You know how some musicians are really damn good at some of what they do but at the same time they’re not good at other stuff? Take for instance singers like Jorn Lande and Doogie White. Great, great singers when they sing on other people’s stuff but as soon as they start up something of their own as song-writers, it more or less always becomes mediocre. Jeff Scott Soto is in my book another on of those albeit not as mediocre as the two mentioned above. I love Jeff Scott Soto as a singer, a favorite of mine and I think of all the great albums he has sung on – and in some cases co-written. Yngwie Malmsteen, Axel Rudi Pell, Talisman, Eyes, W.E.T. and Sons Of Apollo are some of the bands he has helped to become great with his voice.
His solo-material is another case, though. With a whole bunch of solo albums – eight excluding this one – the quality has been somewhere between completely uninteresting to pretty good but never great. Also, the three albums with his metal-outfit SOTO has been underwhelming, at least for me. So, when the pandemic made touring a no-go, the studio was the only solution, Soto decided to revisit some of his old music and rerecord it with a singer-buddy inserted, making the songs duets, I really thought it sounded like an interesting idea. Rerecordings can at many occasions be quite pointless but this twist sounded like a really cool idea.
Opening track “Livin’ The Life” is the tune that Soto put vocals on for the movie “Rock Star” and here he shares the vocals with his W.E.T. buddy Erik Mårtensson, also in Eclipse. It’s a firey, upbeat and ballsy Hard Rock number, rough and full of steam and very much in your face and on your case. Jeff and Erik has duetted many times before, in W.E.T. and they fit very well together with voices miles apart sound-wise which creates a forceful dynamic. It’s a good, meaty rocker that fits very well as an album opener and as much as rerecordings almost never does, this one actually betters the song, so thumbs up here.
The first single is “Don’t Let It End” from Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force’s second album Marching Out (1984). It’s a song hard to better to be honest but Jeff has together with Dino Jelusick (Animal Drive, Dirty Shirley, Whitesnake) made a damn good version of the old Hard Rock ballad. In Jeff’s case, he sounds more mature and is vocally more secure than the 20 year-old who sang the original. Jelusick is brilliant as well and if Yngwie ever decides that he needs a singer again – which he does – here’s a guy he might wanna give a call. Great version.
In Rising Force Soto met bassist Marcel Jacob who left the band at the same time as Soto did and they eventually formed Talisman together in 1990. “Mysterious” is taken from Talisman’s second album Genesis (1993) and this rough-edged Melodic Rock stomper here features Mr Big singer Eric Martin, a guy who fits a song like this perfectly. It doesn’t differ all that much to the original apart from the real drums on this version. It’s a brilliant song, catchy as damn and it should have been a monster-hit back when but of course, in 1993 this kind of music couldn’t even catch a cold. I dig this version a lot.
“Believe In Me” is a JSS solo-track and easily one of his best ones, taken from the Lost In The Translation (2004) album. Nathan James (Inglorious) was part of the Trans Siberian Orchestra line-ups which featured Soto and he duets with Soto here. It’s an upbeat Melodic Rock tune with a meaty drive and lots of poppy hooks. It’s straight ahead with captivating melodies and a killer chorus, now even more Arena Rock oriented than the original. Very good version.
Taken from the Soul CirkUS album Worlds Apart (2003) which also featured guitarist Neal Schon, bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Deen Castronovo, the ballad “Coming Home” of course features Castronovo on vocals. It’s an emotional piece with a big Journey vibe, a vibe that only gets bigger with Castronovo’s Steve Perry influenced phrasings and of course, Soto was in Journey for brief time. It’s a laid-back number with lovely melodies, a beautiful vocal arrangement and a spot-on refrain and both JSS and Castronovo nails the tune big-time. I prefer this version to the original, truth be told.
Talisman’s first – and biggest – hit “I’ll Be Waiting” from the self-titled 1990 debut is visited by Soto’s label-mate Alirio Netto (Shaman). The song is heavily catchy all over with a Bon Jovi like riff and is smooth yet quite crunchy. Had the song had a world-wide release back in 1988 or something, it would have ruled the charts around the world, I’m sure. This version is more or less a carbon-copy of the original except for Netto’s vocals and even though they do it good, I would never choose this version over the original. Netto does a good job here without being overly impressive. Great song, ok version.
Also out in 1990 was the self-titled debut by the band Eyes, an album that I was sure was gonna break big and sell millions. Boy, was I wrong. I still dig the album, though. “Callin’ All Girls” was the leading single of that album back then and has Russell Allen (Symphony X) accompanying Soto on vocals. It’s a poppy, half-sleazy Sunset Strip sign-of-the-times rocker with a big groove that works just as well today as it did back then. It’s a typical American Arena Rock number with smooth melodies, catchy riffing and a stompy groove with a refrain that hits right off the bat. Allen and Soto nails it together and I think this version is really good.
The third Talisman track here, the funk/rap Red Hot Chili Peppers influenced “Color My XTC” from the 1994 album Humanimal, guested by one Renan Zonta (Electric Mob). Style-wise, this song shouldn’t really be my bag but I have always dug it despite of that. I think Zonta is a great singer but his rap-parts here just doesn’t work and it sounds like his timing isn’t a bit off. That said, the chorus is really hard-hitting, just as on the original and on here this darker edged number has gotten a slicker, more Arena Rock touch sonically which gives the tune a different dimension. It’s an ok track but the original is way better.
When Soto goes back to his Axel Rudi pell days with “Warrior” (Between The Walls, 1994) it feels only natural that current ARP vocalist Johnny Gioeli guests on the track. It’s an upbeat, fat hard-rocker with held-back verses where the pumping bass creates a chunky groove. Soto and Gioeli works very well together – maybe they should do a whole record together – with some dynamic performances. This is a song that hasn’t stuck in my mind at all throughout the years and when I listen back to it it stands clear that I prefer this version to the original. Good one.
Another great JSS solo-track is the AOR-ballad “Holding On” (Prism, 2002), here with singer B.J. from the Spektra project. It begins slow and soft with a big keyboard sound albeit with no shortage of guitars. Keeping the slow pace the soundscape gets bigger and more bombastic and the vocal-arrangements are quite grandiose albeit on the smooth side with a strong refrain that sticks right away. B.J. really does a great job here too. Very good.
Humanimal was more or less a heavier and harder Talisman, an off-shoot that JSS and Marcel Jacob kicked off in 2002 with Pontus Norgren (Hammerfall, Poodles) on guitar and Thomas Broman (Great King Rat, Electric Boys) on drums. “Again 2 B Found” is taken off the self-titled debut – and only – album. Here JSS shares the mike with Mats Levén (Vandenberg, Skyblood, Prins Svart, Candlessmass, Yngwie, Treat), who of course completely nails it. He always does. The song is an upbeat, groovy, straight-forward rocker that holds both 80’s and 90’s Hard Rock vibes. It really comes across as a heavier Talisman and even though I really dig the original, I like this version slightly better. Great.
Of course, you can apply “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” on this record and I’m sure people will. But that’s not really the point with with this record. This is Jeff going back and revisiting some old stuff that he likes, a pandemic project, I guess and having some fun with it. The whole guest-singer thing really worked out great and all the performances by the musicians are really damn good even though it can’t be easy to take on guitar parts from guys like Yngwie or Fredrik Åkesson. It’s a fun record that shouldn’t be over analyzed, only enjoyed. Why should anyone listen to these versions instead of the originals, one might ask? Well, why choose, is my answer. I dig this and I really hope for a volume 2.
7/10
More Jeff Scott Soto reviews:
Damage Control
Retribution
Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)
Tracklist:
1. Livin’ The Life
2. Don’t Let It End
3. Mysterious
4. Believe In Me
5. Coming Home
6. I’ll Be Waiting
7. Callin’ All Girls
8. Colour My XTC
9. Warrior
10. Holding On
11. Again 2 B Found
CD & Festival reviews 