Ron Keel has had one of the widest and most diverse careers in the rock music world, spanning several bands and genres, from arena rock and heavy metal to country and even a few eras that were a little bit of all of the above! I love the music of Mr. Keel, and I’m always eager to see what music project he’ll unleash on the world next.
KEELWORLD, the latest album from Ron, is easily his most ambitious yet. In Ron’s carer, he’s played with several acts and projects. These include, most famously, his classic 80s band Keel which has enjoyed sporadic reunions, Steeler, which notably featured a young Yngwie Malmsteen, Fair Game, which was an all-female band other than Ron himself, country material under the name Ronnie Lee Keel, the band IronHorse, which combined rock and country elements, and more recently, the Ron Keel Band, which recently did a series of farewell show dates, one of which I had the luxury of attending. He’s even contributed to the Emerald Sabbath project, which is dedicated to covering classic Black Sabbath tunes.
How’s that for a rock history lesson?
And KEELWORLD tries something no other Ron Keel album ever has. It has Ron doing songs with nearly ALL of these bands. On one record!
For those reasons, it’s safe to say I’ve never quite experienced an album like KEELWORLD before. And I’m pleased to say the final results are actually quite solid. Ron Keel has always had one of the most distinct (and most underrated!) voices in rock, and he sounds as good as he ever has. The album presents the unique challenge of representing each era of Ron’s career, while creating a record that flows as a cohesive whole. It actually turned out surprisingly good. From country tunes and ballads to arena rock anthems that wouldn’t have been out of place on an 80s Keel album, there’s not a clunker in the bunch. The cover of Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave” is particularly good as well. While there is a Steeler song, Yngwie Malmsteen sadly doesn’t play on it, but the tune is still epic. Probably the only era of Mr. Keel’s career that doesn’t get some emphasis and representation on here is Fair Game, but I love what I’m hearing in this latest release from Mr. Keel. He’s still got the right to rock. And to play country. And everything in between. And bless him for that.
Whenever Ron Keel puts something new out, I’ll always be a listener. KEELWORLD is one of the most pleasant surprises of 2024, featuring new and original songs (plus a Sabbath cover) from most of his eras, and the players involved all do a superb job as well. Will this lead to new albums with all the respective projects? This fan hopes so. In the meantime, KEELWORLD is a damn good release well worth your time if you’re fan of Mr. Keel.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!