Joel Hoekstra’s 13 – ‘Running Games’

Written, arranged and produced by Hoekstra himself, he called on some bona fide superstar musicians to complete the line-up; Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob) on vocals, Vinny Appice (Dio, Black Sabbath) on drums, Tony Franklin (Blue Murder, The Firm) on bass and Derek Sherinian (Sons of Apollo, Black Country Communion, Dream Theater) on keyboards. Add in background vocals by the inimitable Jeff Scott Soto (Sons of Apollo, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Journey) and percussion by the legendary Lenny Castro (Toto) and its pretty much verging on a supergroup!! But can such a stellar line-up of gig-hardened, experienced musicians guarantee a great album?

Kicking off with a blistering guitar riff on opening track Finish Line, this could easily be vintage-era Dio! Even Russell Allen’s opening vocals are similar to those of the much-missed metal legend! Lyrics such as “I believe in heaven because I have been through hell” continue to evoke his memory whilst the chorus has a more modern, melodic feel that makes use of classy background vocals and is more in common with the genre of melodic hard rock. With such talented musicians onboard, it would be criminal not to include some solos and they come in the form of a keyboard solo by Sherinian, quickly followed by a note-perfect exploration of the six strings by the main man himself. Great start!

Second track I’m Gonna Lose It is a toe-tapper from the outset, starting with a catchy little riff before the verse in which Tony Franklin’s dancing yet driving bass is very much the star of the show. Combining with Appice’s flawless beats to keep things moving along whilst Hoekstra plays some muscular rhythm guitar riffs, the Franklin/Appice combo truly is a rhythm section that will be the envy of many an artist! There’s a quieter, atmospheric section midway through and a keyboard/guitar solo swap once again before the track plays out with that catchy opening riff.

Next up is Hard To Say Goodbye, released late last year as the first single from the album. Starting with a beautiful opening that suggests a power ballad is on the way, all notion of this is quickly put to bed 7 seconds in when Hoekstra slides his fingers down the fretboard and bursts to life with a muscular, hard rock rhythm guitar riff, complete with driving bass from Franklin and classic “whoa, whoa” sing-along vocals. This is Hoekstra’s take on the classic break-up song of betrayal and hurt… hard rock-style!! The subject of the song is clear in lyrics such as “’cause I tried and tried to push on through all the hate I felt for you. But I’m ready to show what love can do. It’s hard to say goodbye to you” and “I’ll let it go ‘cause Heaven knows, it’s time to breathe again”. Allen’s vocals are in fine form throughout and of course, there’s the heartfelt guitar solo, made for playing with eyes closed and head thrown back! This isn’t ground-breaking music… but it might just be one of the finest melodic hard rock songs you’ll hear this year!

The tempo slows ever so slightly, and the mood seems a bit darker for How Do You. There’s a kind of ‘epic’ feeling to this rack, perhaps due to the cinematic, orchestral strings/keyboards that have been well placed in the mix; not too overpowering but just loud enough to add something special. Hoekstra also shows that hard rock guitar solos don’t have to be played hard and fast to sound authentic. Sometimes, less is indeed more! Special mention to Russell Allen for the tougher sounding, yet emotional vocal performance. This leads on nicely to the fifth track Heart Attack, ironically with a bass line that mimics my heartbeat after a relatively short period of exercise! Perhaps the track isn’t as frantic as its title suggests it may be… but it certainly isn’t a simple walk in the park either, with some great sounding organ work by Sherinian and another note-perfect salvo from Hoekstra that’ll most definitely have you bopping your head, if not quite headbanging.

Fantasy starts with some interesting guitar and then heads back towards Dio-territory… surely not surprising with such a song title? There’s some tough vocals and riffing shared by bass and rhythm guitar, all underpinned by some brilliant drumming by Vinny Appice and more amazing soloing by Derek Sherinian on keyboards. But really, do we expect anything less from musicians of that calibre?! Talking of quality musicians, Franklin and Appice’s skills are clear again on track 7, Lonely Days. Franklin’s bass playing isn’t overly fancy when a simple rhythm is all that’s required and Appice doesn’t litter a song with multiple drum fills for no reason. But that’s the beauty of this rhythm section; faultless musicianship throughout. The track itself evokes memories of Dokken for me, with classic hard rock riffs whilst having a melodic sensibility to its chorus… and of course, a guitarist in Joel Hoekstra who can play with equal, if not even more zest, than George Lynch!

An Appice drum fill makes way for a really funky, bluesy feel to the opening of Reach The Sky, one of my personal favourite tracks. Once again, take a bow Mr Franklin for some awesome bass! There’s a slight distortion to Russell Allan’s vocals during the verse, bringing a kind of vintage feel to proceedings that fits in perfectly… but they’re allowed to… well… ‘reach the sky’ during the chorus, where every note is hit with ease. The song plays to a close with an incredibly cool 80s cop movie/late Pink Floyd guitar sound! Maybe you have to hear it to understand what I mean!

Throughout much of this review, I’ve mentioned similarities to Dio… and I’m going to do it again with the next track, Cried Enough For You. Now, there’s no shame in writing music that in many ways harks back to the heyday of a rock/metal legend. Indeed, to me, it’s a massive positive! Perhaps it’s Russell Allen’s vocals sounding very much like Dio, particularly when he hits the high notes with such ease or in the verse when he sounds as if he’s telling a story in an almost theatrical manner. Maybe it’s the light and shade of the music between clean guitar and power chords or sudden changes in tempo. It could be the tough lyrical content and blistering guitar solos or simply the presence of Dio-alumni in Vinny Appice. All of these things are evident in this track and to me, it’s a classic Dio sound. It would be interesting to know if the ‘holy diver’ had any influence on Joel Hoekstra in the early stages of his career.

Penultimate track Take What’s Mine takes everything that has gone before on this album and puts it in one big melting pot to create one of the hardest hitting tracks on the album. The guitar riff has striking similarities to Dio’s ‘We Rock’ and I’m pretty certain that Jeff Scott Soto’s backing vocals are more prominent here. The rhythm pairing of Franklin and Appice keep the tempo whilst Hoekstra and Sherinian trade guitar and keyboard solos to quite stunning effect! This track in many ways epitomises the quality of musicianship on this album and is perfectly placed in the running order before the softest song on the album, the final track (and title song) Running Games. It is often said that playing the quieter, intimate tracks is more difficult than the loud rockers, as there’s no room for error. The tempo and volume are turned down considerably, with Hoekstra’s acoustic guitar and emotion-filled vocals of Allen and Soto accompanied by violin, viola and cello, performed by musicians who have previously played string accompaniment for Adele, Coldplay and Evanescence. Lenny Castro’s masterful percussion is the icing on the cake to a beautifully crafted song that further showcases the immense talent of each musician and the power of Hoekstra as a songwriter. It’s a wonderful closing track that will find its way into your soul… and if it doesn’t, you don’t have a soul! Genuinely magnificent stuff!

The word ‘supergroup’ is overused in music, particularly in rock and its various sub-genres and more often than not, the music created can be a bit of a disappointment. The irony is that in the case of Joel Hoekstra’s 13 project, he didn’t set out to create a ‘supergroup’. He simply sought out talented, like minded musicians to help him fulfil his vision for a melodic hard rock album; the type of music he’s known for. Arguably, by choosing the line-up of musicians that appears on this album, Hoekstra inadvertently put together a melodic hard rock ‘supergroup’ with quite outstanding results. Running Games is a whole level up from Joel Hoekstra’s 13 debut album. Brilliant song writing, polished production, wonderful musical performances by all involved… it has it all!

With Running Games, Joel Hoekstra has shown that journalist from The Times that he is so much more than just a “rock guy from central casting”. It’s only February but already, you may just have heard the best melodic hard rock album of 2021.