Tag: Jeff Scott Soto

Talisman – ‘Talisman’ (1990) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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In 1989, Marcel Jacob had label interest but no band. You remember Marcel, he was in Yngwie Malmsteem’s Rising Force with Jeff Scott Soto. Although the two didn’t hit it off at first as their musical upbringing were so different. Marcel was a European music snob and Jeff was simple uncultured American. Over time, they became friends and Marcel needed help from his friend for a project he was working on that had no singer. He asked Jeff to sing the songs for the album.

Marcel’s project was originally called Guitars on Fire, but after the songs were completed and mixed, the name changed to Talisman. But the album almost didn’t happen. At the time of recording the album, Jeff Scott Soto was in a band called Eyes and his contract had him exclusively which means, Jeff can’t do anything outside of Eyes. At the time, Jeff was broke, and I mean flat broke. He needed money fast. So Jeff talked to his label, begged and pleaded and made them understand that this album is a one-off and wouldn’t compete with Eyes. It would have limited release only in Sweden so they had nothing to fear. And you know, they bought it.

Jeff went to Sweden and recorded the album with Jacob in 1989. For the album, you had Marcel Jacob on bass, drums (except for two tracks), keyboards and guitar. Jeff Scott Soto handled the vocals, Christopher Stahl on guitar, Mats Lindfors on guitar, Mats Olassaon on keyboard, and Peter Hermansson on drums for the two tracks Marcel didn’t play on.

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February 2022 Purchases – Vinyl & CDs

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February is over so it is time for our monthly round-up of what 2 Loud 2 Old Music got their hands on this month and it was another banner month. It all started with a trip to the antique mart called Sleepy Poets. My daughter loves that place and I don’t mind because there are records and I found a couple good ones. One was the only early Stryper album I was missing and the other was one of my mother’s favorite bands Air Supply so I had to buy it. I miss her a lot so it will be something in my collection that when I am really, really missing her I can pull out and play.

Then the following week, my daughter wanted to hit more antique shops as she loves to find old vintage clothes at not a too ridiculous of a price. The first place we hit in Mathews said it was an antique place, but really it was a record store and now I have another great place to go buy albums!! Yeah me!! I found some great vinyl, CDs, singles and cassettes…they had it all. First are the albums, which are an early pressing of Mariah Carey’s debut on vinyl and a Billy Idol 12″ Single of Mony Mony.

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My Sunday Song – “Watch the Fire” by W.E.T.

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For My Sunday Song #288, we are going to tackle another song from the band W.E.T. This time around we are going to discuss “Watch the Fire” which is the opening track off their 2018 album ‘Earthrage’. If you remember from the earlier post, W.E.T. is comprised of Robert Sall of the band Work of Art, Erik Martensson of the band Eclispse and Jeff Scott Soto from the band Talisman. Take the first initial of each band and you have W.E.T. It also has 2 other members Magnus Henriksson and Robban Back. All are on the label Frontiers Records who brought the super group together. 

The song was written by Johan Becker, Miqael Persson and Erik Martensson. It is a dark song in that the person the song is about has been burned bad by either a girlfriend or it could be anyone as it doesn’t really delve into the who or what actually happened. All we know is the person has been deceived, lied to and hurt this person badly. The person is angry and telling those that hurt him that their day will come. Karma will catch up and when it does, he will be there to watch the fire and watch them burn. Doesn’t sound like he will throw any water on them to help them out, just gladly watch them burn. I would say he is pissed.

Musically, it is a hard, melodic rock song and what I love about it is that the vocals are shared with Erik and Jeff whose voices compliment each other so well. It is a catchy chorus and and when you hear Soto you instantly connect and find yourself singing along instantly. The guitars are crunchy, the keyboards give it an even more melodic feel and the drums pound throughout. It is a modern rock song that is drenched in the old 80’s sound and I feel this could’ve been huge back in the day. Soto’s vocals are always on point with W.E.T. and I love the range he shows and how smooth his vocals can be. They are enticing and downright amazing in my book. One of my favorite groups he has been in as they are all so talented and the music is melodic which is what I love.

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Eyes – “Nobody Said It Was Easy” (1990) – 7″ Single (The Jeff Scott Soto Series – Bonus Edition)

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For this edition of the Jeff Scott Soto Series, we are going to look at a 7″ Single I found from the band Eyes. This single I found is really cool in my book. It is a Scandinavian release of the band’s single “Nobody Said It Was Easy” off their 1990 debut album ‘Eyes’. The album was off the Curb Records label, but that was in the U.S. For this release we get Sonet Grammofon AB and I love how the label on the record looks with the Sonet logo on it. I can’t imagine there are a ton of these out there as they were an obscure band, but thanks to Discogs, I now have a copy. I doubt I’ll ever see one out it in the wild here in the U.S.

The song was obviously released as a single, but I don’t think it ever charted anywhere which is a shame. The B-Side of the vinyl is also from the debut album and is called “Start Livin'”. I don’t have any back stories to the songs as information on the band Eyes is really hard to come by. Maybe if I ever get to sit down with Jeff, I can ask him about them.

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My Sunday Song – “Coming Home” by Sons of Apollo

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For My Sunday Song #287, we are going to discover the first single from one of the most talented bands Jeff Scott Soto has been in. The song is “Coming Home” and it is off the album ‘Psychotic Symphony’ from the band Sons of Apollo. Why do I say most talented, let’s look at the players. Obviously you have Jeff Scott Soto on vocals or this post wouldn’t be happening, but you also have Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on guitar, Billy Sheehan on bass, Derek Sherinian on keyboards and Mike Portnoy on drums. It don’t get much better than this. This song was the world’s introduction to the band and what a statement they made with it.

Normally, I go in to the song meanings before I get in to the music, but I can’t wait to talk about the music. That opening keyboard riff by Derek Sherinian is classic and brutal. If you expected the album to be all prog rock, you’d be wrong. This song is pure Hard Rock reminiscent of Van Halen but maybe even heavier. Bumblefoot’s effortless riffs dance throughout the song, Sheehan’s bass gives us a new sound from what you’d expect from Billy and it adds so much groove to the song. And you can’t forget Portnoy’s drums which are as immense and immersive as you’ve ever gotten from him. It is pure power! Speaking of power, Jeff Scott Soto attacks the vocals and they are filled with such anger and intensity that you feel it throughout your body and those screams are piercing and yet so beautifully done. This was so unexpected and totally amazing and you have to hear it to believe it.

And what does the song mean, who cares. Just put it on repeat and let the abundance of sound fill every void of your body and rock the hell out of you. Each time you hear it, there is something you hadn’t heard before as there is so much going on musically you can’t help but be blown away.

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Eyes – ‘Eyes’ (1990) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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By 1990, Jeff Scott Soto was basically a journeyman as a singer. He would take any job as long as he could sing. He went from Panther, to Yngwie, to Kuni, to Kryst the Conqueror and now we have the band Eyes. Jeff wasn’t the original lead singer, that belonged to James Christian who left the band to go join this little band named House of Lords…probably a smart move on his part as House of Lords did way better than Eyes. Which is a shame because this album is a lost classic of the late 80’s Hard Rock sound. Think Bon Jovi, Danger Danger, Firehouse and any other band from that time period.

The biggest problem this album had was only timing and the fact there were 100’s of bands out there that were all the same. These guys had the sound as they had the rock anthems, they had the ballads and oh my god…they had the hair!! They weren’t on a major label which probably got them lost in the shuffle. They were on Curb Records which back in those days was not a rock label. Without the major label push, they fell to the wayside and were overlooked by most…heck, I didn’t discover them until sometime after the 2000’s began.

The band consisted of Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, Steven Dougherty on guitar, Aldy Damian on drums and Jimmy O’Shea on bass. From what I can find, it looks like Jimmy only played bass on two of the songs as the rest were played by a name I told you to remember from an earlier review…Marcel Jacobs. Marcel didn’t join the band as he was busy with another band at the time which we will discuss very soon. The album came out some time in 1990 as a specific date can’t be found on the web anywhere for its actually release. And as I said, it didn’t go anywhere but as you are about to find out, it still kick some major ass!!

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My Sunday Song – “One Love” by W.E.T.

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For My Sunday Song #286 is the song “One Love” by the Jeff Scott Soto band called W.E.T. What is W.E.T.? Well, it is comprised of Robert Sall of the band Work of Art, Erik Martensson of the band Eclispse and Jeff Scott Soto from the band Talisman. Take the first initial of each band and you have W.E.T. It also has 2 other members Magnus Henriksson and Robban Back. All are on the label Frontiers Records who brought the super group together. The song is off the debut album from 2009 album simply called ‘W.E.T.’. What many were afraid would be a one album deal has turned in to four album and a live album album. A legit band.

The song “One Love” was written by Erik Martensson and Vivien Searcy and is simply about that one true love. Despite all the temptations out on the road, he knows he will never find someone like her and that she is his rock. Here love is what sustains him and she is that miracle sent form heaven. It is really sweet.

The song itself is a power ballad and a pretty great modern version of one. It opens with keyboards from Erik who also handles all rhythm guitar duties. The lead guitar and solo are from Magnus and it fits the song so well. The drums are from Robban and for some reason Mr. Sail is not on the lead for this one. Musically, it is pure melodic rock gold. However, the highlight are those smooth vocals from Jeff. He really delivers and emotional, heartfelt song that matches the lyrics. You can hear from these high notes the man has some pipes and can sing about anything. If this was released in the 80’s, this ballad would’ve been top of the charts. It is infectious, catchy and simply beautiful. Man, if Jeff would’ve stayed in Journey and they released an album, this is what it would sound like.

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Kryst the Conqueror – ‘Deliver Us From Evil E.P.’ (1989) / ‘Soldiers of Light: The Complete Recordings’ (2019)- Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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You are probably wondering why I am reviewing two albums at once. I know, it is strange. Well, here is the thing. We are reviewing Kryst the Conqueror’s E.P. – ‘Deliver Us From Evil’, however, I don’t have that version of the album. I have the more recent release which is called ‘Soldiers of Light: The Complete Recordings’. This contains the E.P. ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ as well as all the songs from that recording session.

But first, let’s back up a little. Kryst the Conqueror (pronounced Christ) is a project from former members of the band The Misfits. It consists of Jerry Only (known as Mo the Great in The Misfits and as Mocavious Kryst for this band) and his brother Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein. The idea of the band was take fantasy and sci-fi imagery and mix it with religious themes and in this case Jesus was now a Conqueror and was going to deliver us from evil. Yikes!

The E.P. Cover

The band never officially had a lead singer. Jeff Scott Soto was brought in to record the songs to get a feel for the songs and how they would sound, but he was never intended to be the lead singer. In fact, on the E.P. he is not even credited. The lead singer is listed as Kryst the Conqueror. In fact, with all the songs he recorded, only 5 were ever released and that was the original 5 Song E.P. ‘Deliver Us From Evil’. From what I can gather, it was released as a fan club package to the Misfits Fan Club to make sure Jerry was keeping in touch with the fans. But the project never really had any staying power or amounted to anything much. I guess that isn’t totally true, although they never performed live, the band did stay together (at least Jerry & Doyle) until around 1995 when they reached an agreement with Glenn Danzig to reignite the Misfits and then they started touring under that name taking some of these songs and turning them in to Misfit songs.

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My Sunday Song – “Outta My Way” by Talisman

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For My Sunday Song #285, we are talking about the song “Outta My Way” by Talisman and another great Jeff Scott Soto song. The song was written by Marcel Jacob and Jeff Scott Soto and was off their stellar 2003 album ‘Cats & Dogs’. This was my gateway in to the band and might be the first one I bought. From there, it went nuts when it came to Talisman.

The song is an angry track and just seems to be about a guy that is ready to snap. He just needs that one push to send him over the edge and if he does, you better watch out as he will explode. It is as simple as that.

Musically, the song is explosive. It has a quick one two banging opening straight in to a Marcel Jacob bass solo then Jamie Borger goes ballistic on the drums with Fredrik Akesson throws down some stellar riffs. Soto attacks the vocals with so much angst and anger and you can feel the tension like he is going to explode. The song is a fireball of energy and its frantic pace is non-stop throughout. There is a great instrumental piece in the middle where Marcel and Fredrik trade bass and guitar licks back and forth and I love it. This song is a shining example why they were so great.

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January 2022 Purchases – Vinyl & Cds

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Welcome to the first round of purchases for 2022. Yes, I know, it never seems to end…my wife and wallet keep telling me that, but I don’t listen…obviously. And this week was another stellar month and a few really good deals as well…at least I think so. The first set of purchases were from gift cards left over from Christmas that I hadn’t spent and it was tough to decide. First I went with a vinyl I had been wanting for awhile and finding an original vinyl pressing was going to be expense so I went withe re-issue from Music on Vinyl for Extreme!!

The other items I picked up on those gift cards were the studio albums I was missing for Robbie Williams…I figured no time better than to complete that collection so I did. There were four left and here they are… Now I just need to the rare stuff that I am missing…challenge accepted!!

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