John TAGLIERI: "Days Like These"

Rating: EP
Label: HeadfirstEntertainment/Vanity 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Last time out I reviewed an release by John 'Tag' Taglieri and was asked who he? I believe the short answer was former Jersey rocker gone soft(er) and more towards the style of country and the singer/songwriter genre. Not entirely correct since we are now at his 12th release, "Days Like These", and the 6-track EP is sort of the return to his roots and melodic rock. This is not old school or strictly uptempo by any stretch, but it's darn nice and professional done.

Recruiting musicians such as Kenny Arnoff (John Mellencamp, Bob Seger, etc), Eric Ragno (Alice Cooper, Paul Stanley), Rich Redmond (Ludacris, Kelly Clarkson), makes this a neat packaging and simply just a nice surprise. Truth be told. Taglieri is no stranger to the concept of Jersey Rock and the Bon Jovi connection is definitely present throughout the EP. I believe they recorded the album titled "These Days" and several tracks will have you thinking about the group and their sound from above mentioned platter and forward on up to present date.

For instance, laid-back tunes/ballads such as "Thin Air" and "Finish Line, as close as you ever get to Jon Bon Jovi without actually meeting the man. That's including rough vocals and everything. Closing track, "Toasting The Man In The Moon", is however a really dodgy tune and hardly worth the bother. It's all well and good taking the melodic route, but when there's no point or edge to it, it seems like a bit of waste of time. Overall a nice little EP and Tag still manage to come up with some nice material.
johntaglieri.com
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