Frontiers Records 2012
In the melodic hard rock world, Tyketto’s 1991 debut Don’t Come Easy is recognised as one of the genre’s greatest albums, and its lead off cut Forever Young was perhaps only second to Journey’s signature pair as the most played melodic rock cut at rock clubs for many years after. The original line up first reformed for selected shows in 2004, so to say this comeback album, the first of new material under the Tyketto name since 1996, has been keenly anticipated is an understatement.
Let’s get the disappointment out of the way for you first- they have not even tried to repeat Don’t Come Easy’s winning formula of swaggering anthems, guitar pyrotechnics and more personal songs with layers of acoustic and electric guitar. Ironically they have adopted the stripped back, more organic style that singer Danny Vaughn patented on his Vaughn albums, notably on a solid opening trio: Faithless takes a while to come to the boil but has a classic Tyketto chorus, Love to Love is a strange one as a relatively laid back song suddenly explodes late on into a flurry of guitar with the song title belatedly chanted over it, leading me to wonder if it was two songs merged into one, and Here’s Hoping it Hurts is a lively if slightly lightweight rocker.
It is a very diverse album with Battle Lines showing exactly why Danny has made such a success of paying the bills through Eagles tribute acts and closing song This is How We Say Goodbye a beautiful acoustic song. In contrast Evaporate is a pop rocker with almost an indie feel and the title track has a groovy kick not unlike Billy Squier’s The Stroke with one of the best riffs on the album from Brooke St James, whose guitar contributions are classy but frustratingly low key.
The other frustration is that ,as the album progresses, it is clear these are far from the strongest set of songs Danny and his band have been associated with. The likes of the Fight Left in Me, Monday and Let This One Slide felt frustratingly incomplete, with hooks promising to emerge then dying out. Meanwhile Sound Off, which has the Led Zeppelin feel that characterised their Vaughn-less ‘Shine’ album, is disappointingly unmelodic.
Three plays in, and getting used to the unexpected style, the album’s charms are slowly worming their way into my head, and you have plenty of time to do likewise before they headline Firefest in the autumn. But I cannot get away from the conclusion that the album falls short of the high expectations invested in it.
***3/4
Andy Nathan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024
In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections
Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)
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