Label: Frontiers 2016
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
Danger! Danger! While the Defiants are making their own music and mark, Ted 'Party-Dude' Poley rely heavily upon the ability of the Martin Brothers (Vega) to come up with all the goodies for him to sing and perform. And why not? That's Ted right down to the shoe-laces, a great performer and frontman. However, I would personally prefer a couple of self-written tracks by the party dude. Now it's all Vega-made with the exception of the Joe Lynn Turner/Tony Bruno composition, "Hands of Time". To be perfectly honest, that song is more or less the second rate version of D2 and 'How Much Love' by Vixen, and half a dozen of other songs of that era. Enjoyable piece of rock though.
"Perfect Crime", the smooth rocker and fine ballad duet with Issa. Definitely one of the better songs on display so far. And yes, she's married to either of the Martin brothers (I can't recall which one and it really doesn't matter). "Stars" and "Higher" add a different and better dimension to Beyond The Fade as the Martins' are crafting a couple of beautiful songs here that also applies a soft touch to the proceedings. Unfortunately, there's also the minor downer to be found, since both tracks repeat the word 'Stars' during the refrain and that's a massive no-no to any songwriter (especially considering track listing).
Hang on a minute. There's also a "Beneath The Stars" to be found? The Martins are obviously spending way too much time thinking and wishing about those shiny things in the sky. Poley may be the public face and voice of his third solo album (no s**t?), but the Vega dudes have their own vision and idea of how to arrange the melodic schlock. Slightly obscured and let down by the fact that it's rather similar to their main occupation and band. Final verdict: a solid piece of rock and hardly any proper upper nor downer. Safe is probably the word you're looking for. But, darn it, that 'Stars' song is good. "Hello Hello. A nervous heartbeat rings out"...
No comments:
Post a Comment