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Sunset & Vine - SHY - Album Review :
MTM:0681-120
Shy's new album Sunset & Vine is finally out - 7th February 2005, and amongst many other Shy and AOR fans, I'm hoping for another great AOR/Shy album. Unfinished Business was such a great comeback... I had some worries about the follow up.
Sunset & Vine is Shy's 9th album with Tony Mill's on vocals and their 10th in total.
The opening track High Time gives the first indication that the album is going to be very melodic and has more than a hint of Journey about it, which I hasten to add is no bad thing. Tony Mills voice sounds as clear and tuneful as ever. This track has all the hallmarks of a classic Shy tune. The song opens with a light keyboard and echoing title track vocals, and quickly introduces a medium paced guitar section. This is an upbeat song as the title would indicate, with Tony's vocals shining through. I particularly like the twanging guitar riff (please forgive me if I use non musician terms) , and is an excellent introduction to the album. It sets the mood for the rest of the album. In every respect it matches Skydiving which opens Unfinished Business so well..
Open Your Heart the second track opens moodily, with a strong rhythmic guitar riff, and the vocals have a haunting quality. Tony's vocals stand tall, and the song has echoes of Journey. I think that Tony's voice has unavoidable similarities to Steve Perry of Journey and that can't be helped. Not that echoing Journey is a bad thing. This song re-enforces that this album has Shy bringing guitar to the fore rather than the obvious use of keyboards. This was a risk in my opinion as generally fans of Shy/AOR love big keyboard introductions. After all Excess All Areas, the benchmark of all Shy albums to be compared against, is full of dramatic Keyboards. I'm glad to say that the guitar work is top notch and carries the song, continuing the mood introduced by the first track. Harmonies abound and Tony controls the high pitch vocals with good effect. The chorus carries this song along well and with effective guitar work from Steve Harris and Ian Richardson.
Soul Searching opens with a fast guitars, once again emphasising the albums shift away from keyboards to guitar. It motors along at a pace and is full of melody and the chorus is catchy and full of hooks which you expect from Shy. This would be a possibly be a single for me if one was to be released. It is the fastest paced song on the album, and for me is an AOR gem. I'd want to hear this one on the radio, and be tapping my foot, and a simple but effective chorus as below, only helps the songs dynamic delivery. Backed up with frenetic guitars in the latter half of the song... superb.
...." Who will you run to? Where will you go? Into the arms of someone you'll never Know, How can you live your life, No-one to follow, Always looking for a way to tomorrow....Are You Soul Searching'....Are You Soul Searching'.."
Where is the Love is the big ballad on the album and Tony Mill's delivers the vocals with the passion and clarity Shy fans love. This is definitely one of the stand out tracks. This song shows off his vocal skills and range to perfection. This track is an AOR/Shy classic. From the opening lyrics, where Tony lays down the story, and the keyboard introduction I could tell this would be a highlight of the album. The keyboards cut in and out around the vocals, and then Tony launches into the chorus "Where is the love" and they sound as good as ever. But the vocals aren't all high pitched and Tony Mills shows he can contain his vocals when the mood is needed. A great AOR track and one Shy fans will love. Storyline was the classic ballad on Unfinished Business, and this is Sunset & Vine's equivalent. Well into the song we get strong and well arranged guitar segments. A great track. Is this track as good as Storyline? The Jury's out..decide for yourself.....
You Could Be Dreaming is another melodic AOR upbeat song. This song opens up with more quality guitar work, building up to the opening vocals. It gradually moves along in a mid pace tempo, building into a chorus where the intensity and delivery of the vocals are higher, and then builds again into the hook line "You could be dreaming...". On first listen this song didn't stand out for me, but each time I listened to this track, it grew more significant. The guitar work is to the fore and perhaps the song is overly long. This track could have been shorter and would have been stronger for it. It stands at over 7 minutes and would have had more of a cutting edge for being 5/5.5 minutes long.
Don't Jump The Gun is one of the tracks that I liked on the previews put out on various AOR sites. I'm glad to say that the whole song just re-enforces what Shy do best - simple catchy AOR tunes and there's nothing wrong with keeping things simple. The chorus wins it for me and is more foot tapping time. The song is a little on the long side, but I still like it. At a minute or so less it would be a cracking single.
First Love..This has a fast guitar introduction and it has a fast and dynamic rhythm, matched by another winner of a chorus:
"Is your First Love Still in your eyes?, Calling you back there, Whenever she cries...Is your first love still in your heart? Something in you Something in you takes back to the start"
First Love is a reminder to me of early Shy songs where the songs were simple in construction full of harmonies and where the chorus was the main focus of the song. Once again this song didn't leap out me at first, in fact it took at least 3 or more listen's. Now I'm really into this one. It has a great flow, and the guitar sections work well , playing either side of the hook lines.....
I'll Be Home Tonight has a slow beginning, with the vocal's being delivered in very relaxed, mellow way... no high pitch vocals here..Tony builds the story with a very harmonious manner, with really nice backing vocals that echo around the main vocals. This song is no rush to get anywhere, and is moves at medium/slow pace, and although it has a great feel... this song is overly long. It has quality guitar bridges from Steve Harris, but in my opinion would be stronger if it was a shorter track. However it does tie in with the album as a whole with the feel it creates.
Walk Through Fire was the track was the stand out track from the preview tracks, even from the 1 minute I heard. This track was written by Steve Harris. This song has well penned and delivered lyrics which seem to flow effortlessly. Something that Steve has a uncanny talent for writing. It's catchy with great hook lines and is a classic Shy track.
Slowly, the last track has a great keyboard/guitar beat and This song is has a really great vibe and makes me think of the Sunset & Vine title...taking that Sunset & Vine is in America. Some really nice acoustic/spanish style guitar section brings this song into play and sets the tone. The acoustic beat is great and the song is very well constructed. I really like the way the title is used in between the main lyrics of the chorus, repeating "Slowly" between lines, and the acoustic beat changes to more pronounced guitar work. Ian Richardson talents are brought to forthwith him doing the first solo on this song..I like this track, which has many guitar segments. A feature which elevates this album above the main pack of AOR efforts. I played this album many times before this song got a hold of me and has grown to be one of the stand out songs and ends the album very well.
The Album - The Band - The Production
The tempo could have been a little more varied and personally I miss the big keyboard intros, but having said this, the album is full of catchy well written songs. The guitar work is superb/ top notch, with Steve Harris giving us more of the instrumental segments that made Unfinished Business such a joy to listen to. With the addition of Ian Richardson's excellent guitar work, Shy if anything have an edge which as a live act could really gel well. The drumming duties on this album are by Bob Richards, and once again he proves to be a valuable addition to the band , and I'm sure he will come into his own live..(if a tour happens). Although not as keyboard orientated as most previous Shy albums, Joe Basketts keyboard work is great and I hope he is set to stay for the next album..and perhaps he'll get to come to fore a little more....Sunset & Vine re-enforces that Shy are a class AOR act, and hopefully they'll continue to produce this brand of AOR music, and a tour would be nice. So come on MTM, get the boyz on tour. Only time will tell if a tour will happen on not, but I'm sure the fans want one...here's hoping.
Highlights of Sunset & Vine
It's definitely an album to listen to as a whole, and then certain songs do emerge as highlights of Sunset & Vine, which for me are : High Time, Open Your Heart, Where is The Love? Walk Through Fire, and not much mentioned much elsewhere, the excellent Slowly. Overall I feel "Sunset & Vine" is an absolute gem. Yes some tracks are too long, but on repeated listening "Sunset & Vine" has become my second favourite Shy album after Excess All Areas. While Unfinished Business was a great comeback album, Sunset & Vine just gets better with repeated plays.
Summary - Review - Sunset & Vine
So overall Shy have produced a classy aor album, with all their hallmarks. Throw into the mix a good helping of Journey influences and you've got an excellent AOR album. One to please Shy fans and anyone into great AOR, but this album while Journey influenced, is not an exercise in cloning that great band. Tony Mills has a similar ranging voice, but this album is more guitar based than keyboard based like Journey. Sunset & Vine is an album that needs to be listened to as a whole.
It's a very suitable title for an album which is all about a set of 10 songs forming an excellent AOR album. Unfinished Business had tracks like Break Away and Sky Diving which were stand out tracks. I would have liked a faster tune like Breakaway on this album, but I feel that the album is called Sunset & Vine because it has all about a mood, and as such works really well. The more you listen the better the album gets. Originally I felt Sunset & Vine fell a little short of Unfinished Business, but having said that the album keeps getting better the more you listen. See what you think.
Shy have successfully followed up Unfinished Business, and continue to strive for the best AOR music they can produce. Sunset and Vine has a superb beginning in High Time, middle in Don't Jump The Gun and ends with 2 great songs in the form of the Walk Through Fire & Slowly. The 10 songs are all vital pieces of the album, and when listened to as a whole it all falls in place to produce what I'm sure will prove to be one of the best AOR releases of 2005. The production on the album is top notch - with Andy Faulkner doing sterling work at the production helm again, along with Shy. I look forward to the next instalment of the Shy story, until then Sunset & Vine will do just fine..
Album : 90% Production: 91% AORock Universe Rating: AOR Shooting Star (Excellent) 90%
Album will appeal to : Shy fans, Journey fans, Anyone into AOR & anyone who likes great vocals/Well written rock songs...
Production Details & Album Details
Released by : MTM (Europe/U.K.) / Marquee Avalon (Japan/Asia)
All songs written by: Tony Mills / Steve Harris (except):
Walk Through Fire written by : Steve Harris
Produced by: Shy & Andy Faulkner
Recorded at: Sable Rose
Mixed & Engineered by: Andy Faulkner
Pre Production: Madhouse Rehearsal Studios
Mastered at : Mad Hat Studios (Wolverhampton) by Mark Stuart
Pre-Production at : Madhouse Rehearsal Studios
Art Work & Design: Alex Cooper
Band Line up: 2004/5
Tony Mills : Vocals
Steve Harris: Guitar
Ian Richardson : Guitar
Roy Davis : Bass
Joe Basketts : Keyboards
Bob Richards : Drums
Track Listing
High Time
Open Your Heart
Soul Searchin'
Where Is The Love?
Don't Jump The Gun
You Could Be Dreaming
I Will Be Home
First Love
Walk Through Fire
Slowly