Jeff Scott Soto keeps cranking out the music whether solo or one of his many projects. This time around we are on Jeff’s 7th Solo album and it as with almost all his solo albums, it is on Frontiers Records. This time around he brought in a staple at Frontiers, Alessandro Del Vecchio, to produce, arrange, mix and master the album. He also helped with the songwriting and instrumentation as well. Wait, is this a Jeff solo album or an Alessandro album with Jeff singing? No, don’t worry, it is a Jeff solo album and that voice is on full display. And if you were around when this came out, you were excited because you were in the midst of the Covid pandemic and happy to get any album as so many bands were constantly delaying their albums in hopes the pandemic would end soon. But not Jeff. He was releasing albums and this one came out on November 6th, 2020.

The rest of the band on this album aside from Jeff and Alessandro was Fabrizio Sgattoni on guitar and damn he can play. Good friend Edu Cominato on drums who is also in Jeff’s band Soto so you know this musicians are top notch. And to make this album even more appealing, there is a bonus disc of Jeff’s digital only release (up to this point) Loud & Live in Milan 2019 which we reviewed last week.

The album opens with a solid rocker called “Someone to Love” and it blasts out of the gate with Soto’s soaring vocals in overdrive. The guitar playing by Frabrizio is to notch and with the accompanying rhythm section that drives the song home, you get a brilliant opener. The song slides in to “Mystified” with Edu slaying the drums and giving us a driving beat throughout. Jeff again sounds great and while the song is another rocker, it is a little forgettable and doesn’t quite go where you think it is. Aside from another killer little guitar solo, the overall song left me a little wanting more as there was no big payoff with the chorus or anything really.

But don’t worry, “Love’s Blind”, makes up for that and more. Not as heavy, and way more melodic, this track has the catchy chorus, the vibrant vocals of Soto and will have you hooked with the first drum beat. This is where I think Jeff’s vocals really shine and my favorite type of song he does. And Fabrizio does it again with some nice riffs and another too short solo. And things continue with more greatness with “Without You” which is the first ballad on the album. This piano based piece could’ve easily been from the 80’s as it checks every box…cheesy…yes…slow verses, more powerful choruses…check…over the top guitar solo…check…and you love every minute of it. Jeff loves to do ballads as he does them so well.

“Lesson of Love” is up next and there is a lot of love on this album. There are around a third of the songs with “Love” in the title. This song is more AOR than anything else as it is in the same vein as maybe Journey or even Toto with big choruses and sweeping solos. So it sounds a little dated, but it has its merits. I do like this one I think for all those reasons. One of favorite tracks on the whole album is the next one, “Paper Wings”. This goes back to the heavy rocker side of things, but still melodic. A little darker edge to it, which I think I why I like it so much. Well, that and the big chorus which sees Jeff’s vocals really shine. The guitar has a little grit to it and there is another fabulous solo. This whole thing is a giant bag of ear candy.

Jeff, as he likes to do, brings some funk with “Love Will Find A Way”. The song has a little extra bass and a whole lot of swagger. This could’ve been a Talisman track as the bass reminds me of Marcel and that is very good thing. That chorus takes the song up a notch and those sweeping guitar riffs really soar. Jeff feels right at home in this arena and so do I. We go back to the ballads with “Between the Lines” and this sounds even more 80’s than the last one. However, I don’t feel this one like I did with ‘Without You”. This one is too cookie cutter and generic. No real emotion or excitement for me.

“Living in a Dream” comes out swinging as it has a blazingly fast opening. This rocker is swelling with confidence and though the chorus is huge, it isn’t as engaging as I would hope and starts to lose me. The verses are much better and the guitar work is some pure shredding and maybe the highlight of the song. I don’t hate the song, but I’m not thrilled with it either. Somewhere in between with a slight edge to the best solo on the album.

The title track, “Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)” is up next with its bluesy slide guitar and then in to a song that could’ve been pulled from a Whitesnake album. Jeff sounds more serious here and backed some more killer bass work by Alessandro. The song is darker, edgier and gets a little heavy at times and it feels like it it is important and ready to take you on this great journey. But the song gets lost in itself and doesn’t end up hitting the heights I feel it was wanting to hit. The final track, “Desperate”, actually feels a little like Sons of Apollo and I think that is pretty cool. The album opened with a rocker and closes with one as well. The chorus is big, powerful and Jeff’s vocals attack it with a killer’s veracity. A nice way to go out as Soto goes out swinging.

Track Listing:

1. Someone to Love – Keeper
2. Mystified – Delete
3. Love’s Blind – Keeper
4. Without You – Keeper
5. Lesson of Love – Keeper (1/2 Point)
6. Paper Wings – Keeper
7. Love Will Find A Way – Keeper
8. Between the Lines – Delete
9. Living in a Dream – Keeper (1/2 Point)
10. Wide Awake (In My Dreamland) – Delete
11. Desperate – Keeper

The Track Score is 7 out of 11 Tracks or 64%.  I think this one is a step-up from the last solo album, but not by a huge margin. I like the fact the songs sound a little like a lot of his work like Talisman and Sons of Apollo and it sounds like Jeff. A great attempt at pleasing all his fans with one album. And that is hard to do.  The production is pretty good, the songs aren’t bad, but not all the songs were good either. The one constant is that Jeff’s vocals are always top notch and the reason I continue to come around as you know there will be some great stuff.  I liked the bass playing because at times, it reminded me of Marcel Jacobs playing which I hope was intentional and I think the guitar playing on here was some of the best we’ve seen on a solo album in awhile.  For all these things, My Overall Score is a 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars.  It is another respectable Soto Solo album and for me a few classics to add to the mix.

UP NEXT: SOTO – ‘REVISION’ (2020)

THE JEFF SCOTT SOTO SERIES:

1. Panther – ‘Panther’ (1986) – recorded in 1984
2. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Rising Force’ (1984)
3. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Marching Out’ (1985)
4. Kuni – ‘Lookin’ For Action’ (1988)
5. Kryst the Conqueror – ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ (1989) / ‘Soldiers of Light: The Complete Recordings (2019)
6. Eyes – ‘Eyes’ (1990)
7. Eyes – “Nobody Said It Was Easy” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
8. Talisman – ‘Talisman’ (1990)
9. Talisman – “I’ll Be Waiting” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
10. Skrapp Mettle – ‘Sensitive’ (1991)
11. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Eternal Prisoner’ (1992)
12. Bakteria – ‘Deficate! Suffocate! Mutilate! Masturbate!’ (1992 / 2009)
13. Eyes – ‘Windows of the Soul’ (1993)
14. Talisman – ‘Genesis’ (1993)
15. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘The Ballads’ (1993)
16. Biker Mice From Mars – ‘Biker Mice From Mars (Soundtrack)’ (1993)
17. Takara – ‘Eternal Faith’ (1993)
18. Talisman – ‘5 Out Of 5 (Live in Japan)’ (1994)
19. Talisman – ‘Humanimal’ (1994)
20. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Between the Walls’ (1994)
21. Gary Schutt – ‘Sentimetal’ (1994)
22. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Love Parade’ (1994)
23. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Made in Germany (Live)’ (1995)
24. Takara – ‘Taste of Heaven’ (1995)
25. Talisman – ‘Life’ (1995)
26. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ (1996)
27. Human Clay – ‘Human Clay’ (1996)
28. Talisman – ‘Best of’ (1996)
29. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Magic’ (1997)
30. Human Clay – ‘U4IA’ (1997)
31. Boogie Knights – ‘Welcome to the Jungle Boogie’ (1997)
32. Takara – ‘Blind in Paradise’ (1998)
33. Talisman – ‘Truth’ (1998)
34. ‘Rock Star: Music from the Motion Picture (Soundtrack)’ – Various Artists (2001)
35. Humanimal – ‘Humanimal’ (2002)
36. Humanimal – Find My Way Home: Limited Edition E.P. (2002)
37. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Holding On E.P.’ (2002)
38. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Prism’ (2002)
39. Talisman – ‘Live at Sweden Rock Festival’ (2002)
40. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘JSS Live at the Gods 2002’ (2003)
41. Talisman – ‘Cats & Dogs’ (2003)
42. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Believe in Me E.P.’ (2004
43. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Lost in the Translation’ (2004)
44. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at the Queen Convention 2003’ (2004)
45. Soul SirkUS – ‘World Play’ (2004/2005)
46. Talisman – ‘Five Men Live’ (2005)
47. Talisman – ‘World’s Best Kept Secret DVD (2005)
48. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Essential Ballads’ (2006)
49. Journey – ‘Live from Atlanta (Bootleg)’ (2006)
50. Talisman – ‘7’ (2006)
51. Talisman – The Albums Ranked Worst to First
52. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘B-Sides’ (2006)
53. Redlist – ‘Ignorance’ (2007)
54. Jeff Scott Soto – LA Rocks Demo / Vinnie Vincent Demo 1988 (2008)
55. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Beautiful Mess’ (2009)
56. Jeff Scott Soto – “21st Century” / “Gin & Tonic Sky” CD Single (2009) – Bonus Edition
57. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘One Night in Madrid’ (2009)
58. Trans-Siberian Orchestra – ‘Night Castle’ (2009)
59. W.E.T. – ‘W.E.T.’ (2009)
60. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at Firefest 2008’ (2010)
61. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Damage Control’ (2012)
62. W.E.T. – ‘Rise Up’ (2013)
63. W.E.T. – ‘One Live in Stockholm’ (2014)
64. Jeff Scott Soto – The Authorized Biography (2014)
65. SOTO – ‘Inside the Vertigo’ (2015)
66. Joel Hoekstra’s 13 – Dying to Live (2015)
67. SOTO – ‘Divak’ (2016)
68. Sons of Apollo – ‘Psychotic Symphony’ (2017)
69. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Retribution’ (2017)
70. W.E.T. – ‘Earthrage’ (2018)
71. SOTO – ‘Origami’ (2019)
72. Sons of Apollo – ‘Live With the Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony’ (2019)
73. Sons of Apollo – ‘MMXX’ (2020)
74. Talisman – “Never Die (A Song For Marcel)” – 7″ Single (2020)
75. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live and Loud in Milan 2019’ (2020)
76. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)’ (2020)
77. SOTO – ‘Revision’ (2020)
78. W.E.T. – ‘Retransmission’ (2021)
79. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘The Duets Collection, Vol. 1’ (2021)
80. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Complicated’ (2022)
81. Jeff Scott Soto – The Solo Albums Ranked Worst to First
82. Ellefson/Soto – ‘Vacation in the Underworld’ (2022)
83. Slam – Slam (2023)
84. Jeff Scott Soto – ALL THE ALBUMS Ranked Worst to First
85. Jeff Scott Soto / Jason Bieler – Live In Concert (2022) – Bonus Edition
86. Jeff Scott Soto / Jason Bieler – Live in Concert (2023) – Bonus Edition