Review: Chris Catena’s Rock City Tribe – Truth In Unity

Grooveyard Records (July 31st 2020)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

First off I must apologise for allowing this to slip to the back of the review drawer as it’s not somewhere it should be left.

Okay whose Chris Catena? and whose Grooveyard Records? I hear some of you cry.

Grooveyard Records has long been a favorite of mine, releasing some of the finest blues rock and guitar rock albums of the last twenty years. However ‘Truth In Unity‘ ain’t no blues rock, so those who were about to lose interest, read on.

And so to Chris Catena, an Italian vocalist who has three previous releases, the last one being ‘Discovery‘ on Escape Music. Chris’s Rock City Tribe, put together with the help of Janne Stark, is an absolute who’s who of the hard rock community, with the likes of Bumblefoot, Joel Hoekstra, Pat Travers, Doug Aldrich. Eric Ragno, Kee Marcello, Stevie Salas, Dizzy Reed and Oz Fox to name some of the illustrious musicians adding their flair to ‘Truth In Unity‘.

‘Truth In Unity‘ comprises 15 tracks of top drawer hard rock, as you’d expect from the above contributers, Each track a stand alone entity but without any sticking out like a sore thumb in the makeup of the album.

When I say hard rock, think Glen Hughes era Deep Purple, earlyish Whitesnake mixed with the AOR influences of Toto and say Journey. So enough to entertain and delight most rock fans.

The litmus paper test is always the amount of play throughs an album gets off the bat as it were, and ‘Truth In Unity‘ certainly has had more than a handful of plays. It is an absolute belter of an album, the sort of volume knob cranker that everyone needs during this difficult time, to help blow away misery and apathy.

Go track down a copy, and while your at it, check out some of Grooveyard’s other releases, something easily done via their own ‘radio stream‘.

Tracklisting:

1. Angel City

(Music – Antonio Aronne & Christian Francesconi / Lyrics – Christian Francesconi)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar 1 – Steve Salas

Lead Guitar 2 – Rowan Robertson

Rhythm Guitar – Janne Stark

Bass – Wyzard

Drums – Matt Starr

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

Backing Vocals – Gretchen Bonaduce, Katiuscia,

Deli Rowe, Ginger Sweet

2. The Trickster

(Music – Janne Stark & Peter Hermansson / Lyrics – Janne Stark)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Vocals – Paul Shortino

Lead Guitar 1 + 3 (Intro + End Solos) & Rhythm Guitar – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 2 – Bumblefoot

Bass – Greg Chaisson

Drums – Brian Tichy

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

3. Down In The Black
   

(Music – Peter Hermansson & Janne Stark / Lyrics – Peter Hermansson)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Vocals – John Sloman

Lead Guitar 1 (Intro Solo) – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 2 & Rhythm Guitar – Leonardo Porcheddu

Lead Guitar 3 – Tony Arcuri

Bass – Ken Sandin

Drums – Troy Lucketta

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

4. Motorcycle Killers
   

(Music – Antonio Aronne & Christian Francesconi / Lyrics – Christian Francesconi)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar 1 + 3 & Rhythm Guitar – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 2 + 4 – Giacomo Castellano

Rythm Guitar – Antonio Aronne

Bass – Neil Murray

Drums – Antonio Aronne

Organ – Dizzy Reed

Backing Vocals – Katiuscia, Deli Rowe, J. West

5. The Seventh Son
   

(Music & Lyrics – Christian Francesconi)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Vocals – Bobby Kimball

Lead Guitar 1 (Intro Solos) + 3

& Rhythm Guitar – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 2 – Pat Travers

Slide & Dobro Guitar – Toby Wilson

Bass – Tony Franklin

Drums – Carmine Appice

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

Backing Vocals – Katiuscia & Deli Rowe

6. Get Ready
   

(Music & Lyrics – Francesco Marras & Christian Francesconi)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar & Rhythm Guitar & Bass – Janne Stark

Rhythm Guitar – Francesco Marras

Slide & Dobro Guitar, Banjo – Toby Wilson

Drums – Carlo Jaccarino

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

Backing Vocals – Deli Rowe, Katiuscia, J. West, Chris Catena

7. My Angel
   

(Music & Lyrics – Janne Stark)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar (Acoustic) 1 & Rhythm Guitar & Bass – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 2 – Ozz Fox

Lead Guitar 3 – Scotti Hill

Lead Slide Guitar – Paul Audia

Drums – Matt Starr

Keyboards – Eric Ragno

Backing Vocals – Enrico Scutti,

Deli Rowe, Katiuscia, Chris Catena

8. Still A Fool
   

(Music & Lyrics – Kee Marcello)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar 1 – Kee Marcello

Lead Guitar 2 & Rhythm Guitar – Janne Stark

Harmony Guitar Solos – Janne Stark

& Håkan Granat

Drums – Matt Starr

Bass – Sean McNabb

Keyboards – Jimmy Bax

9. Who Knew
   

(Music & Lyrics – Janne Stark)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar 1 (Intro) 1 & Rhythm Guitar – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 2 – Jimmy Crespo

Lead Guitar 3 + 4 – Blues Saraceno

Bass – Chuck Wright

Drums – Matt Starr

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

Backing Vocals – Deli Rowe,

Katiuscia, Chris Catena

10. Livin Wreck
    

(Music – Janne Stark & Peter Hermansson / Lyrics – Peter Hermansson)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Vocals – Peter Hermansson

Lead Guitar 1 (Intro) & Rhythm Guitar – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 2 – Rowan Robertson

Bass – Nik West

Drums – Brian Tichy

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

11. Round The Bend
    

(Music & Lyrics: Janne Stark)

Vocals, Sticks & Harmonica – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar (Intro Solo) 1 & Rhythm/Twin Guitar – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 2 – Joel Hoekstra

Lead Guitar 3 (Twin Guitars)

& Slide Guitar Solo – Damon Johnson

Bass – James LoMenzo

Drums – Matt Starr

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

Backing Vocals – Deli Rowe, Chris Catena

12. Fall Of Our Heroes
    

(Music – Christian Francesconi & Janne Stark / Lyrics – Janne Stark)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar (Intro) & Rhythm Guitar – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 2 – Doug Aldrich

Guitar Talkbox – Paul Audia

Bass – Tony Franklin

Drums – Mauro Giannini

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

Backing Vocals – Enrico Scutti, Deli Rowe, Katiuscia, Chris Catena

13. Freedom

(Music – Francesco Marras / Lyrics – Christian Francesconi)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar 1 & Rhythm + Twin Lead – Francesco Marras

Lead Guitar 2 + Twin Lead – Leonardo Porcheddu

Bass – Stu Hamm

Drums – Matt Starr

Percussions – Chris Catena

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

Saxophone – The Staxx Men

Backing Vocals – Deli Rowe, Katiuscia, Ginger Sweet, Chris Catena

14. Theme For An Imaginary Western

(Music – Jack Bruce / Lyrics – Peter Constantine Brown)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar 1 – Dick Wagner

Lead Guitar 2 & Rhythm/Twin Guitar & Bass – Janne Stark

Lead Guitar 3 & Rythm/Twin Guitar – Matt Filippini

Slide, Dobro & Pedal Steel Guitar – Toby Wilson

Drums – Carlo Jaccarino

Keyboards – Davide Spurio

15. Ridin The Freebird Highway

(Music – Janne Stark / Lyrics – Janne Stark & Christian Francesconi)

Vocals – Chris Catena

Lead Guitar 1 (Intro) & 2 + Rhythm

Guitar, Harmony Solos, Acoustic

Guitar & Bass – Janne Stark

Slide Guitar + End Solo Trade Off – Freddie Salem

Lead Guitar 3 + End Solo Trade Off – Tracii Guns

Drums – Matt Starr

Keyboards – Davide Spurio