SOTO – ‘Inside the Veritgo’ (2015) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

Jeff Scott Soto has been around for over 30 years now and he started out singing for some heavy bands like Yngwie Malmsteen and Axel Rudi Pell. Then he was more melodic with bands like Talisman, Eyes and W.E.T. and he evened funked things up with his solo albums on occasion, but he has always liked the heavy stuff. For his next project, it wasn’t another solo album, but instead it was a new metal band called SOTO. Hmmm…where did he come up with that name? Jeff has said this is a working band and not a side project and will be around for a long while and there is definitely a band. In SOTO are of course, Jeff, but you also get Jorge Salan on guitars, BJ on guitars and keys, David Z (Of ZO2) on bass and Edu Cominato on drums.

However, there are so many guests and extra musicians on this album, that I’m not sure you can really count this as a band album as the “band” isn’t on every song. Now, that doesn’t take away from anything on the album, I’m just saying I don’t really see this particular SOTO album as a band more of as a project. The album came out on January 30, 2015, but I don’t see a physical release of the album in the States so they only had digital. My copy of the album is actually from Mexico and is a digipack. No bonus or nothing extra, but I will take what I can get. Let’s jump right and get in to the meat of it all as the music is why we are here.

The first track is “Final Say” and it is written by Jeff Scott Soto and Adrenaline Mob member Mike Orlando who does all the instruments on this song (see, no band members but JSS). And like I said above, that doesn’t take away from the music as this song kicks some major ass. The guitars are heavy, the drums are thunderous and Soto is aggressive and lethal with the vocals. An explosive opening that tells you right away this is a heavier, darker JSS and I’m all for it.

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Matt Nathanson – ‘When Everything Meant Everything E.P.’ – Album Review

It had been three years since Matt had released a full studio album, and in November 2002, he finally released a 5 song E.P. titled ‘When Everything Meant Everything’ on an indie label called Acrobat. Within a year, Matt would finally sign his first major label record contract and he would release ‘Beneath the Fireworks’ on Universal. Three of the five songs on this E.P. would appear on that album, however, they would be completely different mixes which makes this E.P. really cool for fans as 2 songs were never released on an album and the other 3 are previously unreleased original mixes. Yes please, I’ll take a copy!! All the song were written by Matt Nathanson and his writing partner at the time Mark Weinberg.

The first track is “Pretty the World” which would be on ‘Beneath the Fireworks’ but this version is over 30 seconds longer due in part to a soft acoustic opening that is omitted from the album version which is to its detriment because I like that part. And the end of the song fades out more and again I think makes a better version. The song is a high energy pop song about him being with a woman that sees life through a beautiful perspective and he wants to see the world through her eyes. It is a contagious song that sees Matt developing in to a great singer/songwriter as his confidence as certainly grown since his last studio album 3 year prior.

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My Sunday Song – “Fall To Pieces” by Velvet Revolver

For My Sunday Song #97, we will keep it into the more recent years of power ballads and do Velvet Revolver’s “Fall To Pieces”. The song was off the band’s debut album ‘Contraband’ and went to #1 on the Mainstream Rock Charts.  It was almost a crossover hit as it did reach #67 on the Billboard Hot 100.

For those that don’t know (and shame on you), Velvet Revolver consisted of lead singer Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots) and Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum (all from Guns ‘N Roses) and Dave Kushner (played with Dave Navarro).  The song follows the typical power ballad formula of a slower temple with some heavier moments and all with a softer sound even though theirs was a little dirtier and grittier.

The song is based on Scott Weiland’s addiction to heroin and the impact it had on his life and his relationship with is wife.  The title of the song “Fall to Pieces” was exactly how Weiland felt.  Now with his passing years later, you wonder if he ever didn’t feel this way.  That to me makes the song a little sadder.

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The music video for the song actually mirrors the events in Scott’s life and its impact.  It shows the spoils of rock & roll fame and the complete dark, scary side of fame.  It is a stark, disturbing picture of what a junkie can go through.

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