Album Review — Jeff Scott Soto
Jeff Scott Soto — Complicated
Jeff Scott Soto is a very busy man. According to his bio, he has “more than 60 albums under his belt”. Whether he’s fronting his current band Soto, releasing solo records or fronting supergroups like Sons of Apollo and W.E.T., Soto is one of the top vocalists in hard rock which explains his busy schedule.
Soto’s latest solo release, “Complicated”, continues his string of melodic rock solo records. Soto is comfortable in many rock genres but his solo material is quite melodic and reminds me of the post-Perry Journey era which makes sense given he spent a short stint with the band after Steve Augeri left.
On “Complicated”, Soto collaborates with noted Frontiers songwriter Alessandro Del Vecchio and guitarist Fabrizio Sgattoni who played on Soto’s last record “Wide Awake (In My Dreamland).
The record begins with rocker “Last To Know”. It sounds like a track that could have been off a W.E.T. record and features some impressive guitar work from Sgattoni.
“Disbelieving” has a bit of funk to it although still quite melodic. Soto has always been willing to mix things up musically throughout his career which gives some nice variety here.
“Home Again” also features some impressive guitar from the start. It’s another heavy yet catchy track with lots of layered vocals in the chorus.
“Love Is The Revolution” has what sounds like a sitar at the start but fades into guitar. The sitar riff returns between verses. The album certainly has a sound to it with lots of gang vocals and big choruses. A nod to Soto’s Perry-like vocal inflections before the guitar solo.
A ballad, “Until I See You Again”, is up next and is mostly piano and vocals through the first section of the song. Soto certainly has the voice to sing any ballad. This one doesn’t really stand out other than Soto’s impressive vocals.
The title track is another one that sounds like it could have made a W.E.T. record. One of the better tracks so far.
The melodic rockers keep coming with “Don’t Look Back”. I can’t tell if these songs are too similar because they are all quite good or because there isn’t enough variety here. Maybe it’s a little of both? I do like this one even if it sounds similar to a couple of the other tracks.
“New Horizon” has a little more edge to it from the start but mostly stays in the same wheelhouse as most of the rest of the record.
“Back To The Beginning” has a cool guitar part at the start. There isn’t a major difference between most of these songs as they all seem to have a similar tempo/feel to them. The guitar part at the beginning and an excellent solo helps this one stand out a bit.
“Thank You” takes some time to build and is more mid-tempo and quite catchy. I’d say this one has a more 80s feel than most of the record.
The album closes with “Obsession”, another catchy rocker.
Soto certainly has gone all with the melodic rock on “Complicated”. He sounds great, as always, and Sgattoni has some really great solos and guitar parts. I still can’t decide if the album needs more variety or not. I definitely like the feel of the record and the songs are very good. It’s possible that with a few more listens the songs will start to distinguish themselves from one another.
But after 3–4 listens I can say I do like this record. Soto can do it all but I think he’s at his best singing these melodic songs. In my opinion, Soto should have been the guy to replace Steve Perry in the first place and he shows here that he certainly has the chops to pull it off.
90 out of 100 with the right to amend after a few more listens.
Track Listing
- Last To Know*
- Disbelieving
- Home Again*
- Love Is The Revolution
- Until I See You Again
- Complicated*
- Don’t Look Back*
- New Horizon
- Back To The Beginning*
- Thank You*
- Obsession
*Best Songs