King Size’s masterpiece Around And Around is a landmark release in the history of melodic rock
In 2014 the Austrian rock band King Size celebrated its 25 year jubilee. Main songwriter and guitarist Tom Proll (a.k.a. “Major Tom”) and his bandmates played over 800 concerts worldwide and had released a lot of music up to now. A few songs made it into the charts and a few of these even went to the top! The ballad “Don’t Say Goodbye” (#1) and the rock songs “Show Me The Way” (#2), “Machinery” (#1) and “Change Your Mind” (#1) were the most successful releases by King Size.
Furthermore the live opener “Face To Face” and of course “Second Skin” (Song Expo Award 2001 Winner, Category “Rock song of the year”) are regarded as classics today! King Size also went on tour with bands like Saga, Sweet, Uriah Heep or Thin Lizzy as well as sharing stages around the globe with bands likes Oasis, Toto, Whitesnake, Wasp, Quiet, Riot, Steve Lukather Band, Blind Petition, Mannfred Mann’s Earthband, Bluespumpm, Slade, Gotthard, Supertramp’s Carl Verheyen, Manowar, Overkill, Great White and many more on festivals. Naturally they also had many headliner gigs in Europe, Asia and in the US.
In early 2014 they released the best of album “Dangerous Girls & Beauty Queens” which consists of two CDs with 35 songs from 25 years of the band‘s history! 2014 brought changes too, as Major Tom decided to collaborate with the German label NRT-Records, which means that fans can expect to get a big load of re-releases celebrating the 25 year jubilee with unreleased bonus tracks and remixes! And to kick things off, NRT-Records has launched a re-release of King Size’s 15-track album, Around And Around, which was originally released in 2000.
The Line Up on this album included Major TOM PROLL – Guitars & Vocals, ISABELLA ROZIC – Vocals, WIFF ENZENHOFER – Keyboards & Vocals, MARIO PUNCEC – Bass Guitar, Vocals, KLAUS NIEDERHUBER – Lead Vocals and MICHI BECK – Drums & Percussions. The album was PRODUCED by Tom Proll and CO-PRODUCED by Wiff Enzenhofer & Werner Edlauer.
King Size’s masterpiece Around And Around is a landmark release not just for the band but as part of the history of melodic rock. Though a classic hard rock band, this album also blends a marriage of British progressive rock and blues flavored traditional American pop rock. It is an essential for classic/vintage rock fans and highly recommended for 80’s melodic rock fans too.
It doesn’t get much better than this. Consistency, great musicianship, and even good pop sensibilities – mixed just right! This album features phenomenal playing, thrilling arrangements, deep and meaningful lyrics, soaring vocals, heavy guitars, gorgeous synth-induced symphonic melodies, and topnotch production.
Some albums really pleasantly surprise you. Sometimes you get drawn in by the familiar-sounding song or two, only to be completely blown away by the rest of the disc. This happened to me with Around And Around. I wanted it mainly for the track “A Song Is Born”. I couldn’t believe it when I started to like the rest of the album even more than the songs I came for. “Change Your Mind” in particular is a rocking epic of a song that I could listen to all day. The raw power of the lyrics is apparent in the instrumentals as well.
Something great that King Size does in this album is have the vocals and instrumentals so well interwoven thematically that you can’t imagine one without the other, but then they prove you totally wrong with the instrumental “Love? (Reprise)”, which wordlessly paints its pictures with a piano-driven melody.
From the opening track “Around (The Beginning)” to the epic feel of “And Around (The End),” there’s something for everyone. You’ll end up with multiple favorites, and that’s saying something considering the original release goes back 14 years. King Size were at their creative peak when they came out with this offering. If you’re a musician, you’ll appreciate what they’ve done here.
With the help of NRT-Records who knows, maybe there will be brand new King Size album or even a live reunion in the near future. In the meantime lets discover the reissues and anything else they can thow at us!
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