I've always considered the ballads Axel Rudi Pell has composed to be hist best compositions. However, not all of them are as felicitous as others... This album 'The Ballads III' contains some of his best ballads and 3 new ones as well. The 3 new recorded songs are 'Don't Say Goodbye', acoustic version of the sleeper hit 'Forever Angel' and the Rainbow cover 'The Temple of the King'.

Songs are rock ballads with lots of acoustic guitar passages and occasional synth parts backing up the atmosphere. The quality of songs varies a bit, and some songs are just better than others (for example, 'Under the Gun' is one of the highlights). I must comment on Johnny Gioeli, who has a really memorable, classic hard rock voice (which epitomizes hard rock).

Production is quite divericate. There are few clips that interrupt the flow of listening. Another unfortunate detail regards the drums, which didn't sound authentic. Also some distorted rhythm guitar parts could have sounded better. Otherwise the mix is really good.

Fans of Axel Rudi Pell may already have most of the songs featured on this CD, and they should consider if the 3 new recordings are worth buying. However, those who don't have Axel's earlier albums might find this release worthwhile.

Release date 25.10.2004 in Europe, Spring 2005 in USA

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- MAGE (23.10.2004)

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LINE-UP:
Gioeli, Johnny: Lead and Backing Vocals Pell, Axel Rudi: Lead-, Rhythm- and Acoustic Guitars Doernbergm Ferdy: Keyboards and Additional Acoustic Guitar on Forever Angel (Acoustic) Krawczak, Volker: Bass and Additional Acoustic Guitar on Forever Angel (Acoustic) Terrana, Mike: Drums and Percussion
Producer:	Unavailable
Mixing by:	Unavailable
Mastering by:	Unavailable

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Don't Say Goodbye 02. Forever Angel (Acoustic) 03. The Temple of the King 04. Heartbreaker 05. The Line 06. Sea of Evil 07. The Curse of the Chains 08. All the Rest of My Life 09. Forever Angel 10. The Temple of the Holy 11. Under the Gun