Johnny Young & The Stellar Dogs, Cosmic Alley Review

by Adorjan Horvát on September 30, 2019

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Full Review

Johnny Young & The Stellar Dogs, Cosmic Alley Review

Johnny Young is a multi-instrumentalist who has been fueling a lifelong passion of exploration on many instruments ranging from piano, acoustic and electric guitars, organ, drums, and percussion. Young has toured extensively in North America, Europe and Japan with Mick Taylor, Kreisor, and as a leader of his own projects, either headlining or opening for UFO, Spacehog, John Mayall, and countless others. Young earned an Emmy Award for composing the fire scene on The Guiding Light where they burned down the set as well as two Just Plain Folks awards for best hard rock band and best hard rock song. Blind since the age of 17, he has been an unstoppable musician with an impressive musical resume. Currently, he is playing live in Giant Flying Turtles, Peak, Generations and Johnny Young and The Stellar Dogs. Their latest endeavor Cosmic Alley is a rocker with the acumen and style of fusion.

Connect with Johnny Young & The Stellar Dogs: SoundCloud | iTunes |

Overview

Item Reviewed

Cosmic Alley

Author

Adorjan Horvát

September 30, 2019

In Short

Starship
Seven Wonders
Sweet Love Devine
The Vampire's Lair
Across the Tracks
The Seventh Day

Details

Release Date: March 11, 2019

Label

Menagerie

Length

45 minutes

Young is masterful at writing, with solid forms and dramatic interludes each tune on Cosmic Alley showcases the strengths of this well-oiled group. The heads are well-crafted, and the solos add up to a burnfest throughout.

Review Rating

Our Rating

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Album Rating

9.2

9.8

Bottom Line

The group is called the Stellar Dogs and is comprised of Johnny Young: keyboards; Jernej Bervar: guitar; Akos Forgacs: bass and Milos Branisavljevic on drums. The tunes are smartly written with band hits and harmonic complexities that scream fusion-jazz. Young arpeggiates with quick dexterity as Forgacs and Branisavljevic lock tightly to anchor the groove. Guitarist Bervar has an electrified sound that distillates an edginess of hard-hitting single notes. The tunes range from funk-based grooves, to gorgeous ballads, to romping rock feels. Young stretches the listeners imagination with confidently creative ideas, adding up to twists and turns at every corner. The performances are top shelf throughout, never a dull moment and never resting on the laurels of the ordinary. If you have never heard of this group, don’t delay, the 6-tune album is a feast of burning performances and non-stop good ear candy. That’s the short of it!

9.2

Total Score

9.8

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