Music fans are often skeptical when a person best known for work in another field decides to record a music album. One needs to look no further than all of the truly terrible albums released by film and TV stars that currently litter the dusty bottom of the cutout bin at your local music retailer to understand why. But every now and then an exception to that rule appears. One of those exceptions is the new album of original songs by the British radio sports-talk host Ian Danter, which is titled Prove You Wrong.

Danter, who hosts the popular Saturday evening program “Football First” on talkSPORT Radio, has been a musician for years. His musical talent really shines through on this album. He plays drums, guitars, bass, and keyboards on the album. He also sings lead vocals on three of the tracks and background vocals on the rest. The remainder of the lead vocals are handled by Lee Small, lead vocalist for the UK hard-rock band SHY. There are several lead guitarists featured on the album: Keith Laurent, Phil Danter, Greg Platt Lake, Richard Oxland, and Gary Morris.

Danter grew up listening to hard-rock artists such as Rainbow and Dio, and that influence shows on this album. Prove You Wrong is no celebrity ego trip. The songs are well written, the production is clean and clear, and the musicianship and vocals are top notch. Danter’s album can hold its own against most hard-rock recordings being released today and would probably fare well when compared to the hard-rock albums of Danter’s youth. Prove You Wrong has a nice, timeless sound to it, and would have been just at home in 1983 as it is in 2013. While the album brings to mind many of the classic hard-rock bands, it doesn’t sound like a clone of any band in particular. It manages to sound original, which is no small feat in a genre like hard rock.

Danter had wanted to record an album of original work for quite some time, but his demanding schedule as a sports broadcaster made it difficult to find the time to do so. The passing of several friends and musician acquaintances provided the spark that pushed him to do the album. Danter stated, “It suddenly occurred to me that I had to record my songs as soon as I could…you never know what the future might bring, after all.”

Standout songs include the title track, “Soulmate,” “Whiskey In A Wine Glass,” “Crocodile Tears,” and “I Wanna Be A Has-Been.” Danter played all of the instruments and handled all vocal duties on the title track and “I Wanna Be A Has-Been.” It’s an impressive album. I’d like to hear more music from Danter in the future.

Danter’s “Football First” program is broadcast on talkSPORT on Saturdays from 9 p.m. to midnight in the UK (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern in the USA). The program can be heard around the world at www.talksport.co.uk. The show can also be heard for a week after the original broadcast via the Listen Again page on the talkSPORT Web site.

For additional information on Ian Danter, www.iandanter.co.uk.

Label: Cherry Red Records