"He's gone country, look at them boots." That lyric bit from country and western singer, Alan Jacksons' song "Gone Country" hasn't rung this true since Ron
Keel decided to be a good ol boy and traded in his studded leather pants for a Stetson cowboy hat. With a hearty
"Yeehaw!", Vaughn's latest solo album,
"Traveller", has a very western feel that its bursting out proudly with. Even on the cover with them decked in those signature hats and riding horses and the spiritual Native American motif. It's so very, non-metal, and that feeling carries on over to the music.
"Traveller" has some promise when the rock roots begin to show through but the overall dye is a pop country one that leaves a bevy of mixed feelings behind. Some songs fly alright with this stripped 'back to the basics' path, others come off as boring ditties best left to others to replicate. Danny has a great voice and its often wasted here with piddling tracks that fail in their focus.
Song number one,
"Miracle Days" has an annoyingly long intro that twiddles around before it kicks into the meat of the music which turns out to be a well honed stomp rocker. However, the annoyance of that intro is used as a repeated theme throughout, like a nagging fly that just won't shoo, that pulls down the overall quality. It keeps buzzing to the surface, getting under the skin. Badlands was never a band that I could warm up to, their rock crossed too far into American western territory and the same issues plague
"Badlands Rain." It must be a tribute of sorts to that band since the sound is ripped right out of their past songbook and effortlessly with accuracy replicated here. Fans of that style and band should be delighted for this one, others it will be about as exciting as a tumbleweed rolling through a ghost town.
The two best cuts are the acoustic driven pop rocker with the smashing good chorus,
"That's What She Says" and the laid back gentle warm breeze of the ballad
"Think of Me in the Fall". Both of these have excellent vocals, solid and sturdy for the catchy uptempo piece and ghostly lonesome for the softer example. The title track,
"Traveller" also has alot of heart and soul going for it, plus a thick, acoustic back kick in the chorus.
"Restless Blood" revives the storyteller style of
Bon Jovi's more cowboy rock oriented disc "New Jersey". A plump, catchy chorus and some sizzling guitar licks fresh off the smoky barbeque define this piece. Oh and quite a few background anthemic
"ohhh whoaa ohhhh"s to further carry the flavor. This was originally meant for
Tyketto but never made it.
"Lifted" was 14 years in the making and is country rock through and through. Same goes for
"The Measure of a Man", only with a better chorus this time and just as personal. I'll be damned if it doesn't remind one of early 90s country and western outfits that had a little rock in their music such as Little Texas, Pirates of the Mississippi or Billy Ray Cyrus. Or
Bon Jovi 2007 (watch out for their Nashville recorded country album). You could also pull the Bruce Springsteen card with this one. The sound is just so American rock, with that wholesome drive behind it. Not bad at all.
"
The Warriors Way" has spirit but sputters through the song with tedium. It was written for
Bob Catley and I don't see it fitting him any better.
"Better By Far" is the closer, and its an average ditty too, with an opening that mixes spoken pieces before breaking out the ol clinky clank guitar and stripped back crooning.
"Death of the Tiger" is atrociously boring. The aggression is ill used and it just drowns in its own repetitive ways. Dark alright, but that darkness seems to swallow it whole because they do seem to have no direction worked out on where they want the song to go, and more importantly, the flourishes needed to get there. The ballad
"The Touch of Your Hand" takes sentimentality to the cheddar level. Just not enough style or unique feeling to lift it beyond the average. Though it is an ear pleasing, and delicate average.
Those that were hoping for another album in the vein of the
AOR polished-to-near-perfection, critically adored solo endeavour "From the Inside", will be majorly disappointed. This has more in common with the also stripped self titled "Vaughn" album and less of other big melodic bands that has seen his voice in action,
Tyketto and Waysted.
"Traveller" sees Vaughn travelling dirt roads far and away from the blaring stage lights and fireworks of pomp power rock and instead lumbering around on dusty trails filled with cattle drives and other cowboy shenanigans. Fans of Badlands,
Bon Jovi's more American western oriented works and even country music will find alot to like here despite the shaky quality in spots. There are a handful of gems, and as inspired as this album seems to masquerade as, something seems lost in translation somewhere. The rest of the tracks just don't sparkle with the same kind of loving intensity of the chosen few. Love or hate it, just take
"Traveller" for what its worth and hope for harder rock n'roll pastures next time.
Written by
Alanna Friday, February 23, 2007
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