Pete Feenstra chatted to Mal Pearson and Mick Tucker of White Spirit for his show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. First broadcast 7 August 2022.

Conquest Music [Release date: 29.07.22]

‘Right Or Wrong’ is White Spirit’s first album for 40 years and is destined to be one of my rock albums of the year.

It could equally be considered a re-issue of the year, being a resurrected demo album rebuilt on the back of a recently discovered audio tape.

And if the band’s back story sounds familiar, the integrity, sparkle and sheer zest of this album makes it special.

Anchored by White Spirit’s original keyboard player Mal Pearson and latter day guitarist Mick Tucker – the duo also bring new arrangements to the songs - the project makes good use of the extant vocal tracks by the late Brian Howe, while drafting in 3 additional excellent vocalists, Lionheart’s Lee Small, Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey) and FM’s Steve Overland.

Together with the stellar rhythm section of bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake) and drummer Russell Gilbrook (Uriah Heep), the album is superbly mixed by Hammerfall’s Pontus Norgren who captures the band’s collective snap.

The result is a powerful AOR album that bursts with strong songs, impassioned vocals, great playing and lots of energy.

Then as now, original keyboard player Pearson is a significant presence with some heavy duty riffing, subtle fills and enough enveloping melodies to amplify the AOR elements in the music.

In fact, despite cutting a debut single back in 1980 as a NWOBHM band, White Spirit was always a powerful AOR band, ever more so than when Howe came on board.

Four decades on, the key to this album’s potential success is the way they make those evocative Foreigner style hooks and Purple into Rainbow keyboard riffs sound fresh through a combination of vocal excellence and fine band interplay.

Guitarist Mick Tucker is excellent throughout, soloing with alacrity and always supporting the song, while the duo’s experience comes to bear on a set of songs that sounds well placed to tap into the recent upsurge of interest in 80’s rock.

More specifically, the album’s thoughtful sequencing, a nuanced approach to the use of guest vocalists and the clarity of the mix, ensures that Howe’s contribution to the band is never lost in the shuffle.

Indeed, you might enjoy a wry smile when you learn that the familiar opening synth riff of ‘Runaway’ was penned a couple of years before Van Halen ever had a keyboard player.

The synth drive rocker might evoke Van Halen and certainly puts me in mind of the Asia era of synth-led rock, but it’s poky enough to warrant its single release.

Howe’s powerful style is also evident in between the crashing chords and harmony guitars of ‘Lady Of The Night’, while his versatility is such that he effortlessly breezes through ‘Gotta Get Out’ which borders on prog.

The closing homage to him by Steve Overland on the Howe penned, latter day Bad Company hit ‘Holy Water’, is the perfect homage to the sadly departed singer.

But what makes that song all the more poignant is the way it still resonates all these years later, much like the band’s own material, as the guest vocalists pour old wine into new bottles.

Lee Small is a revelation on ‘The Dice Rolls On’, a song that without his vocal gymnastics might have sounded like a Foreigner cast off. He’s equally good on the crunchy ‘Don’t Say No’ which is nicely offset by high-end bv’s, Tuckers’ ripping guitar work and is topped by Pearson’s snaky synth solo.

And if Small soars imperiously, then Jeff Scott Soto rocks hard on the title track with an archetypal classical rock vocal. His impassioned and brusque vocal attack on ‘Better Watch Out’ alongside Pearson’s Rainbow organ riff, suggests only he could fill a track like that with such gravitas.

40 years on from their promising debut album, White Spirit are back with a new line-up that captures the spirit (pun intended) of the original band, but also suggests that given a handful of decent new songs could usher in a meaningful coda to their career.

A hugely impressive effort. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

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UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)