Review: Jeff Scott Soto “Damage Control”

AOR/Melodic rock
Rock veteran Jeff Scott Soto is back with this fifth official solo record, “Damage Control”. While no stranger to melodic rock circles, Soto has more than 60 album credits under his belt along with numerous collaborations and recordings across multiple musical genres. Solo started his 30 year rock tenure as the vocalist for guitar guru Yngwie Malmsteen, which led to his serving as frontman for a variety of rock bands including Talisman, Soul SirkUS, and even Journey for a time. In 1994 he released his first solo outing “Love Parade”, followed years later by the acclaimed “Prism” (2002) then “Lost In The Translation” (2005) and “Beautiful Mess” (2009).

A lot of “Damage Control” brings a bit of a grittier edge to Soto’s polished melodic rock voice. Sounding terrific as always, Soto rips right along into meaty songs like “Give A Little More”, “Krazy World”, “After World” and “Tears That I Cry”. The title track opens with a blistering riff before relaxing into an acoustic-based verse – a tasty dynamic that keeps this song engaging. “If I Never Let Her Go”, “How To Love Again”, and “Die A Little” are textbook examples of the perfect melodic rock song, catapulting us back to the 80s in style and substance. As for ballads, Soto pulls on the heartstrings like never before with “Bona Fide”.

There really isn’t a bad track in the bunch – gorgeous, catchy melodies that are brilliantly and passionately sung. There’s not much more you can ask for!

Jeff Scott Soto – Official site.

Review: W.E.T. “W.E.T.”

W.E.T. is a new supergroup, the acronym standing for Work of Art (Robert Sall), Eclipse (Erik Martensson), and Talisman (Jeff Scott Soto). W.E.T. is perhaps the lamest band name since M.S.G., but we won’t hold that against them when weighing in on their music.

The self-titled debut album from this trio of AOR superstars delivers exactly what you'd expect - slick, high-gloss melodic rock. What separates this one from the pack is the extraordinary combination of talent on board - the pristine vocals of Jeff Scott Soto sound even more amazing when backed by musicians of this high caliber. These guys have an excellent chemistry and, best of all, they brought some very memorable songs to the studio that follow the classic AOR formula - driving verses, an arena-ready chorus, and astonishing guitar solos.

The hi-octane crunch in the meaty opener, "Invincible", effectively foreshadows the melodic rock goodness that is to follow. The guys come out swinging, serving up additional crowd pleasers like "One Love" and "Brothers In Arms". "Comes Down Like Rain" is an early favorite for the best power ballad on the record, but I prefer the spectacular "One Day At A Time". Additional highlights include the awesome mid-tempo rocker "I'll Be There" and "My Everything".

If you enjoy the other bands these three artists have graced, there is no doubt in my mind that you will want this debut. W.E.T. is also going to give fans who love Journey, Pride of Lions, and Giant something to smile about.

iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12

W.E.T. on MySpace.

Check out the video for "One Love":

Free mp3: Jeff Scott Soto

Exclusive offering from Melodicrock.com:

Jeff Scott Soto: Time To TestifySpecial Feature: Exclusive Interview / Full Length MP3 Download / Track By Track

Artists launch new albums all the time, but at certain points in any artist's career, there comes a time when a particular release marks an important milestone in that career. A statement of intent. A rebirth. A defining new chapter. This is all of the above for artist we have all come to know as JSS...MelodicRock.com is very proud to present an exclusive JSS feature - a brand new interview in which JSS talks in depth for the very first time about his upcoming new solo album Beautiful Mess. And online today - the world premiere of an advance preview track from the album. The song Testify is available for full length download right now.And finally, JSS has also delivered a Track By Track commentary on the songs that Beautiful Mess is comprised of.

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