Oliver Hartmann is a German rock vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer that has performed with various bands (AT VANCE, AVANTASIA) over the many years, and has just released his tenth solo project "Get Over It" in September 2022 with his band HARTMANN. Having started his solo career in 2005 with the debut release of "Out in the Cold" after departing the extremely popular and successful PINK FLOYD tribute band ECHOS. A gifted performer that has toured alongside well-known acts as TOTO, HOUSE OF LORDS and URIAH HEEP. I was introduced to HARTMANN when I heard his duet of "Simple Man" with ERIC MARTIN of MR. BIG off his 2018 album "Hands on the Wheel", that totally captivated me, I now relish the opportunity to dig further into his music and see what I may have been missing

Opening with classic rocking riffs on "Remedy", a definite AOR melody and chorus paired with a brief but nice guitar solo that tie this song up nicely. "One Step Beyond" has a crisp opening riff before Hartmann's somewhat raspy vocals break thru to harmonize a pulsating vibe with a meaty guitar solo that delivers the goods on a vibrant edgy song. We enter the rock ballad forum with "In Another Life" that blends a melodic tempo with soulful and passionate vocals, this song radiates pure emotion and feeling pouring from Hartmann, if Hallmark had a "Sorry, it didn't work out" card section, they would use the lyrics from this song in those cards. A nice change of direction with "What you Give, is What you Get", bouncy, bluesy tempo with soothing and catchy riffs throughout. "The Gun" tells a story of a young man growing up in a deprived neighborhood which leads to a life of crime, narrated with slow, somber, dramatic vocals and a hulking, melancholy beat with fused guitar licks. "Stay True to Me" enters with a leisurely, ambient acoustic guitar with alluring vocals mixed in with orchestral strings eventually cruising to a dazzling tapestry of all the musical elements blended together and ending with a vicious guitar solo.

Hartmann is a great songwriter that definitely puts his emotions on his sleeve with very passionate lyrics, and his vocal prowess is a perfect paring. This is a very polished, smooth, and enjoyable album with top shelf musicianship that gets better each time you listen. This album has a little sumpin, sumpin for every taste, blues, rock and even pop, it's perfect for "date night" or just "chilling". The only problem I can think of is how I'm going to find time to listen to his previous nine albums. Hold all my calls, and you said there'd be no homework!