JESSE DAMON rocked us fronting Silent Rage but since more than two decades he has a solo career as well. His album “Temptation In The Garden Of Eve“, released by AOR Heaven Records should be the most solid of all not only in the songwriting department, but also in style.
Having no-other than legend Paul Sabu co-writing, playing, and most significantly; producing, you only could expect an old-school melodic rock sound with strong rockin’ AOR touches.
Amongst the names that assist Damon in “Temptation In The Garden Of Eve” are Sabu on bass & rhythm guitar, keyboard player extraordinaire Eric Ragno (Takara, Fergie Frederiksen) and Pete Newdeck (Eden’s Curse) bashing the skins. So this is like a ‘dream team’ line-up.
The quality of the whole release is just what you would expect from an album associated with these excellent musicians.
Jesse’s lead vocal kicks off the lead track “Garden Of Eve” in a much aggressive hard rock tone than any other track I’ve heard him sing on his previous solo albums. But on what follows, expect huge arena-ready choruses, shimmering hooks, and melodies pouring from every speaker.
Be it the mid-tempo “I Need You Forever” shining brightly with its commercial appeal or “Let It Rock” that blends a guitar sound from the Whitesnake school with Def Leppard-like vocals, Jesse exudes solid songwriting ethics and delivers material ready to take over Rock radio stations or stages in any part of the world.
JESSE DAMON (Silent Rage) - Temptation In The Garden Of Eve (2013) inside
The superb “Angel In The Starlight” glides on a soft bed of melody providing a slower pace, whilst the uptempo “Black Widow” and “Hold On” both add those wonderful synths galore to the strong rockin’ AOR main melody, recalling Sabu’s Only Child.
Things twist to a melodic-hard territory with the rapid “Save Me” (special mention to Mr. Newdeck for his powerful backbone) providing a perfect balance in the middle of the disc.
You’ll also have a couple of ballads; the power driven “Save The World” with a socially conscious message to make an effort in the lives of children each and every day, and the acoustic led “Wishing Well” that brings out Jesse’s soulful side.
“Temptation In The Garden Of Eve” is a really good, catchy Melodic Rock / AOR album in the old style, in my opinion the best Jesse Damon solo.
In fact, this opus sounds like any Paul Sabu album from the Only Child-era, plenty of melodious riffs, lots of keys and prominent rhythm section.
Damon really goes for it with a steadfast performance and is faultless throughout the proceedings both vocally and on the six-strings (there’s some hot solos), but the shape of the songs and that overall sound belong to Sabu.
Ironically, “Temptation In The Garden Of Eve” is million times better than Paul Sabu’s last own album, as it goes for the good, old-fashioned, but always lovable late ’80s melodies, stylings and sound.
Highly Recommended
01. Garden Of Eve
02. Black Widow
03. Save The World
04. I Need You Forever
05. Save Me
06. A Chance For Us
07. Let It Rock
08. Angel In The Starlight
09. Hold On
10. Little Angel
11. Wishing Well
Jesse Damon (vocals, guitar)
Paul Sabu (bass)
Eric Ragno (keyboards)
Pete Newdeck (drums)
Jesse Damon – Temptation In The Garden Of Eve 2013, MP3+FLAC CD w/Scans
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