Album review: JEFF SCOTT SOTO – The Duets Collection Vol. 1

Frontiers [Release date 08.10.21]

The pandemic and resulting lockdowns certainly had musicians thinking about ways to carry on with their musical passion. One such artist Jeff Scott Soto wanted to do a retrospective ‘best of’ from the many bands and projects he has been involved in.

The twist here is that Jeff Scot Soto used his extensive contacts book to get fellow singers to duet with him. The best thing as the title suggests this is volume 1 and that means we’ll at least get another one!

The musicians JSS uses are top notch too, namely drummer Edu Cominato, bassist Tony Dickinson, guitarists Jorge Salanmn, Leo Mancini and Howie Simon.

Where to start on this cornucopia of JSS treats? ‘Livin’ The Life’ may not be known to all as it comes from ‘Rock Star’, however his co-vocalist is fellow W.E.T. and Eclipse member Erik Mårtensson. Inglorious’s Nathan James is a perfect choice for JSS’s ‘Believe In Me’, whilst Leo Mancini rips it up on the fretboard.

Bit of a Soul Sirkus reunion on that band’s song ‘Coming Home’ as Deen Castronova joins JSS behind the mic. Symphony X’s Russell Allen is great fun on the Eyes song ‘Callin’ All Girls’, with that man Leo Mancini again lighting up the guitar strings. A really inspired choice and Allen seems to have a whale of a time on this one.

Plenty of other songs will appeal including Eric Martin on ‘Mysterious’, Mats Levén on ‘Again 2 B Found’ and Whitesnake new boy Dino Jelusick on ‘Don’t Let It End’.

There can’t be many fans of melodic hard rock who haven’t come across a Jeff Scott Soto song. This duets collection is a must for casual fans to his music, plus avid fans who get a selection of classics redone with the man himself and a selection of top notch vocalists. ****

Review by Jason Ritchie

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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)