These days, John Corabi is probably best known either for the frontman hokey-cokey with The Dead Daisies or for his “Hooligan’s Holiday” with Mötley Crüe, but it still comes as something of a shock to realise that “New Day” is his first full-length solo album of original material. It should not, though, because once this starts it sounds less like a debut and more like the work of someone who has spent years storing songs away for exactly the right moment.
Recorded in Nashville during the summer of 2025 and produced by Marti Frederiksen, “New Day” is soaked in warm, 60s blissed-out tones, but never at the expense of the thing that makes Corabi Corabi. Because whatever colours he wraps these songs in, he still has that voice, the one that somehow just exudes rock ’n’ roll. Soul, blues and classic rock all drift through this record, but what really makes it work is that none of it feels like dress-up. This is him in his hinterland.
The title track eases you in with a quiet confidence, and then “That Memory” immediately heads off down a CCR-tinged stretch of rock ’n’ roll that feels so natural on him you wonder why he has not made a whole record like this before. “Faith, Hope And Love” is one of many here that could easily pass for a cover, given how timeless it sounds, while “When I Was Young” offers the kind of reflection that comes to all of us as we get older, but does so in a way that is gentle, relaxed and full of grace rather than wallowing in nostalgia.
“One More Shot” brings a groove and a funkiness that suit him brilliantly, and you can almost imagine The Dead Daisies having a crack at it, while “1969” takes what is probably a self-explanatory idea and turns it into something richer, wiser and more bittersweet. It is a song about a tumultuous year, yes, but more than that it has a brilliant chorus that lodges in your head straight away. “Laurel” is another real highlight, seeming to nod towards Laurel Canyon while also carrying that nagging sense that everything seems harsher these days than maybe it once did.
By the time “Good To Be Back Here Again” rolls around, what you are really hearing is a songwriter with genuine mastery of the craft. At this stage in his career, Corabi is not chasing anything. He is simply writing songs that feel lived in. “Love That’ll Never Be” is a proper power ballad, the sort of thing that belongs in an arena, all uplift and ache at once.
Elsewhere, “Cosi´ Bella” has a guitar line that feels like ELO might want back, but the payoff is such fun you do not care, and “Your Own Worst Enemy” is organ-driven, funky and sassy in exactly the right way, sounding like a man old enough to know better but still young enough not to care. Closing with “Everyday People” is inspired too, the Sly and the Family Stone cover somehow perfect for the whole vibe here.
A new dawn, a new day, yes. But the clever thing about “New Day” is that it also sounds like all of John Corabi’s yesterdays too, filtered through experience, heart and a singer who knows exactly who he is.
RATING 8/10
