Album Review — Joel Hoekstra’s 13

Joel Hoekstra’s 13 — Running Games

Joel Hoekstra is back with his solo project called Joel Hoekstra’s 13. “Running Games” was released in February and features some heavy hitters. Russell Allen (Adrenaline Mob), Tony Franklin (Blue Murder, The Firm), Vinny Appice, Derek Sherinian (Dream Threatre) and Jeff Scott Soto all guest.

Unlike the first release, the band is consistent throughout the record with Soto adding backing vocals on most tracks. The band continuity comes through as this record sounds more like a band than the previous release.

When asked about the record, Hoekstra described it as being as heavy as Dio and as mellow as Foreigner and I think that’s an accurate description.

Allen has an impressive vocal range and can handle the heavier tracks as well as the more melodic tracks. He even has a bit of Dio in his delivery, especially on the opening track, “Finish Line”. We also hear a classic Sherinian keyboard solo that gives way to Hoekstra’s.

Overall, the album has a very melodic feel to it although it’s plenty heavy. With the Dio/Foreigner comparison, think Dio with the upfront guitar and Foreigner with the hook laden choruses. “I’m Gonna Lose It” is a good example and another strong track.

Hoekstra has spent the last few years with Whitesnake and was with Night Ranger before that. “Hard to Say Goodbye” has that kind of feel to it. With a lot of guitarist side projects I expect to hear a lot of soloing, and although they are present in every song, they really do fit each track. This isn’t just a platform for Hoesktra to show his skills, these are well crafted songs.

Another standout track is the hook heavy “Lonely Days”. I’m really impressed with Allen’s ability to handle the variety here. I’m not super familiar with his work, but he definitely shines on the record.

The album closes with the mostly acoustic title track. Soto’s backing vocals are prominent and add nice texture. It would have been interesting to hear Soto take on a few of these tracks, but I do like the consistency of one vocalist throughout the record.

When you gather such quality musicians it is expected that the result will sound great. But too many times the songs just don’t match the quality of the musicians. But that’s not the case here. Hoekstra has brought some high quality tracks to the table and the result is really strong.

This is one of those records that I think I’ll like more and more as I listen to it as I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end up on my year end list.

Overall, this is an impressive record that took me a bit by surprise. Check it out if you get the chance.

90 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Finish Line *
2. I’m Gonna Lose It *
3. Hard To Say Goodbye *
4. How Do You
5. Heart Attack
6. Fantasy
7. Lonely Days *
8. Reach The Sky
9. Cried Enough For You
10. Take What’s Mine
11. Running Games *

*Best Songs