JEFF SCOTT SOTO – COMPLICATED

The talented Jeff Scott Soto is a productive guy, and he is responsible for having crafted some excellent tunes both as a solo artist and as a member of other projects and ensembles, but I must admit that this latest effort of his is a letdown and a disappointment.

There are eleven tracks here that fall within the hard rock/AOR/melodic rock sphere but only “Disbelieving” and “Back to the Beginning” manage to generate a sense of excitement thanks to some great vocal melodies and meaty riffs. In general, it is hard to detect any sense of inspiration or enthusiasm throughout as the LP sounds rather pedestrian and devoid of passion. Too many half-baked ideas and compositions with little purpose or meaning to them make this an underwhelming listening experience and it comes across as stiff and rigid. Soto’s voice is superb, but the song material is simply not up to scratch this time around, and even though it is a well-produced affair in terms of its crisp sound, it is unremarkable from a purely musical point of view. Where are those tasty hooks and big choruses that will enthrall the listener and linger in the back of one’s mind for hours and days after having listened to the disc?