JEFF SCOTT SOTO - review added 17th November 2009
Live Album Review: One Night In Madrid (Live)
For fans of: Hard Rock... and, er, Jeff Scott Soto live
It's easy to forget just how many good tracks Jeff Scott Soto has sung on. From Yngwie Malmsteen. through Talisman, Axel Rudi Pell, Soul Sirkus, his latest work on the W.E.T. album...and not forgetting vocals on the Rock Star movie soundtrack, loads of solo work plus numerous other projects. The man is so busy it's a wonder he has time to breath.
One Night In Madrid sees JSS, as the title might suggest, setting up camp in the Spanish city for one night to record this album, plus an accompanying DVD. Joining him on stage are new band-compatriots Jorge Salan on lead guitar, BJ on keyboards, rhythm and acoustic guitars, Fernando Mainer on bass, and Edu Cominato on drums. They all cut in on backing vocals, and Jeff even plays guitar here and there.
The music is of course excellent, as are the performances. It's not all perfect. the cover of Seal's 'Crazy' sounds out of tune, and Jeff gets out of puff occasionally (purely because he does such a passionate, energetic performance). I'm only mentioning those because I'm looking for faults. In reality they don't spoil the atmosphere at all.
Overall, this is an absolute masterclass in crowd handling and recording a set that translates well to none-live mediums like CD and MP3. Best tracks are largely going to come down to personal preference. For me, 'Our Song' and 'Testify' take the biscuit, but that's not to belittle the rest of the disc at all. This is a great release and, as any live album should, it REALLY makes me want to see JSS on the stage again as soon as possible.
Check out... All of it.
Track List:
Disc 1:
Intro
21st Century
Colour My XTC
Soul Divine
Our Song
Drowning
Edu drum solo
Funky Jam
Jorge guitar solo
Mountain
Eyes Of Love
Testify
Band Introductions
Broken Man
Disc 2:
Hey
Frozen/Crazy
Piano Medley
If This Is The End/Holding On/Nobody Said It Was Easy/4 U/Just Between Us
Gin & Tonic Sky
JSS/Jorge workshop
I'll Be Waiting
Encore: Stand Up
Funky Medley: We Will Rock You/I Love Rock & Roll/Play That Funky Music/Jungle Boogie/The Roof Is On Fire/Brick House/Shake Your Booty/Kung Fu Fighting/Yo Baby Yo/Macho Man/The Right Stuff/Ice Ice Baby/Stayin’ Alive/Another One Bites The Dust/Walk This Way
Label: Frontiers Records
Artist's website(s): JSS , MySpace
