During the Covid pandemic, there was no touring, records kept getting delayed and the music industry felt like it was basically shut down. During this time though, some artists stayed creative and Jeff Scott Soto was one of them. He took 10 of his songs and redid them. If you are thinking this is a Bon Jovi ‘This Left Feels Right’ disaster, you would be wrong. It is less a re-imagining of the songs and more of stripping them down to their bare essence. He did everything himself, except for the mixing which he had some friends handle that part such as David Clarkson, John Ellis, and Alessandro Del Vecchio. And I was curious as to what songs he would choose to re-visit and he chose songs that he was the solo writer on and that makes sense as he wouldn’t need approval from anyone else since they were his songs.

The project was originally going to be released as a Jeff Scott Soto solo album, however, there were some legal issues with that maybe because he had just released a solo album a month or two earlier or who knows why. So, Jeff took it his other band, SOTO, and released it under their name. And the release is only available as a digital only release. There is no physical product as of now. Hopefully that will change down the road. I get why he put it under the SOTO moniker so it could get released, but don’t think this is a Metal album at all. This is stripped down, mostly acoustic and slowed down versions of his songs. Nothing metal about them.

The opening track is “Eyes of Love” off his second solo album, ‘Prism’. The original version is a hard rock, melodic ass kicker and here the song his just Jeff and a piano and turned in to a beautiful ballad. Stripping the songs down gives the songs a new chance to shine while really showcasing the power of Jeff’s voice and this is a great way to kick it all off.

The next rack is “My Love, My Friend” which was an a cappella track from Soul Sirkus’ album ‘World Play’ which he did with Neal Schon. He added a drum beat and a piano to it including extra lyrics and more arrangements. It is now a fully flushed out song rather than a short all vocal track. Is it better? It is different and not a bad track. The electronic drum sound hurts it for me. A respectable version for sure, but not a full on knock-out.

“If This is the End” is the one track on here that isn’t that much different. The song is from his ‘Lost in the Translation’ solo album and the song is so good to begin with Jeff was unable to really change it up so he stripped it down to a piano and percussion and it is still as good as the original.

With “Holding On”, you already have a very classic rock sounding ballad so how do you make that one different without losing its essence. Well, you strip it down and add orchestration to it and give it lots of strings. It is now more vocal oriented with the orchestration accenting it nicely. This is a good version, but the original is so damn good there is no beating it.

“Till the End of Time” was off his solo album ‘Prism’ and Jeff had taken the melodies and lyrics from a song called “Save My Life” that he demoed with Eyes, but they never used. So, he did for this song. This is a ballad and he only stripped it down to an acoustic guitar, some percussion and his voice. It works and any chance to really highlight the vocals is fine by me. The original is over 5 minutes, but this one is less than 4 and just the right size.

Next we have “Friend” off his debut solo album ‘Love Parade’ which was a nice ballad with acoustic guitars, bass, percussion and a full band. Here he pulled out the piano and really pulled out all the emotions of the song. He layered in a bunch of backing vocals that really sound cool. This was a song he wrote for his son and it is quite touching. I like this version a lot…maybe as much or more than the original.

Now, the biggest misstep on this whole thing is “Don’t Walk Away” off his ‘Prism’ album. The original is a pure melodic rock ballad and this is a funked up song with string orchestration and absolutely horrid electronic drums. Holy crap they sound like shit. He was listening to too much Prince at this time as it heavily influenced the re-imagining and not in a good way. This is simply horrid!! This was what I was afraid the whole album was going to be like, thankfully that wasn’t the case. Only this song.

“Your Man” was originally on Talisman’s album ‘Truth’. It was more a R&B style track, but here he takes it a more Queen-like style with a heavy emphasis on the vocals and some nice harmonies thrown in and some nice piano work towards the end. I could like either version.

We get another from ‘Prism’ with “Good Love”. This was the Japanese bonus track on that album and a full band version of a song he had written with his band Slam (who never released an album). This was done more like a piano bar song with a blues feel to it. It reminds of Billy Joel to a small degree. Really cool stuff.

Lastly, we have “Somebody to Love” off the Eyes self-titled debut. That song was an a cappella track (an unlisted on the track list). Really cool Boyz II Men style. Here is makes it more a band song and really Motown’s it up with a more R&B vibe than it already had. He made an interesting choice adding a slide guitar solo to it that was completely unexpected and a nice touch that then adds a country-flair to the Motown. I kind of like it.

Track Listing:

1. Eyes of Love – Keeper
2. My Love, My Friend – Keeper (1/2 Point)
3. If This is the End – Keeper
4. Holding On – Keeper (1/2 Point)
5. Till The End of Time – Keeper
6. Friend _ Keeper
7. Don’t Walk Away – Delete
8. Your Man – Keeper
9. Good Love – Keeper
10. Somebody to Love – Keeper

The Track Score is 8 out of 10 Tracks or 80%.  I was not expecting to like this at all.  I went in think that whole Bon Jovi debacle, but was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this (for the most part).  They weren’t complete re-imagining of the songs, it was mostly finding the heart of the song, taking it down a notch and just a few instruments and that amazing voice which is on full display here.  Now, I want a physical product of this collection as I would listen to it again, no doubt.  My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.  A total surprise for me.

UP NEXT: W.E.T. – ‘Retransmission’ (2021)

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 Scotto Soto / Jason Bieler – Live in Concert (2023) – Bonus Edition