| re: Tyce Album and Concert Review | |
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Posted by: |
Jacqueline 05:42 am UTC 03/18/17 |
| In reply to: | Tyce Album and Concert Review - JimmyG 03:24 am UTC 03/18/17 |
| Based on your review and Vin really liking the acoustic stuff I will certainly give it a listen now. So far the smaller clips haven't tempted me but I trust your judgement. Tyce was the standout doing Bat at 5/5 and I think Zac is amazing on piano. > First of all, I'd like to highlight that Tyce's album is a > major achievement. Before comparing it with Bonnie Tyler, > Celine Dion and MeatLoaf, one needs to remember that the > total recording cost of Tyce's album is probably less than > one minute on "Bat Out Of Hell 2". In that context, Tyce & > team have created a fantastic album, which shows great > potential for future projects. > > On the main CD, my favorite tracks are generally the > upbeat songs, especially "Holding Out For A Hero" and "I'm > Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us". The tracks which I found > the least engaging were "Heaven Can Wait" and "It's All > Coming Back To Me Now". These tracks are by no means bad, > but I would have preferred a different sound on them. One > of best aspects of the CD is Zak Lloyd's stunning synths, > although the guitars by Nicky James, Mike Smith and Max > Rich are also fabulous. Anyway, I think a more synth-based > sound on "Heaven Can Wait" would have made it stand out > more compared with previous versions. Now it's a nice > track, but it lacks the originality of some of the other > album tracks. > > In fact, I would have traded "Heaven Can Wait" and "It's > All Coming Back To Me Now" for a full rock band recording > of one more upbeat song, e.g. "Peel Out", "Ravishing" or > "Faster Than The Speed Of Night". I think any of these > songs would have sounded awesome in a Zak Lloyd > production. In general, I think Tyce's voice and > performance style work the best on a lot of the more > upbeat tracks. It's no coincidence that he rose to > "Stein-fame" with his live performance of "Bat Out Of > Hell" at 54 Below. It's in these types of songs that I > think he can flex his vocal chords the most. I would have > preferred "Hero" to have mostly upbeat tracks, and maybe > 2-3 ballads. > > On the acoustic CD, "Holding Out For A Hero" and "Anything > For Love" are my favorites. Again, these tracks are the > ones that differ the most from the feel of the original > versions. I've never cared for "Everything Is Permitted" > or "More Than You Deserve", but the acoustic versions are > nice nonetheless, and IGLHFBOU, IACBTMN and FCOL all sound > great in Tyce's acoustic versions. Excellent piano by Zak > Lloyd, especially on the breathtakingly beautiful > recording of "Hero" (both full band and acoustic version). > This is also one of Tyce's finest vocal moments on the > album. The quality of the vocals range from good via very > good to spell-binding. If I'm not mistaken, vocals were > recorded over many months, which may explain some of this > variation. > > Here are my track-by-track comments: > > HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO - Definitely the stand-out track on > the album. The piano intro is haunting, and the backing > tracks compliment Tyce's excellent vocals perfectly. Once > the guitars kick in, the adrenaline rush is inevitable. > What a rocker! And after about 3 minutes, there's the > "through the wind and the chill and the rain". This is one > of the best non-Steinman produced parts of a Steinman song > I have ever heard. Absolutely awesome! > > HEAVEN CAN WAIT - Nice version, but would have preferred a > more synth-based arrangement to make it more original > compared with previous versions. > > I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T COME BACK - Fantastic intro and > synths through the entire song! The whole upbeat part is > awesome. "Bless all the girls..." is also really good, but > the sound could have been a bit more different than the > MeatLoaf version, which was one of my few production > highlights on "Deadringer". > > LEFT IN THE DARK - Some of the synths, especially in the > chorus, are very lovely, but it's difficult to match Jim's > original version. Still many great moments in this > version! > > TOTAL ECLIPSE - Also a highlight on the CD. Excellent > production by Zak and great vocals by both Tyce and Alex > Nester. Nicky's guitars are also excellent. > > IACBTMN - Nice version, but again, I would have preferred > a more synth-based arrangement. It's difficult to match > the Celine/Steinman and Meat/Raven/Child versions. > > IGLHFBOU: The second single! Fantastic intro and synths > throughout the entire song. The vocals by Tyce and Alex > fit perfectly to the backing tracks. I never liked the > song that much when I heard the original version, but now > I really like it! This is definitely my favorite version > of this song, and I think it sounds much better than the > dated original recording. > > OBJECTS: Another highlight on the CD. Terrific production > and vocals by Tyce and Mia Moravis. The synths are great, > although some of them seem a little "bright" considering > the heavy topics of the song. I'm a little torn about the > "wo-ho-wo-ho" after 4:46. It sounds fantastic, but maybe > there's too much of "I've been through bad times but I've > moved on" feeling to them? Still undecided about that. > Another excellent guitar performance by Nicky and Max on > this song. > > BRAVER: Superb intro. I had no idea which song was playing > the first time I heard the teaser. The rest of the > production is also really good, although the "say a > prayer" part feels a little rushed. Towards the end of the > song, everything comes together beautifully, and the > vocals (esp. Alex's raw emotion) and arrangement provides > a perfect climax to an excellent album and a brave take on > some of the best songs ever written. > > Below I also attach my Facebook post about the NYC concert > and the great nights with the HERO crew before and after > the concert. > > Cheers, > Jimmy > > ---------------- > > Earlier this week I had the great pleasure of seeing two > excellent shows in NYC. The first one, Tyce Green's > awesome launch concert for his Steinman album "Hero" on > Thursday, was a thrill ride and an upgrade compared with > his already excellent performances at 54 Below in 2015 and > 2016. I also had the pleasure of meeting a lot of the > great people behind the album, e.g. Tyce Green, Zak Lloyd, > Nicky James, Alex Nester, Alex U'Ren, Van Dean and Mia > Moravis. > > On Wednesday night, I met up with Hero musicians Zak Lloyd > (production/arrangement), Nicky James (co-production) and > Alex U'Ren (mixing) for Guinness and gossip. Well, the > evening was mostly dominated by Zak's outrageous sense of > humor. "Animal House on a cocktail of vodka, steroids and > Viagra" won't quiet cut it, but it's the best description > I can come up with... ;-) > > On Thursday night, I headed over to the Cutting Room for > Tyce's show. I was handed a copy of Tyce's album from Van > Dean, who's the President of Broadway Records. Their cast > recording of "The Color Purple" revival won the 2017 > Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album, so it's great > that Tyce's album could be released on their label. > > Alex Nester started off the show with an excellent cover > of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing", as well as a couple > of very nice original songs of hers. Shortly after that, > Tyce and the band entered the stage with an excellent new > version of "Braver Than We Are". Two of the other > highlights during the evening were "Holding Out For A > Hero" and "I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us". It is > unfair to compare productions from different eras, but the > original 80's productions of these two Steinman songs have > not stood the test of time quite as well as most of the > other ones. "Hero" in particular is very impressive, > especially the "through the wind and the chill and the > rain", which didn't quite get the attention it deserved on > the original version. In Tyce's version, it stands out as > one of the best non-Steinman produced parts of a Steinman > song. As for "Both Of Us", I've never been a fan of the > song and especially not the non-Steinman production on > "Dead ringer". Tyce's version has a darker edge, which I > think suits the lyrics better. This is definitely the best > production of this song, and I think Tyce's versions of > "Hero" and "Both Of Us" are both more appealing to most > younger audiences, which was one of the reasons for > recording them in the first place. Other highlights during > the evening were "Braver" and "Objects", with perfectly > balanced backing vocals by Alex Nester and Mia Moravis. > Alex also provided terrific vocals for several other songs > in the show. > > As for "Braver", the intro is superb, and I had no idea > which song I was listening to the first time I heard the > teaser. I must admit that the "Say the prayer" part is a > bit rushed, though. "Braver" has been one of my favorite > Steinman songs, ever since I first heard it as "Something > Of This Masquerade May Follow" from the 1986 "Confidence > Man" recording, later reappearing as "Draussen ist > Freiheit" in "Tanz der Vampire" in Vienna in 1997. > However, the element that really elevated this song to one > of Steinman's greatest for me was the addition of the "Say > The Prayer" part in the Stuttgart production in 2000 (I > saw the show both in Vienna and Stuttgart). > Recording-wise, Karine's original demo is still my > favorite version, and it would have been foolish to try to > recreate it (like Paul Crook kind of tried to do with > Meat's version). Tyce & team did the right thing to do > their very own take on "Braver", and it holds up as one of > the best non-Steinman produced recordings of a Steinman > song, which is a fantastic accomplishment considering the > tough challenge from Desmond Child and others who had much > greater recording budgets at their disposal. Whether we > like it or not, if the songs are to live on, they must be > non-Steinman produced in the future. After the show, a few > of us (including radio personality Tony Bates) went out > for drinks and a meal. A very memorable evening! | |
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