The Rumble. What a trip this album has been to review. I really have no idea where to start. In many respects, it seems to be a really shiny showcase to display Kent's awesome vocal capabilities. The fact that it was written, produced, and performed by 2 guys, with most roles filled by Mike Palace, would normally be enough for me to write it off as such. However, the quality of the music is too high, to discount it like that. This type of project is something we typically see from children, or relatives of celebrities, or (as in Kent's case) when an actor, or other celebrity decides to make a an album, in an attempt to harvest on their pre-claimed noteriety. The trouble with regarding this album as such, is that Kent's voice really is that good. In my opinion, if he had never played professional football, he could have been a successful working musician during that whole period of his career.

The title track of The Rumble starts really heavy on the synthesizers. At first I was a little concerned because with smaller productions, there is a tendency to rely to heavily on synths to make up for lack of band members, but, Mike doesn't feed us on a diet of synthesizers alone, he just starts us with the baby food, before moving us up to higher protein. Immediately I was struck with a sense that STAN BUSH was somehow invoked here. This sense never really went away, as Kent's vocal style is quite similar.

"Heaven Can Wait" is a soulful piano-based serenade, about a couple having relationship issues. I dare say, I felt like Kent was hitting the Michael Bolton end of the register on this one. My only critique of this song was the breakdown at 3:30. The breakdown itself was fine, but I felt like it was a little quick to start back into the normal chorus, without the accompanying music building up higher than prior to the breakdown. I felt like the lack of beefing it up there kind of made the breakdown pointless, or at least de-emphasized it.

The last half of this album left me undecided as to whether or not Kent, and his girlfriend/wife/whatever managed to recover from her infidelities. "Don't Say It's Forever" perked my ears, as it has a bit in the rhythm that is identical to "Halfway There" by BON JOVI in it. It also let's us know the relationship Kent had idealized to this point was in trouble. "Miss Up To No Good" kind of put the cheating shoes on her feet, but the sympathetic tone of "Heaven Can Wait" said to me that he was sharing some of the blame...like he'd cheated on her too. I also feel like he was totally out of his league with her. Most of this album, he idolized her, and the love they shared, but by "Never Be Mine", his spite for her had him thinking he was the better end of the deal. "Still In Love" is where I'm most undecided though. Was he able to get over himself, beyond being able to admit he was still crazy for her? Was she still in the doorway waiting for him to make that revelation? Or was she on the other end of that phone conversation, a state away, amused at his pleads for her to come back to his cheating ass? I'll leave that one for you to decide.

In summation: I do not normally listen to this genre of music, nonetheless, The Rumble hit me with a few surprise shots. The first being that this was the production of 2 guys. When people make albums like that, there can be a tendency for all the songs to kind of mush together stylistically, rhythmically, and/or tonally. Somehow Mike Palace, and Kent Hilli managed to keep things fresh, and unique enough, that I found the album to be engaging to the end. The second being Mike Palace's contribution. I'm sure Kent Hilli provided more than vocals, but when I asked him who made this album, he deigned to take focus off the significance of how much Mike put into it. Having listened to this album multiple times, I can understand why, and agree with Kent's assessment "Mike is impressive". All told, this was a good listen, with elements any fan of FOREIGNER, CHICAGO, or MICHAEL BOLTON could enjoy.