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.
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.
Every year, I believe, Frontiers Records holds a festival with their artists getting up and playing a set. It was the Frontiers Rock Festival VI. It is a brilliant idea because they can take those sets and release albums or bonus material and it is all recorded at the same time so costs are cheaper. And fans are treated to a really great line-up and a great show each and every time. This particular Jeff Scott Soto was recorded at the 2019 show in Milan.
Fast forward to March 2020 and COVID hits. The world basically shuts down. No albums are getting a physical release, no touring is happening…nothing is happening. Frontiers does a brilliant move while waiting for the whole COVID thing to end, they decide to release a Jeff Scott Soto show digitally. And on April 27, 2020, we are greeted with the new album Loud & Live in Milan 2019. That date is signficant because it is the one year anniversary of the show which was April 27, 2019.
I was excited to have something because Amazon wasn’t going to be delivering much of anything as far as physical product, so I got this one. I will admit I was a little disappointed not having a physical product, but by November 6, 2020 that would change. Jeff finished his next solo album, ‘Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)’, and as a bonus disc, we were given this show on DVD, which of course I have. Now, let’s talk about this show since that is why we are here.
Jeff performed only a 10 song, 40 minute set, but what you get is worth every minute of your time. This a Jeff Scott Soto legacy set which is songs from through out his solo career with minor exceptions. The band is quite stellar as well as you get some SOTO regulars with BJ on bass, Edu Cominato on Drums and Leo Mancini on guitar.
Talisman’s founder, bassist Marcel Jacob, took his own life back on July 21, 2009 and to commemorate their friends passing, Talisman got back together to pen this song, “Never Die”. Time restraints didn’t allow them to finish the song in time, but it did come out in digital format only on December 20, 2019, 10 years after his passing. So, I probably should’ve done this earlier than I have, but there is a reason. Because now there is actually a way to get his song physically. On March 6, 2020, Talisman released the song as a limited run vinyl 7″ Single. And when I say limited, I mean it as there are only 300 copies of the single. I have copy #121 as you can see below. And my copy came with a large black chip (I guess you’d call it) with the Talisman logo on it. I don’t know if this was with it or something the person I bought it from threw in…either way, cool piece (you can see down further).
The three main Talisman members in the band got back together to write the song. You have Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, guitarist Pontus Norgren and drummer Jamie Borger. Jamie gave Jeff some great melodies and Jeff’s wrote the lyrics pretty easily. And what is great about them, as there are some Talisman song title shout outs in the song.
“i’ll be waiting, mysterious, coloured xtc just between us tears from the sky fall again”
It is a touching tribute to their fallen brother and captain of Talisman as it was his dream they all helped make come true. And to help celebrate his life even more, the proceeds from this single were donated to the organization Suicide Zero to help increase knowledge about mental illness and I think they did a great thing to honor their friend.
After playing over 80 shows together to support the debut album, Derek Sherinian, Mike Portnoy and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal joined up at Mike’s studio and started working on the new album. The three gelled and wrote the album in around 3 weeks. Of course, after that, the songs need lyrics and that is were lead singer Jeff Scott Soto comes in as he wrote all the lyrics for the album (with minor exceptions of help from Mr. Sherinian on some of the melodies). And the songs were ready to record. Writing and recording happened over 8 months and each member of the band, including bassist Billy Sheehan, able to work in their own studios for their parts.
The album was called MMXX which is 2020 in Roman Numerals and the time when it was released which was on January 17, 2020. The album’s sound changed a little from the last album which had a lot of sounds from the past as it had some Dream Theater elements as well as some classic rock. This time around, they went for a more modern sound and a much more polished feel which is why the cover with the band’s crest seems more polished. The prior songs were more mythical and now they are more futuristic. Is the change in a sound a good thing or is it a bad thing? I guess we need to go through the tracks and find out.
The opening song and first single (came out on November 15, 2019), “Goodbye Divinity”, brings the prog right out of the gate as it goes on for about 2 minutes before Soto gets his pipes in the mix. After that happens it becomes a solid rock song with ample time for each musician to show what they can do. With not just hints of Dream Theater’s sound, but obvious stamps that show their roots are front and center. Honestly, it is a good song, but not as strong as the opener “God of the Sun” from the debut in my opinion. The working title on this one was called “Blood Orchid” which was inspired by a riff by Derek that he did during one of his live solos (thanks wiki for that one).
This is not a side project, the band has made that clear and one way to prove that Sons of Apollo is a band is to tour and they did. But the show they decided to record wasn’t just a tour show, Nope! It was so much more. And it needed to be. They needed to capture the true essence of what this band is about and I have to say, I believe they did that and then some. They recorded the show back on September 22, 2018 at The Ancient Roman Amphitheater in Plovdiv Bulgaria and what a beautiful setting it is. Worthy of the Sons of the God Apollo. And the show couldn’t just be the band playing, Nope. It needed a little something extra so they brought in the Plovdiv Orchestra and a choir nicely named for this show as the Psychotic Symphony. This isn’t a band playing their songs with a symphony like so many bands, this is different, fresh and exciting.
You get it all packaged in a 3 CD set, that is right…3 CDs cover the whole entire show. Over 2 1/2 hours of rock & roll & prog bliss!! And if that isn’t enough, they throw in a DVD of the entire show as well. And the DVD is really where it is at in my book. Listening to the CD is great and you will enjoy the show, but when you watch it live and see these guys in action, Holy Shit!! These guys can play and they put on a master class of what musicianship really is. With Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, Mike Portnoy and drums, Derek Sherinian on Keyboards, Billy Sheehan on bass and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on guitar, these are some of the best in the field and they show you how it is done.
We interrupt the Jeff Scott Soto Series to bring you a new concert review for a show I attended this weekend that included Jeff Scott Soto and Jason Bieler. It was Saturday, I guess that makes it alright, so I headed down to the Evening Muse in Charlotte, NC, for another fun evening with the comedy stylings of Jeff Scott Soto and Jason Bieler…oh yeah…there was a lot of music too. What started out as two grumpy old men sitting on stage, ended with two very drunk men practically falling off stage…ok not quite, but they had a lot fun as people kept bringing them drinks all night long…as well as cookies.
The evening started at 6pm for those that bought the VIP package…and yes, I was one of those. Last year, they mostly sang, but this year they did a full on Q&A section. You had to stand up, say your name and where you are from, then the crowd said it back to you. My question was to both of them asking if we would see Solo tours from them anytime. Jason stated that he is working on doing a Baron Von Belski tour later in the year, but wants to make sure it presents those 2 Baron albums the right way. Jeff got all serious and laid down the truth. That truth is No, there will be no tour. He said there is no demand for his solo shows in the States and it would not be cost effective to pull it off. Sadly, I know he is right and that disappointments me greatly. I guess I need to keep writing the Soto reviews as the word hasn’t reached everyone yet.
After the Q&A, the boys played a few songs for us including the Saigon Kick songs “On and On”, “One Step Closer” (I think) and ‘Sgt. Steve”. All classic SK songs and performed beautifully. The two were in rare form, cracking jokes and keeping the audience in stitches and they even lost it a few times (especially Jeff). Sometimes Jeff would laugh so hard because Beiler would go off on these tangents that made no sense, but were funny as hell. After around 30-45 minutes or so, the VIP experience ended, the boys went to eat and then we waited for the show. Oh yeah, I forgot we were given a secret password and any time they said that word, we were to cheer really loudly and get all excited. They said this would confuse those that came in for the show and by the end the would start cheering and have no understanding why. The word was “New Jersey” as there were several people in the Q&A from there.
For those following along on the series, you know by now that SOTO is Jeff Scott Soto’s band that he uses to differentiate his solo stuff from his more heavier sounding metal songs. And this is heavy. This is the band’s third album now in the last 4/5 years and the only difference in the band is at bass. Sadly, bassist David Z (of Z02 & Adrenaline Mob) passed away in a tragic accident. In his stead is none other than Tony Dickinson and he also helped produce the album. We still have Jeff on vocals, obviously, along with BJ on keys and guitars, Edu Cominato on drums along with Jorge Salan on guitars.
The album was released on May 19, 2019 and it doesn’t stray far from the first two albums. It is a heavy rock album, a little at times and a modern, electronic sound also. But…I can’t say they’ve been my favorite projects from Jeff. Yes, I do like the heavier sound and Jeff does a fine job of singing, but the songs haven’t been as melodic as I like, the hooks aren’t as catchy and the choruses are a little lackluster at times. That doesn’t mean the first two albums were bad album, I just haven’t enjoyed them as much. And is this one any different? Well, it might be my favorite of the bunch, but is it a favorite of the Soto collection? We first need to dig deeper and explore these tracks to see how they stack up.
The album kicks off with “Hypermania” and a full on electronica bit before kicking in hard & heavy. Musically the song is really awesome, but I can’t get past the horrible lyrics in the chorus. The rhyming of hypermania with the words insania and no brainia. Totally childish and lame. Take out the lyrics and this is a killer modern metal track. For me, I just skip the whole thing and start the album with the title track.
The title track, “Origami”, explodes with some ear-splitting drum pounding, a vicious riff and then it turns in to a speed metal attack. Jeff’s vocals are aggressive and he attacks the song with a killer’s rage and it is awesome. One of the heaviest tracks on the album and it really grabs hold and slams it home. The guitars are freaking nasty, the solo is cool and Jeff even gives off a scream which he does so well. A real ballbuster of a track and should be the opening track!!
“Belie” is up next and it slows things down a little. No, not a ballad, just a slower tempo. There is a darkness tone to it, it is still heavy. The verses give off a sadness and don’t really connect with the music. The payoff comes with the chorus with layers of harmonies and Jeff does sound great. The cool thing about it is you get a bass break, a drum break and a guitar break in it which is nice to see all areas shine. And the guitar solo is a screamer. One of the best on the album.
More great guitar work opens “World Gone Colder” and the guitar never lets up. It is full of piss and vigor throughout the song. A roller coaster of riffs. The chorus is enjoyable and Jeff really goes all out, but you can’t say enough about the guitars on this one as they are the star. The solo will seal the deal for you.
“Detonate” is the only song to feature the late, great David Z on bass. For that, it is a little special. It starts with a slow build, a whispering Jeff Scott Soto on vocals and then the band comes roaring in and the song gets going. If you listen close, you can hear David just smacking the bass. The song is hard & heavy, and with a title like detonate, you’d expect this song to explode and it doesn’t quite get as explosive as I’d expect and starts to lose me by the end.
Things slow down with “Torn”, a quasi-power ballad. The foot comes off the gas with this one and Jeff gives a very pleasant vocal delivery. Musically, everything is toned down, softer yet full of emotion. The chorus is catchy and Jeff really takes it up a notch. The drum sound on this one is solid, the guitars give a melancholic tone and when Jeff screams “GO”, the guitars lay down a solo that fits perfectly with the song. The guys show they aren’t one-dimensional.
The heavy comes back with “Dance with the Devil” and if you are going to have devil in the title, it better kick ass. There is a whole Sons of Apollo vibe here with even hints of Dio. The riffs are speedy, gritty and brutal, the drum work is powerful and destructive especially the double kick drum whose speed is insane. A rocking track, but also a little forgettable when its over as it doesn’t stick with you.
“Afterglow” is up next and the sound is more like a Soto solo album as it is more melodic, a little funky at times and has a big band swing groove. The chorus is full on harmonies and the song is although has a serious tone, is a lot of fun for me as the groove is really cool. One of my favorite tracks on the album.
“Vanity Lane” takes it back to the heavy and it has a darker tone and more serious feel to it. The chorus is better than the verses and the guitar solo is great, however, I like the song well enough, but it doesn’t stick with you. Not memorable enough.
The final song on the album is a Michael Jackson cover of his song “Give In To Me” which is one of Michael’s more rocking songs and SOTO does it justice. It starts off slow and Jeff goes in to a deeper register and when the chorus explodes, he goes back to that Jeff sound he is so famous for. I love this song already, so I do enjoy it here as it is hard to screw up a Michael Jackson song.
But there is a bonus track so it ain’t over yet. “KMAG” closes things out and what is a KMAG? It is Kiss My Ass Goodbye! It is heavy as hell and the drums are earth shatteringly hard. I like this one a lot and the big payoff is that chorus as anytime you can scream out Kiss My Ass Goodbye it just feels great. A great way to go out on the album.
Track Listing:
Hypermania – Delete
Origami – Keeper
Belie – Keeper
World Gone Colder – Keeper
Detonate – Delete
Torn – Keeper
Dance with the Devil – Keeper(1/2 Point)
Afterglow – Keeper
Vanity Lane – Delete
Give In To Me – Keeper
KMAG (Bonus Track) – Keeper
The Track Score is 7.5 out of 11 Tracks or 68%. SOTO didn’t impress me much with the first two albums, and the third didn’t do much better. The songwriting is still subpar as the lyrics at times are cringe worthy and the songs aren’t as memorable as most of Jeff’s work, however, this one held my interest a little more and had more songs that I liked. If I had to pick a favorite of the three so far, this would be it, but not by much. My Overall Score is a 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars which is the same as the 2nd album, but since I like this one a little more maybe it should be 3.6, who knows. I’ll stick with Jeff’s other albums more than I will with SOTO…sorry Jeff.
UP NEXT: SONS OF APOLLO – ‘LIVE WITH THE PLOVDIV PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY’ (2019)
Almost a decade earlier, Serafino Perugino of Frontiers Records, thought a supergroup with Jeff Scott Soto doing Journey type AOR music would be a smart idea. He is notorious for putting all these great musicians together for so-called supergroups and some would say he does it WAY TOO MUCH! And I would agree, except for W.E.T. W.E.T. is a culmination of some great artist including Robert Sall of the band Work of Art (The “W”); Erik Martensson of the band Eclipses (The “E”) and Jeff Scott Soto of the band Talisman (The “T”). All three bands are Swedish bands and all on Frontiers so it made it easy to bring these three guys together. Rounding out the band are Magnus Henriksson and Robban Back both from the band Eclipse as well. What most thought would be a one-off project has now turned in to 3 studio albums and one live album and we couldn’t be happier.
But, will the third time be the charm? Will this be as good or better than the first two or have they outlived their usefulness? The answer to those questions is that this band keeps getting better and better with age. They are like a fine wine and although there is a little cheese in this sound, the album gives us a group of songs that has so many hooks that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a warning about that fact. So, sit back and get ready to get caught up in the music hook, line and sinker. And I am sure all that sounded as bad as it felt writing it. Since I’m only writing bad jokes at this point, lets get to the music.
The album opens with the stellar first single “Watch the Fire” and mine it is something to behold. It opens with an atmospheric keyboard sound, then the guitars and drums come roaring in and then we get Erik’s vocals to kick off the song and Jeff joins in as well. Another fantastic duet between the two and it is shame this is the only song they do it on, but what a song. The melodies, the harmonies, the hook-ridden chorus, the wicked guitar solo, it is melodic rock at its absolute best!! This is one of the best songs they have done on the three albums.
At this point in Jeff Scott Soto’s career, he had been signed with Frontiers Records for about 15 years now. This 2017 album, ‘Retribution'(which was released on November 10 of that year), was timed perfectly for his 15th Anniversary with the label. This is also his 6th solo album, the first dating back all the way to 1994’s ‘Love Parade’. As with a lot of his solo work, his good friend, Howie Simon, was back to help out and he did a lot. He co-wrote most of the songs, played on the most of them and co-produced the album with Jeff. Jeff brings in some help on drums with Edu Cominato who is Jeff’s drummer in his band SOTO. These three handle everything on the album on all songs, but two and we will talk about the players on those two songs when we get to them.
At times this album is as heavy as his SOTO band, but most of it is pretty standard melodic rock. And I say standard, because at this point in his catalog, I am not real thrilled with this solo albums. At first, I thought after spending around 15 months reviewing a Jeff Scott Soto album every single week, I was maybe getting burned out, but that is not the case. Reviewing the Sons of Apollo album was a lot of fun and so was the Joel Hoektra’s 13 album and all the recent W.E.T. albums. His music still excites me. But the solo stuff, especially this album, does not so much. I think it is the quality of the songs more than anything, but let’s dive in to those songs and find out why. I am apparently wrong in my thinking a vast majority of the reviews I read on this one praised it.
The album opens with a barrage of sound and then a dirty, gritty guitar riff. The title track, “Retribution”, is a on the heavier side closer to SOTO, but more melodic. The chorus is big, the guitars are powerful (listen to that solo), the drums are destructive and all leads to an explosive opening track.
Next up is “Inside/Outside” which is a pure melodic rock track. It has an ear catching opening like the title track, but toned down a little. The bass is heavy on this one, thumping hard and high in the mix. The song is a very radio-friendly track and has a really catchy chorus that will draw you in and you now it is Soto’s vocals that are the draw as they are powerful, smooth and they soar all at the same time.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 