Various Artists

Item: Global Warming [Europa]
Author: Tim Sharpe

Global Warming [Europa]

(1996)

Reviewed by Tim Sharpe

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Label Sparrow RecordsThe LighthouseApril 1996

alternative rock pop rock rock

It's a small world after all It's a small world after all It's a small world after all It's a small, small world!

Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. Global Warming is Sparrow's offering of five bands from Europe, showcasing three songs from previous recordings. The one thing that surprised me about this sampler is that many of these groups sound a lot like American bands.

The six-piece rock/pop outfit What About? hails from Norway. The thing that really struck me about this band is how much their lead vocalist, Glenn Gulli, sounds like U2's Bono from Joshua Tree, especially on the band's ballad, "Seed of Joy." In fact, the whole song sounds like something from Joshua Tree, with less guitar and more keyboard. Their other songs, unfortunately, are almost nothing like "Seed of Joy."

Slight Petra comparisons come to mind when the Ralph Van Manen Band comes on. But after listening to their first song, "I Will Follow," for a while, they sound more like Michael Sweet's first solo project, with heavy piano under a lot of guitars. This is a really good arena-rock band, but Ralph Van Manen lacks the vocal distinction common to top bands of this genre.

Sweden's Edward Negussie (pronounced like "legacy") sings a lot like Seal, but he's a little more nasal than that mega-star. His falsetto, which he drifts into too often, sounds rather cynical. His music also sounds a little outdated, like soul from about five years back, except for the Michael O'Brien-like "I Believe In You." He is, however, very talented, handling both keys and guitars while doing a more than adequate job at the lead vocals.

One of the more extraordinary bands on this project is Split Level, hailing from Ireland. They play a good blend of arena, modern, and alternative rock. Their lead vocalist and guitarist, Adrian Thompson, sings with a slight rasp that makes his voice sound great! Their first song, "Why," is probably the best tune on this album, with great lyrics to match:

Call me white, call me black I can't take that label back Tell me why Why must the innocent suffer? . . .Why can't you understand we're all the same Underneath the color of our frame?

Slightly out of place among these groups that haven't seen much State-side exposure, the World Wide Message Tribe has already released three albums in the U.S. They sound somewhat like another dance band to come out of the U.K. I daresay, the WWMT could be Christian music's Real McCoy! Their voices don't quite fit the heavy keys and programming as well as Real McCoy but their extraordinary programming talents should add to their appeal.

If you like a variety of music and a lot of it for your buck, it would be hard to go wrong with Global Warming [Europa]. Not all of the songs are great, but for the most part, this is a very good project. I plan to look more deeply into a few of the different performers on this release.