Virtuosity One

DECEMBER 2009 REVIEWS IN BRIEF
JEFF SCOTT SOTO - LIVE IN MADRID Out Now / Frontiers
	Jeff Scott Soto has never been one to limit himself to one genre of music. His solo albums display a broad selection of styles, not always to their benefit. I personally could do without the faux-R&B stylings of his last effort. Live, however, JSS is guaranteed to deliver. This live album is an honest representation of a JSS show, with all the good and bad that entails. There’s a selection of classic songs from his solo work and Talisman, a helping of covers and the odd freak out sequence here and there. The funky interludes are taking up ever more of his set list however. An evolution that should be halted before it gets out of hand. Fortunately most of the selected songs are strong enough to carry the album for the full duration. His band, while not speaking to the imagination as much as some of the former lineups, does an admirable job of reproducing the material, even if I do miss Howie Simon at times. The lack of info about the band on his site is a telling sign… Soto, as always, is on top of his game. A very enjoyable live album. Rating - 83% Review by Joost
NARNIA - COURSE OF A GENERATION Out Now / Massacre Records
	A little late on the review here. Narnia were a band I was really into for their first 3 albums. Their debut was a case of spot the Malmsteen tune but they slowly developed their own sound from here on in with guitarist Carl Johann Grimmark being one of metal’s overlooked players (aside from Rob Rock who was watching) and the vocals of Christian Liljegren with their Christian heavy lyrics. Slowly the band moved away from the overly neo-classical sound to a more prog power sound as heard on their last album Liljegren ‘Enter The Gate’. Now the band are back with original Mind’s Eye vocalist Germán Pascual and the heavier more direct sound continues on “Course Of A New Generation”. In their shift across musical genres the band have lost some of their charm and originality to these ears with a sound that tends to come across as sounding like others as opposed to the old sound which sounded like Narnia. That said the material is generally good here and Pascual is a nice addition to the bands ranks its just a number of songs (‘Scared’, ‘Rain’, ‘Behind The Curtain’)could have been released by a glutful of bands without too much trouble which does bother me somewhat, the musicianship is strong throughout though with ‘Armageddon’ giving Dream Theater a run for their money in the notes per second ranks. Overall “Course Of A Generation” is a solid enough effort, well produced and well packaged, its also well played but is lacking in originality and could have benefitted from a few more killer songs. If you like the bands earlier material you might want to check out some samples first on the bands myspace page. Rating – 76%
BLACKWOOD CREEK - S/T Out Now / Frontiers
	The opening track of Blackwood Creek’s debut immediately rang a bell. One look at the bio made it quite obvious : Kip Winger is in the band. His vocal and songwriting touch is undeniable and unmistakable. And, to be frank, this album might as well have been released under the Winger moniker. It’s slightly rootsier and it lacks Reb Beach’s guitar virtuosity, but other than that none of these songs would be out of place on a regular Winger CD. There’s not much more to say about this album. Pleasant melodic hard rock. Well produced, flawlessly executed. But in the end it leaves you wondering why... Rating – 80% Review by Joost
SPIN GALLERY - EMBRACE Out Now / Frontiers Records
	Another project by Tommy Denander. I must admit I’m getting a bit tired of seeing the same three or four names return on seemingly every single melodic rock release. Denander’s name is usually a good omen, foreboding a certain level of quality, but unfortunately he’s not on his usual game on this one. Second song “Stone By Stone” is so bad it might as well be on Bert Heerink’s solo album. “Eyes Wide Open” with its cod reggae rhythm guitars is another major miss. I’m also less than impressed with Kristoffer Lagerström’s vocal performance throughout. There is an overall downcast and moody vibe on the album. No spark, no fireworks, just rather gloomy AOR with very forced songwriting. Guest appearances by Robin Beck and the atrocious Dan Reed (on the horrid 80s dance tune “You Do The Things You Do”) won’t save it either. A thoroughly uninspiring album. It’s not often Frontiers drops the ball but they’ve fumbled with this one. Rating - 45% Review by Joost