I didn’t grow up during the halcyon days of MTV and Headbanger’s Ball, but I had the next best thing: VH1 Classic and Metal Mania. Back in the early 2010s, I woke up early every Saturday to get my weekly fix of Dee Snider dragging a dad down the stairs, Ozzy Osbourne transforming into a werewolf, and Tawny Kitaen smothering David Coverdale in kisses and then some. However, Ms. Kitaen wasn’t the only gorgeous woman who graced my family room TV screen those mornings. In between the retro videos of those 80s bad boys were retro videos of the era’s equally bad girls. I’m talking Lita Ford, Doro, Girlschool, and of course, Vixen. Don’t let their good looks fool you! These ladies could rock hard, beat you black and blue, and drink you under the table!
Vixen was fronted by the remarkable Janet Gardner. I saw them open for Ms. Ford a couple years ago at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois and I was blown away. You’ve gotta have quite the power supply to give Ford a run for her money and Vixen did. They were high energy and happy, delivering hit after hit as if the 80s never ended. So you could only imagine my shock when Gardner announced her departure from the band in 2019 to focus on her solo career. Gardner’s self titled 2017 solo debut had its moments, but veered too close to modern rock territory for my liking. Her second album, Your Place in the Sun (2019), was a step in the right direction. But its her third outing, Synergy, where Gardner obtains exactly that (“synergy”) with her husband, collaborator, and partner in crime, Justin James.
So what’s on this record? The easier question to ask is what’s not on this record? Synergy is an 11 track melodic feast that touches on everything from pop rock and AOR to hard rock and heavy metal. Even so, there are nuances within each song that further diversify them. Usually, these “adventurous” albums turn out to be disasters. Gardner and James avoid this pitfall with songs that are well written and well put together.
Synergy opens with the glossy glitz of “Wounded”. Gang vocals? Check. Heavy riffs? Check. Over the top, gargantuan production? Check. Add Gardner’s unmistakeable voice to the mix and you’ve got the greatest song Desmond Child never wrote. It’s the perfect warmup before going full throttle into what may be the heaviest song of Gardner’s career, “You Can Kiss This”. I was not expecting this! That said, as a metalhead first and foremost, this song is a welcome surprise. I could only imagine what metallic magic Gardner and James could conjure with somebody like Andy Sneap behind the boards. Perhaps the next album will be a full metal assault?
Things lighten up as Synergy goes on…or so I thought. Near the tail end of the album, we’re greeted by “Gone”. This cut is one part AC/DC, one part Aerosmith, and all parts awesome! Its gutsy grit was teased earlier on “Rise Up”, but it all comes together on “Gone”. And just when you thought Gardner couldn’t throw anymore curveballs, here comes the infectiously catchy “Talk to Myself” to close things out. I never thought I’d be comparing a song by a member of Vixen to Danzig/Misfits, but here we are. No, it’s not a punk song, but it has that Misfits sound so to speak. You know, the one heard on “Astro Zombies”, “I Turned into a Martian”, “Attitude”…you get the idea.
They say third time’s the charm and that’s certainly the case with Synergy. There’s something for everybody, but more importantly, it’s a return to the sound and style which put Gardner on the map over 30 years ago. You won’t be cryin’ listening to this one!
7 out of 10
Label: Pavement Music
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Vixen, Lita Ford, Aerosmith