Allan Parkinson: Fire Burns Inside Review

Allan Parkinson’s latest endeavor is the album Fire Burns Inside, and it is truly a family affair. Allan wrote all of the material on this 8 track barn burner of an album. Meanwhile his son James acted as recording engineer and producer. His son Ben plays all the drums, bass on a few tracks, and does the vocals on all the tracks except for one.

The album sets the tone that this is a going to be a rocking blues experience when it opens with the aggressively rhythmic track “Long Day.” Allan’s powerful guitar and a tight rhythm drives the track along. “When Love Grows Cold” starts as a slow blues lament with some clean guitar tone that suddenly changes tone in the middle when the tempo picks up, the guitar changes to a distorted scratch, and then a wailing harmonica is added into the mix. The influence of Gary Moore and even a little Bruce/Baker is evident in “I Feel Down,” which has a combination of that “Parisian Walkways” phrasing and a little of the Disraeli Gears Cream vibe.

Allan again burns up the fretboard on “White Man Sings the Blues” and knocks it out of the park with some great riffage. His impeccable sense of timing during the short responses between the vocals is spot on. “Heaven Needs You” is one of the best tributes to SRV that’s been recorded and that’s saying a lot since there have been a lot of them. The album ends with Peter Green styled guitar on the track “Once You Were A Man,” which is a pleasant change of pace form the heavier sound of the earlier tracks.

The Fire Burns Inside is an appropriate name for this album since it is clear that a true passion for the blues rock style burns in Allan. It’s filled with some seriously powerful blues based rock that will light you up. The good news for us is that Allan has shared that fire with his family and now shares that fire with the listener.

The Review: 9/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Heaven Needs You
– When Love Grows Cold
– I Feel Down
– White Man Sings The Blues

The Big Hit

– White Man Sings The Blues

Review by Kevin O’Rourke