ALL THE WAY TO THE SUN
While they might not have attained superstardom (especially in the US),
any melodic rock afficianado will know exactly who TNT is. Personally,
I have only been a casual listener in the past; I would check out a
track here and there, but never listened to a full release from TNT
until checking out
All The Way To The Sun. IN retrospect, I'm sorry I waited. I really am enjoying this disc.
Frontman Tony Harnell has one of the most distinctive voices in rock.
From the few earlier TNT tracks I have heard, it seems as though he's
gotten more of a realistic leash on his range instead of trying to
shatter wine glasses with every note. His singing is tasteful and
appropriate for each song.
Alongside Harnell is guitarist Ronni LeTreko, and they're the melodic
rock equivalent of Tyler and Perry or Plant and Page (yes, I ripped
that right out of their press kit, but I was looking for a clever line,
and that fit). While I wish LeTreko's guitar thin was a little thicker
(it just sounds a little thin and dare I say...'dated'), his playing is
superb, and I'm really impressed with the duo's songwriting. Every
track on
All The Way To The Sun
is hooky, memorable, and well-produced. "Too Late" has a great
old-school, arena rock vibe, and the single "Sometimes" sounds like it
belongs smack in the middle of the latest BACKSTREET BOYS disc...and by
that I mean that if it were being performed by a bunch of white
twenty-somethings in matching blazers, it would be a top ten single.
The fact that a veteran rock band is singing it only means that U.S.
rock radio probably won't touch it.
The cover of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wondeful World" sounds a little
QUEEN-influenced, but they pull it off better than I thoght they were
going to.
All The Way To The Sun
will do much better internationally than in the states, and while I
personally wish that wasn't the case, I'm sure that is exactly where
they know their biggest impact is going to be.
