FAIR WARNING-Pimp Your Past

Steamhammer/SPV

This German heavy rock band (hailing from Hannover if I am not mistaken) has been active since the early nineties. Bass player/composer Ule W. Ritgen had been playing with Zeno Roth, while Tommy Heart was the singer of the band V2. From 1992 to the year 2000 there were a bunch of albums recorded and a live EP. Especially the CD’s ‘Go!’, ‘Rainmaker’ and the first one simply titled ‘Fair Warning’ did so well in Japan that Fair Warning became a household name there while in their native Germany and the rest of Europe hardly anyone was really interested. After a break the band is active again the last couple of years resulting in a few more albums like ‘The Box’ and ‘Sundancer’. I never understood why Fair Warning had such a hard time in Europe as the music was always up to scratch, their musicianship was excellent and the sounds always melodic and polished. Maybe that was the problem, no idea. Anyway, on ‘Pimp Your Past’, Heart, Ritgen, drummer C.C. Behrens and guitarist Helge Engelke have revisited their past and brought some of their old songs back to life by recording them again. As usual the band has kept control of all important aspects like the production and the artwork. Yet again Fair Warning deliver a high class melodic rock record with all their own ingredients imbedded in the songs: the melodic slightly high but versatile voice of Heart and the whistling guitar sound that Helge Engelke seems to have the sole rights on. His typical style of playing and doing solos (sometimes sounds like a violin) is so typical for Fair Warning that it makes the band very recognisable. And low and behold, the remakes of ,,Burning Heart’’, ,,Pictures Of Love’’ and ,,Angels Of Heaven’’ pull Fair Warning right back in it. Excellent band, except not enough people have realised or maybe are realising that. If this is how you ‘Pimp Your Past’, then Fair Warning has done it the right way.