Jimi Bell Talks New Autograph, House of Lords Albums
The guitarist has one great new rock album out already and there's another on the way.
Thank you for spending part of your day with Michael’s Record Collection. I know how much demand everyone has on their time these days, so I consider it an honor that you’ve spent a few minutes of yours on this newsletter. As this week’s issue drops, the second major storm in a short period of time is visiting our area, as Hurricane Nicole drops to tropical storm status and crosses past us here in Central Florida. If you happen to be in this area, please stay safe and remember that many storm-related injuries occur after the storm has passed.
With that said, I’m excited to talk today about two different new albums — one that’s already out and one that drops soon — by great rock bands featuring the same guitarist. Jimi Bell was kind enough to jump on a Zoom call with me recently from his home in Connecticut to discuss these new records by Autograph and House of Lords.
Let’s get to that story.
Most weeks, this newsletter serves as a vehicle to talk about either a new or classic album, following a discussion with either someone who made that record or someone who loves it. But this week’s issue is a little different, because guitarist Jimi Bell has two new albums to talk about.
Although Bell stays busy with a number of projects, his two primary bands are Autograph — you’ll know them from their 1980s hit “Turn Up the Radio” — and House of Lords. Both bands have new albums in 2022, with House of Lords having released Saints and Sinners on Sept. 16 and Autograph is about to drop Beyond on Nov. 18. Frontiers Music is the label for both.
Bell joined Autograph in 2019 in oder to be able to play live more often, and Beyond is his first album with the band, but he’s a veteran with House of Lords. Bell joined House of Lords in 2005 and Saints and Sinners is his ninth record with the group that keyboardist Gregg Giuffria (Angel, Giuffria) formed in 1987. (Giuffria himself left House of Lords in 2006 and the band has been recording albums without him since 2008’s Come to My Kingdom.)
Both of Bell’s primary bands perform melodic rock, but Autograph is more guitar-based and crunchy, while House of Lords leans heavily on keyboards to augment the group’s sound. While I’d normally give you a bit of a track-by-track flavor of each song, that might be a little lengthy with 23 total tracks to go through, so this week I’m going to stick to the highlights and let you discover these albums in more detail on your own.
Let’s start with the new House of Lords album, since that dropped back in mid-September. Led by Bell and the group’s original lead vocalist/guitarist James Christian, who has been with House of Lords since 1988, the lineup on Saints and Sinners is rounded out by keyboardist Mark Mangold and drummer Johan Koleberg. Prior to Mangold joining the band, Christian had been adding the keyboard parts.
“We brought in Mark Mangold on this. I've never worked with him before, James told me about him when we were doing the new record,” Bell said. “And it's one of those things that just came together really well. It was just amazing, but bringing in a keyboard player with all these different tracks that he has, and keyboard sounds, and everything, just really brought the album to a different level. So we're very pleased with it.”
Those Mangold keyboards are evident right from the jump on the opening song, which is the album’s title track and one of the highlights of the record. It’s got a soaring chorus and a wonderful guitar solo from Bell, right on the heels of a brief Mangold keyboard solo that leads into the epic ending. It’s an exquisite way to start the album.
The second song, “House of the Lord,” is just as strong with a great intro that transitions from an atmospheric keyboard section into an up-tempo Koleberg drumbeat that makes it one of Bell’s favorites on Saints and Sinners. Christian’s vocals shine particularly brightly in the verses on the song as well.
“I would say I really like ‘House of the Lord.’ You know, I like that whole keyboard intro, then when it comes into the whole galloping thing. I dig that. That's very cool,” Bell said.
Other highlights on the record for me include the seven-minute mini epic “Mistress of the Dark” and “Roll Like Thunder,” the latter of which Bell singled out as perhaps his favorite on Saints and Sinners.
“I love ‘Roll Like Thunder,’ and I'm not saying that because I wrote it, but I really like that song,” he said. “It's just very, very cool.”
“Roll Like Thunder” was a song that had been around for a while that finally got its moment to shine.
“I’ve written so many songs for House Lords that James forgets about things. Every House of Lords record that I've ever done, I've written about 15, 16 songs,” Bell explained. “There's always extra songs left over. So I told James, ‘You gotta go back and listen to this track.’ He gets overwhelmed because I send him so much stuff. So, he went back and listened to it and he flips out. He goes, ‘Oh my God, that’s great!’”
“Avalanche” is a gorgeous ballad that calls back thematically to album opener “Saints and Sinners” in an interesting way. I also love Bell’s scorching solo in “Razzle Dazzle.”
This is a strong release from House of Lords and I recommend it without reservation to any fan of melodic rock.
Bell’s upcoming offering with Autograph — along with vocalist Simon Daniels, bassist Randy Rand, and drummer Marc Wieland — is another standout record, but unfortunately it will forever be attached to a sad chapter for the band.
Beyond was fully recorded and everything was shipped off to the record company when original bassist Rand passed away. That knocked the wind out of the band’s sails at what was supposed to be a joyous time as they dealt with Rand’s loss, but at least the original Autograph member left behind a great collection of songs that he was able to see through to completion.
“The blessing is that Randy played on the whole record, and the record was all turned in,” Bell said. “The artwork and everything was all submitted to Frontiers two weeks prior to Randy's passing.”
The band made some last-minute alterations to the album’s packaging to pay tribute to Rand.
“We wanted to have a special page in the booklet dedicated to him,” Bell said. “He gave an incredible performance on this record. Randy has a very lazy style of just rocking on the bass. He just plays the parts and doesn't try to go mental, but it’s thunderous and that came across like that on this record. And he did some amazing bass lines.”
To fulfill contractual obligations for upcoming live dates, Autograph has enlisted the help of Metal Church bassist Steve Unger, but no official word on Rand’s replacement has been made yet as the band continues to come to grips with his loss.
Returning to a more positive note, Autograph’s sound is more edgy and guitar-oriented than House of Lords, while maintaining the same devotion to infectious songcraft and standout musicality. For those who haven’t kept up with Autograph since their 1984 smash hit “Turn Up the Radio” — still a staple on classic rock radio and 80s radio — the band sounds a bit different today. Daniels has been the lead singer since the band reformed nearly a decade ago in 2013, as original lead vocalist Steve Plunkett had moved on to other lucrative projects and didn’t want to take part.
Daniels’ vocals are far less hair metal-ish and flamboyant than Plunkett’s. There’s a bit more of a well-worn, rock quality to Daniels’ singing.
“Simon's been the lead singer of Autograph longer than Steve Plunkett was in the band,” Bell said. “You know, Simon's been that guy for 10 years, and a lot of people recognize him as the singer of Autograph. He does an incredible job. I love Simon's voice. I love working with him. I like his his look, his personality. He’s an incredible guitar player. He only plays rhythm with Autograph and a couple lead lines, but that guy can play, and not many people know that. He plays acoustic guitar, like phenomenal — way better than I play acoustic guitar.”
Bell brought in the bones of 10 of the 12 songs to the Beyond writing sessions, which allowed him to repurpose a song he’d written many years earlier for House of Lords that never got used, as “Gotta Getcha” ended up on Autograph’s new record, despite being written years earlier for Bell’s other band.
“That was one of my demos. And every time James listened to it, he really liked the track, but never did anything with it,” Bell said. “And then the next album would come up, I would tell him ‘That track’s been around for a long time…since I think 2014 or something like that, maybe even a little earlier. And he'd always go back and listen to it, but it wasn’t something that ended up (clicking) with him.
“So, I sent it to Simon. And it was an instant like, boom. I said, ‘What do you think of this?’ And it clicked instantly. He came back with this cool rock and roll song and I was like, ‘Ah, this is what the song needed.’ Thank God, you know, because I really didn't want the track to go to waste.”
Along with “Gotta Getcha,” the album’s up-tempo opener, “This Ain’t the Place I Wanna Be” is a highlight and immediately hits you in the face with Bell’s guitar prowess. Bell said he was trying to recapture some of Autograph’s old vibe on the song.
“Your Slave Tonight,” one of the two songs Daniels brought into the Beyond sessions, has an infectious hook in its recurring guitar riff. The tracks mentioned above all have the potential to become concert favorites for fans willing to listen rather than merely biding their time until “Turn Up the Radio” is played.
The slower “Take Me Higher” is another album highlight, one of Bell’s personal favorites, and one the band has brought out live already.
“I really wanted to get ‘Take Me Higher’ into the set because it's one of those — I call it a midtempo ballad. Simon doesn't call it that, but I consider it one of those,” Bell said. “You know, Def Leppard…that type of vibe? And it just went over really good.”
One of my favorite moments on Beyond happens midway through the Daniels-penned “Beautiful Disaster,” with a delicious harmonized guitar solo by Bell. For me, it provides one of the album’s highest highs.
“(Daniels) gave me a song and he says, ‘What can you do over this?’ When that part came up…I tried to bring back a little of the old style, the old sound of some of the Autograph things a little bit into this,” Bell said. “Even though we were doing something totally brand new, I wanted to keep a little bit of tradition within the songs. So, I know how to do the two-handed tapping thing and everything. I said, ‘Let me just do something there in harmony.’ You know, just to try and see what that sounds like. And it was kind of like a very cool thing that just kind of happened. I sent it to them. They freaked out, so it was cool.”
Beyond has hooks for days, blistering guitar, a driving rhythm section, and Daniels’ husky vocals presiding over the whole thing. It’s also a well-produced record, so it sounds good and avoids having so much sheen on it that it fatigues the ears. Beyond is a solid listen.
Both albums are strong, melodic rock efforts. If I have to choose one over the other, I’d probably lean a little more toward the House of Lords album due to Mangold’s keyboard contributions. However, I luckily don’t have to choose between them and I can enjoy both of these excellent 2022 releases.
Tracklists:
House of Lords — Saints and Sinners
Saints and Sinners
House of the Lord
Take It All
Road Warrior
Mistress of the Dark
Avalanche
Roll Like Thunder
Razzle Dazzle
Dreamin’ It All
Takin’ My Heart Back
Angels Fallen
Autograph — Beyond
This Ain’t the Place I Wanna Be
Your Slave Tonight
Everything
Gotta Getcha
Take Me Higher
Run for Your Life
Beautiful Disaster
Love is a Double Edged Sword
Heart of Stone
Feels So Good
Flying High
To Be Together
For more information on Jimi Bell, visit his personal website. To learn more about his bands, check out the Autograph website and the official House of Lords Facebook page.
For my complete interview with Jimi Bell, including his most influential albums, how he switched from drums to guitar as a kid, his clever invention for guitar players, opening for Joan Jett and appearing in a movie with her, and more, check out the video below. Or you can download or stream Episode 85 of the Michael’s Record Collection podcast, which features some short clips from both the new Autograph and House of Lords records. Enjoy!
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