“Replace the Memory” is the latest solo release by John Kolbeck of Augusta, Georgia. If you live outside Augusta, you could be forgiven for not recognising the name. On this evidence, perhaps a few more fans will be registered. However, this release may prove to be too reliant on AOR for even the most grown-up of adults.
Let’s accentuate the positive, shall we? Kolbeck has a big voice, perhaps better-suited to stadiums and arenas than bars and clubs. In fact it could be said that the entire album is built around his tones. No coincidence, then, that Kolbeck is also a member of Black Swan Lake, a Georgia act of some local acclaim.
Sadly, it is in music and lyrics that this album struggles.
Seemingly undecided on whether it wants to be a modern country-rock concern or a full-blown stadium rock effort, the end product lies somewhere in between. In the absence of humour and pomp, there is little to attract the listener beyond weak, middling rock songs. Although a new release, it already sounds dated and you can’t help but believe that, had a semblance of direction been applied, this album could be so much better.
As a consequence, Kolbeck’s lyrics - which, on the whole, seem to be searching songs on love and loss - fail to carry the intensity and emotion that they mean to portray. Alas, a good artist must be able to rely on his foundations. If Michelangelo had tried to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel on shoddy scaffolding, it’s unlikely he’d have finished it.
This shouldn’t be taken as a damning indictment of Kolbeck’s music. “Replace the Memory” could’ve been a good album. Unfortunately, it is an album that lacks identity or attitude, and as a result can only have limited appeal which is probably not a fair reflection of Kolbeck’s talent.