SONG REVIEWED: "To Miss Somebody" (Duet with Dennis DeYoung)
I'LL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT THAT YOU CAN GET EASILY BURNED OUT LISTENING TO HARD AND HEAVY TUNES ALL DAY LONG, SO WHEN IT'S TIME TO REVIEW A DISC FROM SOMEONE WHO'S ACCUSTOMED TO WRITING ON THE FAR-LESS-JAGGED SIDE OF ROCK MUSIC, IT'S A WELCOME BREAK. JIM PETERIK HAS BEEN WRITING POPULAR MUSIC FOR SOME THIRTY YEARS NOW; FROM THE IDES OF MARCH 1970 SINGLE "VEHICLE" TO SURVIVOR'S EYE OF THE TIGER TO HIS CURRENT RELEASE, WHICH FEATURES DUETS WITH FRONTMEN (AND WOMEN) FROM SOME OF ROCK'S BIGGEST ACTS (WELL, ROCK OF THE 70s and 80s, THAT IS...).
"TO MISS SOMEBODY" BEGINS SLOWLY, WITH A SLIGHT DESCENDING GUITAR LINE AND SOME SLIDE GUITAR FILLING OVER IT. QUICKLY, THE TEMPO PICKS UP INTO A VERY SURVIVOR-ESQUE MAIN RIFF (YOU KNOW, IT'S THAT PALM-MUTED, SLIGHTLY-DISTORDED TONE, WITH SOME PIANO CHORDS FATTENING UP THE MIX). JIM PETERIK HAS A LONG HISTORY OF WRITING POPULAR SINGLES, SO YOU KNOW THIS SONG IS GOING TO BE HUMMABLE...WHICH IT IMMEDIATELY IS.
LYRICALLY, IT'S A SONG ABOUT BEING ON THE ROAD WITH A BAND, AND MISSING SOMEONE; VERY CLICHÉ, VERY PLAYED OUT... LET'S REMEMBER THAT THE MAJORITY OF HIS HITS WERE WRITTEN DURING A TIME WHEN SONGS ABOUT TOURING IN A BAND AND MISSING YOUR GIRL WERE THE HIP THING TO DO (THE CLOSEST THING WE HAVE THESE DAYS IS KID ROCK'S "ONLY GOD KNOWS WHY"... WHICH IF NOTHING ELSE, IS AN OVERLY-PRODUCED, UPDATED VERSION OF BON JOVI'S "WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE"...BUT I DIGRESS).
JIM HANDLES THE VOCALS ON THE VERSE, AND ONCE THE CHORUS KICKS IN, SO DO THE FAMILIAR VOCALS OF DENNIS DeYOUNG, FORMER FRONTMAN FOR 70s ICONS, STYX (THEY'RE CURRENTLY TOURING WITHOUT HIM...WHICH IS PROBABLY AN ERROR SEEING AS HE'S "THE VOICE"...BUT AGAIN, I DIGRESS). THIS IS ONE OF THE STRONGEST TRACKS ON THE DISC, AND DeYOUNG'S VOCALS REALLY PUSH IT OVER THE EDGE. IT'S A STRONG PERFORMANCE TOO; SOMETHING YOU DON'T USUALLY SEE WITH AGING ROCK SINGERS.
"TO MISS SOMEBODY" IS THE PRODUCT OF SOME GREAT WRITING COURTESY OF PETERIK AND DON BARNES OF 38 SPECIAL... IT'S ALWAYS A KICK TO HEAR WHAT GUYS WHO KNOW HOW DELIVER QUALITY PRODUCT CAN DO WHEN YOU PUT THEM TOGETHER, AND THIS DISC IS FULL OF EXAMPLES OF JUST THAT... QUALITY.
