Carnival Life

A diverse and sparse series of songs, most of which revolve around falling out of love and disillusionment with the world in general. Although these themes could lead to Carnival Love being one of the most depressing albums ever, Amy Correia's fragile, singsong voice carries each track gently along, leaving the listener with an unshakable feeling of hope. Reminiscent of Mary Lou Lord or Victoria Williams, her little girl voice belies a worldly brashness and wry knowledge that lends itself well to her sparse poetry. A good first album which will surely lead to even more successful efforts in the future.

Although wearing inspiration and paying homage to their predecessors like Aerosmith and Guns N' Roses, their sound and music is destined to develop into something unique. Members of Halestorm, The 69 Eyes, Amorphis, Children Of Bodom, Lordi and Sonic Syndicate have all praised the band's live efforts. Shiraz Lane's debut album "For Crying Out Loud" was released worldwide in April 2016, and it was a success story from the beginning, achieving 6/7 stars in Metal Hammer Germany and a lot of praise by the biggest Finnish music magazine Soundi. The young rockers spent the following summer playing festivals and packed their gear for a two month long European tour with Lordi in the fall of 2016, before heading out on their first headlining tour in February 2017 in Spain.

Although the Crusaders could not have known it at the time, their recording of "Street Life" (which features a memorable vocal by Randy Crawford) was a last hurrah for the 20-year old group. Their recordings of the next few years would decline in interest until the band gradually faded away in the '80s. However this particular set is well worth picking up for the 11-minute title cut and there is good playing by the three original members (Wilton Felder on tenor, soprano and electric bass, keyboardist Joe Sample and drummer Stix Hooper) along with guitarist Barry Finnerty; horn and string sections, plus additional guitarists are utilized on Sample's commercial but listenable arrangements.