Review | Glenn Hughes-Robin George – Overcome

Cherry Red Records/HNE Recordings

Glenn Hughes is without a doubt my favourite rock singer of all time. There you have it! I have been following his career since his days in Trapeze and Deep Purple. The first time that I met him was at a party in London where he was with Ian Gillan. Talking about two legends. At that time (I believe in 1990) he was not in great shape. A few years later I got to interview him for his comeback album ‘Glenn Hughes Blues – L.A. Blues Authority Volume II’, after he had shined on the John Norum album ‘Face The Truth’.

He told me that his days of booze and drugs were behind him for good and he has kept his word. What a bunch of good stuff he released after that, solo-albums, with The Dead Daisies, with Black Country Communion and many more. But even before he realised that he could not go on being addicted, his CV was impressive.

ROBIN GEORGE

Hughes met multi-instrumentalist/singer/producer Robin George after a gig that George did with his band Dangerous Music. George released a solo-album ‘Dangerous Music’ in 1984 and that was certainly not a bad effort. But when Glenn offered him the chance to work together George took it with two hands. A few years before he was destined to start a new band with Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott but Phil passed away before anything concrete could happen. Working with Glenn Hughes resulted in this album. In the liner notes Robin George tells the story about the recordings. And that a major deal was imminent before the plug was pulled and the material landed on the shelf (although there was an illegal release of the material consisting of just demos).

THE MUSIC ON ‘OVERCOME’

Most of the tracks have been written by George and only four co-written by Hughes. On the song ,,Haunted’’ there is such a thing as a short Trapeze reunion as Glenn’s old friends Dave Holland (drums) and Mel Galley (guitar) were somehow involved for this song. The bulk of the recordings were done in the home studio of Robin George, who has also played most of the instruments himself (the drums sometimes sound very ‘mechanic’).

IT IS A MIX

The music on ‘Overcome’ is a mix of AOR, heavy rock and even some slightly funky stuff can be heard. Even though Hughes at the time was using, his performances in the studio were superb. For a fan of Glenn Hughes there is enough to enjoy here. But somehow this release strikes me a bit as something that has never been properly finished. It sounds okay but not much more than that. The songs go up and down.

GLENN HUGHES – THE LIMELIGHT

As a whole I find ‘Overcome’ interesting because it unveils some more studio stuff that The Voice Of Rock has done in his career. For someone like me, who follows the releases where Glenn Hughes is involved this album certainly has it value. But to crown it as essential, nah, would be beside the truth. Robin George has released a handful of albums the last couple of years but with hardly anything on there to be really bothered about. This album might put him in the limelight again, although most likely just for a very short time.

Release date: 24 November 2023