Album Review — Ramos

Ramos — My Many Sides

Josh Ramos has seemingly followed Neal Schon around for the last couple of decades. I first heard about Ramos as the lead guitarist in The Storm, which featured multiple former members of Journey. He later replaced Schon in Hardline and has played in multiple bands over the years that have some sort of relation to Journey.

Now Ramos has released his first solo album and calling on his many vocalist friends to guest. I’ve never been a big fan of albums with many different vocalists, but the list is pretty impressive including Eric Martin (Mr. Big), Terry Ilous (XYZ/Great White), Tony Harnell (ex-TNT), Danny Vaughn (Tyketto), Tony Mills (Shy) and more.

As expected, the album starts off with a guitar flurry and Ramos does not disappoint with a 30 second intro leading into “Today’s The Day”. Joe Retta (Heaven & Earth) fronts this classic sounding rocker.

Terry Ilous takes the helm for “Unbroken”. It still has that classic rock sound but a little less aggressive than the opener.

“Blameless Blue” is more mid-tempo and features Danny Vaughn on vocals. This one has a little more of that melodic rock feel in the chorus.

Tony Harnell is up next with “Immortal”. It sounds like it’s going to be a ballad until about a minute in where it drastically changes. This is an interesting track feels a little all over the place.

Retta is back for “Same Ol’ Fears”. Retta is featured on four tracks which makes me wonder if he may end up fronting this band in the future much like what happened in Red Dragon Cartel. Like the first track Retta is on, this one has a heavy classic rock feel.

Harry Hess (Harem Scarem) takes the lead for “I’ve Been Waiting”. Another mid tempo melodic rock track that closer to what Ramos is more known for.

“Moving On” features new Baby’s singer John Bisaha. This one is more similar to the Retta tracks leaning more hard classic rock in the vein of Bad Company.

Being a huge Eric Martin fan, I was excited to check out “Forefather”. It’s a slower track with a bit of a gospel feel to it. Ramos shows off his bluesy side and Martin’s rasp is a great fit.

Retta returns for “Too Good To Be True” and it’s more heavy rock. If it were up to me, I’d suggest to Ramos to team up with Retta as the best tracks here by far are with this combination.

“Ceremony” is a nearly five minute instrumental. There have been a lot of Neal Schon influenced players over the years, but Ramos seems to capture Schon’s playing more than anyone else to my ears.

Retta’s final appearance is “All Over Now”. This one almost has a newer Journey sound to it. This might be my favorite of the four Retta tracks and solidifies my desire to hear a Ramos/Retta full length record.

Tony Mills (RIP) fronts the final track, “I’m Only Human”. It’s a little bluesy but plenty melodic to wrap up the record.

I appreciate the different singers featured on “My Many Sides” but I certainly hope that Ramos focuses on doing more with Joe Retta. That combination really shines here and could be a powerful duo moving forward. These four collaborations are worth the price of admission here.

85 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Today’s The Day (Joe Retta on vocals) *
2. Unbroken (Terry Ilous on vocals)
3. Blameless Blue (Danny Vaughn on vocals)
4. Immortal (Tony Harnell on vocals)
5. Same Ol’ Fears (Joe Retta on vocals) *
6. I’ve Been Waiting (Harry Hess on vocals)
7. Moving On (John Bisaha on vocals)
8. Forefather (Eric Martin on vocals)
9. Too Good To Be True (Joe Retta on vocals) *
10. Ceremony (Instrumental)
11. All Over Now (Joe Retta on vocals) *
12. I’m Only Human (Tony Mills on vocals)

*Best Songs