| The
Review |
Get ready to hop in the back seat with your loved one,
because here is a collection of material that will "enhance
the moment." No, I'm not talking about a record from Luther
Vandross or Barry White; this is the other side of that window
fogging ear candy. Legendary vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (Malmsteen,
Takara, Talisman, etc.) has unleashed a collection of balladry
that represents some of the most recent material he has done
within his inkage with Frontiers Records. And all kidding
aside, a career spanning ballad collection would take up a
box set.***
But nevertheless, this collection represents everything
from heavy power balladry to pop emotion, containing love
songs and eased back rockers. So without being a redundant
anthology, there are acoustic numbers such as "As I Do 2 U"
and "Sacred Eyes," lighter fodder with "If This is the End"
and "Don't Wanna Say Goodbye," as well as more sophisticated
pop ditties like "Last Mistake" and "Lonely Shade of Blue"
where there is a lot different styles that represent Soto's
songwriting ability and vocal styling; there is even a laid
back cover of Journey's "Send Her My Love." Three bonus tracks
of unreleased material are also on Essential Ballads, which
pertain to the musical style of what else, ballads.***
In the end, this proves that the power ballad never did
die, and that ballads don't have to be syrupy and cheesy to
be appealing. With all of the so called "emotional" commercial
schlock that conveys one-hit wonders these days, JSS proves
that when it comes to writing with feeling, rocking out is
where it's at, even if you slow things down a bit.
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