Tom Stevens, 80s rock star extraordinaire, has a real Bryan Adams thing going on. This guy's been around and apparently had a little infamy in the English rock scene back in the day. Now he's recording tunes on the cheap in the ancestral home in Indiana.
This is one of those rare records that gets better as it progresses through the tracks. Tom has a lot going on musically and a lot to say, or at least to sing about, though my main problem with this record is it's too darn fast. It feels as though someone put a gun to Tom's head and he's trying to get it all down before someone pulls the trigger or the sun comes up and he's back in the coffin. What I mean is the time on a lot of these recordings is simply too quick for their own good and it stuck me as unnecessary and removed me from the experience. He's a fine guitarist and an acceptable rock singer, there's just no need to get to the finish line before you reach the halfway mark.
My other minor beef with this record is the ambition of the sound. It's a simple low-fi recording that sounds as though it should've been recorded in a studio with all the bells and digital whistles. He should have stripped the songs down for his purposes here and the effect would've been profound because a lot of these songs are structural strong from a writing point of view and musically there. I know life is short, but there will always be time to make rock and roll. Good work rocks here.
