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   Is there such a thing as classic Italian rock? Apparently there is. Moonstone Project are a so-called supergroup led by guitarist Matt Filippini and keyboardist Alessandro Del Vecchio. Their last album, ‘Hidden In Time’, had ten different singers and twenty different musicians but that amount has been stripped down to a concrete band (but the ‘Project’ part of the name isn’t redundant as ‘Rebel On The Run’, the follow up, features guest appearances from Ian Paice of Deep Purple, Clive Bunker of Jethro Tull and Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep). You might say that Moonstone Project are what Broken Social Scene would be like if they had grown up in the Mediterranean on a diet of their parents’ old vinyls.
   It also took two years to make, which makes the overall sound of it make sense. It is incredibly polished and slick sounding. The high production values are more evident on some of the more distinct cuts like the winding ‘Cosmic Blues’. I was in truth really ready to pour scorn on ‘Rebel On The Run’ but there are, at points, some interesting songs like the aforementioned ‘Cosmic Blues’ – full of proggy sounding Hammond organ and twisting guitar melody – and ‘From Another Time’, which is driven by a funky rhythm section and quick-fire riffing to match it. However, there are some cuts though that are too average, and mostly because they are overlong. ‘Hey Mama’ is at least a song that should be a three or four minute rock burst – not five and a half. The vocals are led by James Christian (except for ‘Closer Than You Think’, which has a guest spot from Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple) and he is, whilst very competent, not as arresting as some of the music.
   In an age where bands like The Enemy are allowed to vandalise pretty much everything that made the 90s such an exciting era for British music, it is refreshing to hear a group of classic rock aficionados keep the spirit of the 60s and the 70s alive in a way that isn’t blatant plagiarism. Sometimes it works surprisingly well and it makes for a solid sounding tribute to that time, but there are also songs that are a bit too bland. ‘Rebel On The Run’ is not itself a classic but it is sometimes a delightful surprise, and proof that you shouldn’t judge an album by its artwork. I mean, look at it – it’s an eagle that appears to be on fire against some sort of Da Vinci Code anagram backdrop. It’s bloody awful. By Max Raymond sonicdice.com