SONG REVIEWED: "You Won't See Me Fall"
WHEN I FISRT SAW THIS DISC, I THOUGHT KING DIAMOND HAD SENT ME SOMETHING TO REVIEW. THE COVER ART LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING HE'D RELEASE... THANK GOD HE DIDN'T, BECAUSE I DON'T FEEL LIKE SPENDING A WEEK PICKING THROUGH ANOTHER ONE OF HIS CONCEPT ALBUMS...
NEW YORK'S LIVESAY IS PART OF A DYING BREED; YOU DON'T SEE TOO MANY MELODIC HARD ROCK BANDS COMING FROM U.S. SHORES THESE DAYS. WHY? SIMPLE... NO ONE'S BUYING IT HERE. OVERSEAS, PEOPLE ARE EATING THIS STUFF UP... AND THAT'S WHERE THESE GUYS SHOULD HEAD IF THEY WANT TO SELL RECORDS. ENOUGH OF THAT, LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS...
THESE GUYS AREN'T SHORT ON TALENT; THEIR TECHNICAL ABILITY IS EVIDENT FROM THE MOMENT THIS CD STARTS PLAYING. THE OPENING TO "YOU WON'T SEE ME FALL" BEGINS WITH A HAUNTING KEYBOARD INTRO, COURTESY OF TONY STAHL. THE CLOSEST COMPARISON I CAN DRAW IS TO AN EARLY DREAM THEATER TUNE. HIS KEYBOARD SOUND IS VERY SIMILAR TO KEVIN MOORE'S ON "IMAGES AND WORDS" ... THE SONG QUICKLY KICKS IN, AND WE GET A SMALL TASTE OF GREGG LIVESAY'S PLAYING, IN WHICH YOU'LL HEAR DIVERSE INFLUENCES. YOU'LL HEAR A STRONG JOHN SYKES PRESENCE AT TIMES, AND AT OTHER TIMES, HIS LICKS ARE MORE IN LINE WITH THOSE OF FUSION MONSTER ERIC JOHNSON. ...THE MAIN RIFF IS STRONG AS HELL, AND THAT'S THE MAIN REASON I CHOSE THIS SONG TO WRITE UP... YOU DON'T NEED TO PLAY A MILLION NOTES PER SECOND TO CREATE A DECENT SONG; YOU NEED SOMETHING SIMPLE, CATCHY, HOOKY, MEMORABLE (YOU GET THE POINT, I'M SURE).
THE BULK OF THE SONG HAS A VERY WHITESNAKE FEEL TO IT, ESPECIALLY ONCE THE SOLO KICKS IN... ADRIAN VANDENBERG WOULD BE PROUD. ALTHOUGH THE THEME OF THE SONG IS SIMILAR (GUY JUST GOT DUMPED, BUT DOESN'T SEEM TO BUSTED UP ABOUT IT) TO A COVERDALE TUNE, THANKFULLY, THE LYRICS ARE MORE ARTICULATE THAN ANYTHING I'VE HEARD DAVID COVERDALE COME UP WITH... SPEAKING OF LYRICS, IT'S NICE TO HEAR SOMEONE WHO CAN SING. ANTHONY CROSS SOUNDS LIKE HE ACTUALLY MAY HAVE WORKED WITH A VOCAL COACH AT SOME POINT, AND IF NOT... GOD BLESS HIM, BECAUSE HE'S GOT SOME DECENT PIPES... THE VOCAL HARMONIES ARE WELL DONE TOO.
OF COURSE, THESE REVIEWS NEED TO HAVE A DOWNSIDE (BECAUSE I SAID SO, DAMMIT), AND THAT IS THAT AS TECHNICALLY PROFICIENT AS THEY ARE, THEIR SOUND IS A LITTLE DATED AND ISN'T GOING TO ATTRACT MAJOR LABEL ATTENTION IN THIS COUNTRY. THEY'D HAVE A LOT MORE LUCK PLAYING THIS SONG TO A THOUSAND OR SO JAPANESE KIDS EVERY NIGHT (DON'T LAUGH...YOU SHOULD SEE THE PAYCHECKS MR. BIG AND NIGHT RANGER ARE COMING HOME WITH AFTER AN INTERNATIONAL TOUR).
