Ah, Jeff Scott Soto, vocalist extraordinaire. I have been a big fan of his since he opened his god-sent mouth on Yngwie Malmsteen’s semi-instrumental debut solo album back in 1984, under the Rising Force moniker. Soto has been “our” American for us Swedes since then as he has been involved in Swedish projects ever since. After leaving the old Y, he went back to Sweden to form the Melodic Hard Rock band Talisman with former Malmsteen bassist Marcel Jacob. With Talisman he recorded seven albums, one E.P and three live albums and hadn’t Jacob’s life ended prematurely I bet they’d been going to this day. He also made two albums with Human Clay and one with Humanimal, both projects formed with Jacob and lately he’s been releasing records with W.E.T. – more Swedes there. Other (non Swedish) projects that has been honored with Soto’s voice is Eyes, Takara, Axel Rudi Pell, Soul SirkUS plus his solo-band SOTO and the prog-metal band Sons Of Apollo. Add seven solo albums to that.
For the last years words has been going around that Soto’s voice has lost its power and range but all new albums plus the gigs with the Talisman Marcel Jacob tribute band and Trans Siberian Orchestra I witnessed a couple of years ago said just the opposite. Soto’s voice sounded just fine to me then. To me, Soto’s voice isn’t a problem at all, the problem I have comes with his song-writing skills. When he lends his voice to other bands and projects, it’s always great but none of his solo albums has managed to floor me – not bad, just a bit forgettable. And his SOTO band, to me, has been underwhelming. With a new album in tow, warning-flags showed up when it stood clear that it was written and recorded with Alessandro Del Vecchio and the musicians are from the Frontiers stable. Why? Well, Del Vecchio has been involved in all of Frontiers all-star projects and such and in the last few years, those has been very much samey. Will this be a JSS solo album or a Frontiers’ project with Soto singing under the JSS banner?
Opening track “Someone To Love”, also released as an official audio, kicks off on a punchy beat, going all Talisman on us with some Thin Lizzy like twin lead guitars, pretty smooth yet never mawkish. It’s an uptempo Melodic Rock tune that puts Jeff back into his early 90’s comfort zone – the place he’s mostly known for. A straight ahead hook and a hit-laden chorus tells us all is well in his dreamland. Good tune. The Talisman vibes continues with “Mystified”, a crunchier song and more groove-laden with a rougher grit guitar-wise. It’s slightly funky and even though the edges are rougher it’s also more 80’s laden melody wise and the big chorus takes Soto’s AOR influences on a home run with catchiness galore. Very good indeed.
On a heavier ground and a more rockier outlook, “Love’s Blind” brings on a grittier live-feel on an upbeat and quite punchy rhythm. The guitars are at front here but it also contains a smoother keyboard-carpet which brings on a great contrast. Released ahead of the album as an official audio, the song holds a smooth Melodic Rock main-melody and a direct and AOR-smelling chorus like a throwback to his self-titled Eyes album from 1990. A good tune with hit-potential. The video-single “Without You” is a ballad, soft and sparse with an opening piano reminiscent of 80’s Heart as well as Survivor. The song do step up and gets more chunky and upbeat with big hooks, infectious melodies and a massive refrain that’s super-glue to the brain. Jeff has always been great at this stuff and this tune is no exception. Very good.
More balladry comes along within the verses of “Lesson Of Love”. It’s held back and soft for starters but it transfers into an 80’s smelling AOR rocker with clear pop-twists when the pre-chorus shows up to pave way for the huge chorus. Said chorus brings back memories of Talisman’s later and more AOR-ish stuff and I’m all for that. Great stuff. Malmsteen’s Rising Force meets early Talisman in the form of “Paper Wings”, a much edgier and grittier Hard Rock belter on a crispier and darker note. Much more an album-track than a single contender, the song breaks loose on a straight-forward route but the melodies are in-your-face and the chorus is brilliantly catchy without searching for air-play. Maybe my favorite tune on the album.
More Talisman AOR comes our way with “Love Will Find A Way”. Its verses are brittle and even serene in all their softness and poppiness but with a bunch of crunchy and rougher guitars, most of the sugar is deleted which takes away any risk of mawkishness that could have sneaked in. The chorus is catchier than catchy and should be a single. Me like. “Between The Lines” is a full-on, later 80’s Arena Rock half ballad and when the big chorus comes along I can see David Coverdale knocking on Soto’s door asking for writing credits as it reminds of “Here I Go Again” not so little. It might be slick but it’s not wimpy at all, it holds a gorgeous vocal-arrangement with smooth backing vocals and catchiness enough to sell. Despite the Whitesnake theft, it’s a damn good tune.
“Living In A Dream” is a straight-forward, simple and balls-out melodic Hard Rock stomper that holds a bottom of Hard Rock, edgy guitars and a heavy rhythm-beat. It’s an in-your-face, metal-influenced tune that could have fitted on one his SOTO-albums. It’s ok albeit forgettable. The title-track takes on a slower pace, heavy and darker with some meaty riffs and a punchy beat. With held-back verses, the tune roughens up around the edges and with a very strong main-melody, it brings on a kicking refrain that refuses to let go. I dig this. As a closer we get “Desperate”, a song that continues the dark heaviness of the title-track and adds 80’s Arena Rock riffing and a powerful rhythm-section. Some Rainbow chugging guitars, a Rising Force type keyboard arrangement and some strong vocal melodies takes the song home with a big, striking chorus making the tune a winner.
As a whole, I think it’s a good effort by Soto – he still sings brilliantly and his band is really good – and Del Vecchio’s melodies isn’t as prominent as I had expected but with that being said, it also feels a bit streamlined both in song-structure and production. The album is clearly written to satisfy Soto’s old-time fans, the ones that grew up on Talisman and Eyes and maybe it’s just me, but the whole thing really comes across as a bit forced and over-calculated in the musical direction of the album. Another issue is that this album comes with the same issue many of JSS’ solo albums has – I do find some good songs while listening but I really can’t make them linger after the record’s done. As I wrote, I do like the album but I’m afraid it’ll be put away the minute the new W.E.T album is released early next year.
6/10
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Tracklist:
1. Someone To Love
2. Mystified
3. Love’s Blind
4. Without You
5. Lesson Of Love
6. Paper Wings
7. Love Will Find A Way
8. Between The Lines
9. Living In A Dream
10. Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)
11. Desperate
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