Back in 2020, Tony Mitchell completely floored me with his new solo record Church Of A Restless Soul. It was also a very nice surprise as I was totally oblivious to the fact that Mitchell was actually releasing music after the only Kiss Of The Gypsy album back in 1991, something that led me to checking out a few of his records – some of them are damn good as well. Church Of A Restless Soul got a really strong reception from both press and fans and the fact that Covid made touring impossible, I’m not at all surprised that a follow-up was released only a year + later. The question was, would Mitchell be able to keep the high quality so soon after the last album?
The opening title-track opens with a Bruce Springsteen/New Jersey era Bon Jovi piano before the song turns into an uptempo, uplifting, party-groovy pop-rocker that has acoustic guitars and electric ditto bringing on some power-chords. The tune is full of hooks, a happy-go-lucky outlook and the song’s title speaks for itself – the song is made for hot, endless summer nights. Bravo. “Can’t Fight It” keeps the positive touches albeit in a more AOR meets Melodic Rock way carried by a foundation of Hard Rock rhythms. It’s more guitar-driven than the opener which gives it more edge but it’s very memorable with a striking chorus that sticks right off the bat. Great.
Leading single “Blame It On The Rock ‘n’ Roll” takes off with hot, crunchy groove, rough-edged guitars with some staccato riffage and a crispy live-feel. The song brings a bit of a Classic Rock vibe to the table with Gospel like inserts and crowd-pleaser vocal-melodies especially in the massive refrain. For contrast’s sake, a down-beat, organ and vocals only, Beatles-like passage is thrown in and it fits perfectly. A great tune. Latest single “Strong Enough” is more of a Classic Rock ballad, quite bombastic inside a colorful soundscape. It’s grounded in acoustic guitars and an organ and holds a smoother touch, melody-wise and the choir gives it a grandiose touch. The chorus is magnificent – in the early 90’s this would’ve been all over MTV and the air-waves. Awesome.
“Drowning In A Sea Of Paradise” has a slickness to it which is made by the AOR-ish keyboards but at the same time it comes with a heavy outlook where the chugging guitars brings on a firey grit. Most of the song takes an upbeat groove but the verses slows things down a bit. The core of the song is straight-forward Hard Rock, quite ballsy and rough yet with distinct melodies and another direct and concise chorus. Good one. “Caught In The Headlights” is a slow, 80’s sounding power ballad, quite laid-back and smooth with a mellow drive and a saddening atmosphere. The chorus is again a real beast that gets stuck in the mind the second it takes off. Very good.
“Neon Sky” opens with a synth-riff and for the rest of the the song the synth is very prominent and makes the song a bit of a left-field on the record. It holds a quite stompy groove made by the danceable beat. Actually the song is more of a synth-pop-rock number than a Hard Rock one albeit with AOR tendencies. Nothing wrong with that, it’s a really good number with a very catchy chorus on top. “Leave The World Behind” is a salty tune that blends Classic Rock grooves with big pop-hooks and smoother Melodic Rock of the 80’s – and a saxophone solo which adds to the Classic Rock crispiness of the song. Another terrific refrain brings yet another big grin on my face. Awesome.
“Turn Back Time” is a semi-ballad that both in vocal-melody and guitar-lines reminds me not so little of Def Leppard’s “Hysteria”. The song also comes with a mellow touch and a darkening twist with a small hint of U2 inserted. The song has a dreamy flow all over and a comfy vibe yet with a more straight-ahead drive in the chorus that sports some contagious melodies and hooks. Very good. “With You In A Heartbeat” starts out with another synth-driven melody which takes us to a laid-back verse that’s quite low-key, slow and borders to balladry. The song takes a faster and more upbeat turn but it still holds the mellower melodies. The chorus is again very infectious and grabs a hold directly. Good one.
Way more heavy, “Faithless” brings on metal-esque riffing with rougher edges and fat, beefy rhythms. It’s a powerhouse rocker with a chuggy sound and some Rainbow nods, especially in the oriental touches and the fat keyboard sound. It’s a tough yet melodic rocker with intense melodies and a big live-feel. Good one. The closing track “Calling Mother Nature” is heavy and earthy, dark and gritty with a hard and pounding rhythm. It brings on a bit of an apocalyptic feel and a blackening soundscape. The verses takes a heavy yet held-back position while the chorus is more distinct and in-your-face, memorable without going pop-friendly at all. Great stuff.
If you’re one of those “I don’t hear anything revolutionary” listeners, you can look elsewhere because musically and genre-wise, there’s really nothing new under the sun here but for us who just wants great songs performed by great musicians there’s shitloads of great stuff to enjoy here. I might hold the previous record slightly higher but this one’s not that far behind. Mitchell – still a damn good singer – writes music he loves and that shines through in both song-quality and performance which is contagious as hell. This album might be a bit more pop-oriented than its predecessor but there’s still an edge to the overall sound. This is right up my alley!
8/10
More Tony Mitchell reviews:
Tracklist:
1. Hot Endless Summer Nights
2. Can’t Fight It
3. Blame It On The Rock ‘n’ Roll
4. Strong Enough
5. Drowning In A Sea Of Paradise
6. Caught In The Headlights
7. Neon Sky
8. Leave The World Behind
9. Turn Back Time
10. With You In A Heartbeat
11. Faithless
12. Calling Mother Nature
CD & Festival reviews 