Urban Tale)
Jessie Galante
Gui Oliver (Auras)
Alessandro Del Vecchio (Edge Of Forever, Hardline, Lionville)
Henrik Launbjerg (Toys Of Joy)
Josh Zighetti (Hungryheart)

Aurë

ADDITIONAL BACKING VOCAL GUESTS
Jeff Paris
Michael Carrata (Soul Seller)
Franco Campanella (Myland)

Tomas Borgogna (Borgogna)

Guests on GUITAR
Sven Larsson (Street Talk, Lionville, Sapphire Eyes, Coastland Ride)
Peter Friestedt (Williams/Friestedt)
Roberto Priori (Danger Zone)
Mario Percudani (Hungryheart, Shining Line, Lionville)
Stefano Lionetti (Lionville)
Mario Manzani (Florence 99)
Steve De Biasi (Gunshy)
Stefano Zeni (Wheels Of Fire)
Tom Martin (Vega)
Andrea Lanza (Skill In Veins)
Carmine Martone
Matteo Serra

Guests on KEYBOARDS
James Martin (Vega)
Alessandro Del Vecchio (Edge Of Forever)

Guest on SAXOPHONE
Boris Matakovic (Human Zoo)