Retro Revival by Alex Lopez (ALX), is an album full of blues and rock relics and modern Lopez classics, as he comes full circle with a sense of holding back for more and giving it all at the same time. This tells me not only have I done the right thing in delving into his back catalog for this review, but it also tells me he has much further to go, and picking up on the lyrics indicates the end of all is near, but that is just the times we are living in and the times being reflected are more about the past and the future of the world.
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The topics are one thing, the potential of Lopez is another thing, so going at it one more time might seem where it’s at now, but it will come out on the other side, and it won’t be the last we hear of the music. “One More Time” opens the Retro Revival album with exactly that, but the rest of the album is what brings hope for a better tomorrow. It doesn’t stand out any more than the rest of the tracks, it just gets the album going with that mindset.
“Your Lovin’” doesn’t hesitate to show another side and kick that former mindset out of the way with some funky bits to bring it up a notch and really put it into high gear, like travelling in the fast lane, listening to the Black Crows. The next song goes all goes all the way blues on “When I Sing The Blues” which carries a modern blues rock sound with Lopez at his finest crooning, and it’s not the only song on Retro Revival with this modern rock pace to a blues song, as it comes highly recommended for including.
“Hear I Am” is one of the most-funky numbers, with Lopez expressing his sense of humor in a time when that can be hit and miss for anyone, as the ears run thinner for music and thicker for news media and essential gossip that weighs it down. It leads to “What The World Needs” as if to note these songs follow a loose concept as each one makes a move forward under the same umbrella, and this track stands out for the lyrics full of suggestions of what we need more of. The chorus on this one is especially infectious, and so are the guitar effects (particularly the solo).
“Hey Little Sister” is one of the best tracks on Retro Revival, and once again it reminds of the Black Crows. Other tracks, “Angry,” “Loving You Gives Me The Blues,” “Name Of Love” are all good numbers around the above. “Black Hole,” and “Keep On Living” bring it back up a level as Rtro Revival comes down the ending stretch, leaving a trail of smoke behind it and a promise of more to come from ALX, regardless of what some of the lyrics indicate, as it only reflects the times, not the energy and elasticity of Lopez.
Chadwick Easton