Viva La Vida! Tyrone Wells Hopes to Remain instead of Drifting and Chasing Cars
Written: Mar 28 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Awesome vocals, strong melodies, strong lyrics.
Cons: Some of the songs do sound like other artists, which may bother some people.
The Bottom Line: Tyrone Wells is a gifted vocalist who also writes some thought-inducing lyrics. They're abstract enough to fit any life, the hallmark of a great writer.
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| MattBjorke's Full Review: Remain * by Tyrone Wells |
In 2007 Tyrone Wells recored one of the most pleasant surprises of the year in "Hold On" What surprised me the most about this album was the fact that Wells had, more or less, fell through the tracks with media, retail and just about any other outlet. So, when word came to me that Tyrone had gotten the chance to record another record, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. After working with producer Chris Karn for "Hold On," Wells chose to work with London-based producer Martin Terefe (Ron Sexsmith, Jason Mraz, James Morrison, Craig Daivid, KT Tunstall) for four of the tracks, Smidi (pop acts like Miley Cyrus and Pussycat Dolls) for 1/2 of the tracks on the record and Vertical Horizon's Matt Scannell for the remaining two tracks.
While one might expect a less cohesive record to spawn from such a different set of producers, "Remain" works more or less because of Tyrone Wells stellar vocals, even if the album feels a lot different than the funky "Hold On" did. "Remain" looks and feels like something that could've come out of the UK with cascading rhythm, falsetto-affected vocals, something that has given bands like Coldplay and Snow Patrol stardom the world over.
"In Between Lines" kind of starts off as something you might find on an album from The Fray but in the end it actually feels more like something that wouldn't be out of place on a U2 record, particularly lyrics that have "We're trying to rescue the meaning to more than just survive..." Atmospheric adult pop continues on the album opening number and title track "Remain." Here Wells howls lyrics about being the one man who "will remain when everything changes, the truth will stay ageless, I will carve my name." It's an effective platitude for love.
Earnest soul-searching adult-pop continues on "More," a song that really recalls some of Wells' previous efforts. It's a song that reminds one that there is more to life than walking alone and we all want to spend our life and times with someone and with a purpose. "Losing Ground" and "Before It Started" and "This Is Beautiful" are the cases where Wells feels most like Coldplay or Snow Patorl but it's not as if he's completly trying to steal their styles, it's that Wells is versatile enough to sing songs like this, all with his strong baritone tenor that has more range than either Chris Martin or Gary Lightbody.
"All The Broken Hearts" may recall the earnest folk/mope rock of James Blunt but it's still not a bad song, particularly for an album 'filler' track. "Drifting" is a song that could've been an outtake from Coldplay's "Viva la Vida." It has a pulsating, piano and string-packed melody that certainly is better than people will want to give it credit for. Matt Scannell's productions on the record mighta lso be two of the best tracks on the disc as "Along The Way" has the sound of an adult Top 40 hit with cross-over potential, not unlike the earnest pop rock favored by Matt Nathanson.
In the end, "Remain" does feel, like "Hold On," a record from a diverse and talented singer/songwriter. Where others see Wells' ability to sing anything from greasy blues-inflicted soul to funky pop to Coldplay-inflicted atmospheric pop as a weakness, I see it as a strenght and while Wells could possibly use a little more 'identity,' I think his stellar voice and lyrics more than make up for his liberal use of popular Adult rock/pop melodies and production choices.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
MattBjorke
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Location: Music City, TN, USA
Reviews written: 485
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I'm still here and I'm still a fan of good pop and country music.
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