On a press release tear sheet, the man here in question is referred to as the "frontman that every band wants to have," fuckin'-A right he is! Having long established himself as a solo artist beyond his days as frontman for Malmsteen, Eyes, Takara,
Talisman, and even the singing voice of Steel Dragon's "original lead singer" in the movie
Rock Star among other endeavors, there is no doubt that Soto's ability goes beyond just being a frontman; the proof is here, his songwriting, his musicianship (playing bass and keyboards), and of course, his trademark vocals have created one unbelievable melodic hard rock album.
Armed with an arsenal of guitarists (
Journey's Neal Schon, as well Howie Simon and Gary Schutt) and drummer Glen Sobel, the band is sincerely tight, with no need for any overtly production techniques, symphonic or progressive overtones, it's just the songwriting, the riffs, and the grooves that speak for themselves. Opening up with the hook laden anthem-ish
"Believe in Me," which features the catchy chorus (provided Soto's harmonies) and guitar work from Schon (no, this is not a
Journey clone, but hey, he does leave his mark on this song); just about any doubts perceived here are shattered, we know where this is going. Continuing with the groove driven tracks such as
"Soul Divine" the title track, and
"On my Own," the
Talisman mark is present, (or was it that all
Talisman cuts had Soto's mark), and lets forget to mention more anthem styling of
"High Time" and
"Find our Way" that keep
Lost in the Translation on it's upbeat course. Soto does however, take slight detours with dark
"Doin' Time" and the acoustic
"Sacred Eyes," but of course, if the pre-cursor
Believe in Me EP was not enough to satisfy the appetite for the balladeer,
"If this is the End" and
"Beginning 2 End" offer that more eased back vibe to an otherwise fast flowing record.
Not surprisingly, it's similar to his past endeavors, not to mention other melodic rock artists like
Seventh Key and Harem Scarem, with production being stripped down, giving
Lost. its live spontaneous down-to-earth vibe, sounding more like these guys just entered the room, plugged in and played, not at all needing any fancy tinkering with the sound, its just pure musicianship all the way through. So "believe in me" when I tell you that this record fucking rocks, hands down.
Written by
Hashman Tuesday, October 5, 2004
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