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Tony Carey returns from exile with his first solo album in several years. Recorded by himself with mainly himself supplying all the instruments - this album is a complicated one and not easy to review! In fact I have been putting this off for weeks. Not because of the quality of the album, quite the opposite. This album is all class. The songs, the vocals and the over all blending of instruments make this album a compelling listen from start to finish. I haven't found this easy to review because the album flows so well from one song to another, it has taken a great deal of listening to in order to get to know the music and to appreciate the excellence of the songs. This album is one of the best Tony Carey albums I have heard. Close even to the rock lovers' Blue Highway and Some Tough City. It is also a more musically consistent album, with a theme that runs through all the songs. It is musically sparse in places, with only a minimal accompaniment, (Boystown, Looking At The Moon) in contrast to other sections of the album (Long Way From Home, Don't Even Know Her Name) where it comes thick and fast. Vocally, I haven't heard Carey better. On Boystown, the vocals are a mix of what we know and love with a little Chris Rea and Richard Marx and even a more pop rock Neil Diamond. Carey does a wonderful version of Solitary Man with a thin keyboard and drum sound underneath a more prominent vocal. The album sweeps through atmospheric ballads like Everything You've Got, the awesome feel good Boystown and Looking At The Moon; to the power ballads like I Don't Even Know Her Name and through the harder sound of A Long Way From Home. The title track off Blue Highway should give you an idea of the style of Boystown. | ||
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But throughout the vocals are what makes the album. Raw, powerful and emotional. Everything it would seems is designed to emphasize the great vocals. The album has a much better feel than that of Cold War Kids while continuing the feel that album introduced, but making the finer points better. The title track of that album is a particular influence here. Check this out if you are a long time Carey fan, but also if you are looking for a soft moody, new age influenced AOR record that contains real lyrical depth. A really interesting album. And one that is also open to licensing opportunities. | PRODUCTION: 83% | SONGS: 92% | VIBE: 85% | ATTITUDE: 90% | ESSENTIAL FOR: All Tony Carey fans and fans of softer and finely crafted AOR. |