As the great Derek Smalls so memorably observed, there’s a fine line between stupid and clever, and it’s a line with which Lenny Wolf is familiar.
Rising to fame with his brazen, almost parodic first Kingdom Come album, Wolf’s overt worship of Led Zeppelin – or at least of Led Zeppelin’s success – coupled with his pre-fame life as a hairdresser made it hard to imbue his offerings with the gravity he seemed to feel they deserved.
Yet there was undeniable talent in him too. With Rendered Waters, he has reimagined quite successfully what Kingdom Come might have sounded like had they not sounded like Led Zeppelin. I’ve Been Trying has been stripped back and given a ringing chorus melody, Can’t Deny has some thudding nu guitars, Pushing Hard a fine, bright texture, and so it goes on.
There are three new songs alongside eight KC warhorses, one of which, Blue Trees, proves that Wolf’s touch remains deft.
