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BILLY MORRIS AND THE SUNSET STRIP
Holdin’ All The Aces
HighVolMusic

For years now, Billy Morris has worked to cement himself as one of the premier members of the music industry residing in NE Ohio – the rock n’ roll capital of the world. After holding down guitar duties in QUIET RIOT as well as a touring and recording stint in WARRANT and spending time with Stevie Rachelle in TUFF, Billy has become Cleveland Ohio’s gold standard in rock n’ roll. The former club owner is oft busy, lighting up stages across the region with “The Sunset Strip” in tow. So much so that it amazed me to find out that he had the time to put together Holdin’ All The Aces shortly after inking the record deal with HIGHVOLMUSIC.

Out now on HIGHVOLMUSIC is Billy’s solo effort with his band, collectively known as BILLY MORRIS AND THE SUNSET STRIP, titled Holdin’ All The Aces. The record quickly immerses the listener into the sights and sounds of the good ole days on the Sunset Strip – when Aqua Net, spandex and copious amounts of partying, makeup and glam ruled the world. It is a perfect modernized glam metal album that could have easily been written thirty years ago, but it is able to still hold relevance today. Holdin’ All The Aces is a good mix of rockers, ballads and everything in-between accompanied by the exceptional guitar work of Billy Morris, Rob Samay and Aaron Adkins. There are plenty of “world-class” guitar solos, as Billy likes to describe them and songwriting is top-notch.

The album’s first single, “Party Like The Weekend Never Ends”, is a catchy melodic rocker with a great hook and memorable chorus. Like a PG-13 version of STEEL PANTHER, Billy navigates through the Cleveland music scene in this crowd-pleaser which features EXTREME drummer Kevin Figueredo behind the skins. One of my favorite tracks on the record is the hard-driven and darker “Dressed Up Like A Millionare” which is by far the heaviest song on the album. In addition, the album opener, “Lose Control”, the title track and “Hook It Up” all exemplify a guitarist who carved out a career during and after the height of the 80’s music scene. Billy’s influences shine through in these fourteen songs as an ode to his time spent with many of the artists that shaped the hair metal landscape. The album is dedicated in honor of Kevin Dubrow and in the liner notes Billy Morris gives special thanks to another Ohio native, Jani Lane “…for making my Rock n’ Roll dreams come true, RIP brother.”

If you want a good rockin’ party anthem of an album that will tingle those nostalgic feelings you once had about the 80’s and leave you wanting to hit the Sunset Strip one last time to explore all of the excesses of a music scene long lost, but not forgotten – this is the record for you.

4.0 Out Of 5.0