{"id":19586,"date":"2012-04-04T04:04:47","date_gmt":"2012-04-04T09:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=19586"},"modified":"2013-01-29T10:16:35","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T15:16:35","slug":"jeff-scott-soto-damage-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/jeff-scott-soto-damage-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Scott Soto | Damage Control<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Erik Tweedy<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"For more than 20 years now, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto has been regarded as one of the top vocalists of the melodic rock genre. After fronting bands like Talisman, Yngwei Malmsteen\u2019s Rising Force, Takara, Soul Sirkus, Journey, W.E.T. and most recently the awesome Trans Siberian Orchestra, we find JSS most comfortably right at home as a solo artist. Soto\u2019s vast vocal abilities are what most singers dream about having and on Damage Control<\/em>, Soto\u2019s sixth solo studio effort; he drives it home with a killer vocal performance. With a special guest lineup comprised of Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Dave Meniketti (Y&T), Joel Hoekstra (Night Ranger) and Jamie Borger and Nalle P\u00e5hlsson from the terrific Swedish band Treat, and a fistful more, you know this release is going to be great.<\/p>\n

From the opening crunchy riffs of \u201cGive a Little More\u201d and the title track, \u201cDamage Control\u201d, Soto sets the tone for a well thought out and balanced attack that is more rock than it is melodic. Having sung on more than 60 studio albums, with a \u2018who\u2019s who\u2019 lineup of some of the genres best bands in history, it is no surprise that Soto\u2019s influences come from all over the map. If you are a JSS fan of any previous recordings, you will surely appreciate the beauty that is Damage Control<\/em>. This release has been decades in the making and once you hit track three, \u201cLook Inside Your Heart,\u201d you will begin to understand how great of a singer and all around terrific artist Jeff Scott Soto is. This track is a perfectly balanced melodic gem that will surely make its way onto many top 10 lists of 2012 and will have you hitting the replay button over and over.<\/p>\n

The one and only thing missing from Damage Control<\/em> is a monster love ballad, which is not necessarily a bad thing as it leaves more room to rock. Tracks like \u201cKrazy World\u201d and \u201cAfterworld\u201d provide the power punch, some of Soto\u2019s heaviest in recent memory, while \u201cTears That I Cry\u201d and \u201cHow to Love Again\u201d provide the perfect counter balance with their pure pop sensibilities. Some will say that tracks \u201cBonafide\u201d and \u201cNever Ending War\u201d are ballads by definition, but they are not of the magnitude of a \u201cFaithfully\u201d by Journey or \u201cHeaven\u201d by Warrant, which Soto is more than capable of writing; songs that drive straight to the heart and pull the listener in.<\/p>\n

With top notch mixing by one of the industry\u2019s best studio engineers, John Ellis, Jeff Scott Soto has self produced the best release of his storied career. After his solo release, Beautiful Mess<\/em>, in 2009, it was difficult to tell what direction Soto\u2019s musical path was taking, but with Damage Control<\/em>, you can be assured that JSS is in full control of the melodic rock genre and he plans to stay there for a very long time. Fans of great melodic rock will really enjoy this release and fans of any previous JSS material should indeed love this record. With hardly a flaw insight, this could be the best release of 2012 in the melodic rock world. Perfectly executed and a real pleasure to listen to from start to finish. <\/p>\n

Special Guests:
\nMike Vanderhule \u2013 Drums
\nDave Meniketti \u2013 Guitar
\nRobin Zander \u2013 Vocals
\nJoel Hoesktra \u2013 Guitars
\nCasey Grillo \u2013 Drums
\nJamie Borger – Drums
\nNalle P\u00e5hlsson \u2013 Bass<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tGive A Little More
\n2.\tDamage Control
\n3.\tLook Inside Your heart
\n4.\tDie A Little
\n5.\tIf I Never Let Her Go
\n6.\tTear That I Cry
\n7.\tBonafide
\n8.\tKrazy World
\n9.\tHow To Love Again
\n10.\tAfterWorld
\n11.\tNeverEnding War<\/p>\n

Label: Frontier Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/jeffscottsoto.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Erik Tweedy Staff Writer — For more than 20 years now, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto has been regarded as one of the top vocalists of the melodic rock genre. After fronting bands like Talisman, […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[5082,5081,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-19586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-damage-control","8":"tag-frontier-records","9":"tag-jeff-scott-soto"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19586\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}