Not very often do you hear a one man band in the conventional hard rock genre - but that's what we essentially have here in ROLLIN' RODEO. Tom Rodeo handles all vocals, guitars, bass, drums, most of the guitar solos, songwriting, and production duties. I'm surprised he hasn't been able to find like-minded musicians in France to join his studio cause - but then again, if you are adept at all the instruments, and know creatively what you want, who better to trust than yourself?

This 9 song effort has a lot in common with the biggest years of GUNS 'N ROSES- the Slash years of "Appetite for Destruction" and the "Use Your Illusion" albums. Tom's guitar tone and way of making his instrument sing has a lot in common with the Gibson Les Paul oriented man, especially on a tender ballad like "A Prayer for a Son". Vocally Tom isn't going to remind you of the upper tier of hard rock or metal singers, his voice in line with say Ace Frehley of KISS or possibly Klaus Meine of THE SCORPIONS - check out the street anthem "Dirty Mind" or the slightly swinging "Monkey Face" for his playful nature and energetic outlook.

Tom certainly is a strong guitar player first and foremost. I love the fact that he is willing to incorporate a lot of slower licks and tricks into his obvious shredding capabilities - his transitions and lead work for "Silence" breathtaking and sure to exhilarate the crowds when performing live. Well produced and constructed, there are plenty of people who love this kind of dirty/ melodic hard rock that takes influence from the 70's and 80's scenes and brings the passion back to the current generation. The closing "Purple Life" at 8:30 has a lot of twists and turns- first starting out as a conventional rock song, then twisting into more of a "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" -like ballad in the final 3 minutes, Tommy once again making it his own.

"Fantasy World" wins me over because this is just great songwriting and cool hard rock. Perfect for your parties in any part of the world.