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From The Inside From The Inside Review by Greg Olma I first heard Danny Vaughn sing when he lent his vocal abilities to Waysted’s Save Your Prayers. At that time, I thought, “Oh no, Waysted have gone mellow”. I could not appreciate Vaughn’s smooth vocals when all I wanted was Fin’s rough growl. As time moved on, Danny has led Tyketto, Vaughn, and now this. My review copy does not give me a lot of information but one thing is for sure, this has Vaughn’s trademark stamped all over it. Now, I need to caution you that this is not the typical rock record. It is more of a Journey AOR album. It does not really rock hard nor is it breaking any new ground but it does have great melodies and catchy tunes. While I normally don’t listen to this type of music, I found Danny Vaughn’s vocals to be flawless and the overall CD enjoyable. If you like your rock music on the softer side, then this will certainly be your cup of tea. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2006 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Nothing At All Things start off sounding very much like Bon Jovi or Europe. The middle section seems like a piece from Geoff Tate’s solo record. It is a well crafted melodic rock song.

Suddenly A little bit of hair metal is added in the guitar sound to create this 80’s sounding pop rock track. The chorus is very melodic and catchy. Danny Vaughn sings in a style that fits these tracks perfectly.

Fight For Love This is a ballad in the Foreigner mold. The only bad part of it is the chorus which is sappy. It is a ballad so I realize that being sappy can be a part of it, but this one crosses the line.

Losing Game Even though this cut is heavy on keyboards, it does rock a bit. It is not quite a ballad or a rocker. I dare say it, it is MOR (Middle Of the Road) but don’t skip over it; it is one of the better tunes on the record. I give it extra points for having a George Lynch type guitar solo in it.

Damn This cut follows the same format as the previous one but the chorus is weaker. It is not as immediate as “Losing Game.”

Stop The Bon Jovi sound comes back on this piece which is one of the heavier tunes on the CD. The chorus really gives it the Bon Jovi-ness but it is catchy and not sappy like some of the other tunes.

Relentless This is the best tune on the record. It starts off moody and a little heavy but they throw in a good melodic chorus. Even the guitar solo fits the tune nicely by not overplaying the melody. If the band further explored ideas like this, then we would be looking at a 10 on a 10 scale.

Blessing In Disguise After giving us such a great number, they stick in this average track next. It is well played and there is nothing really wrong with it but there is nothing really right with it either. It is a real let down from the previous song.

Is Anybody Watching Me? I thought “Fighting For Love” was a sappy ballad but this one is worse. Journey was able to get away with this kind of music because Neil Schon was always able to put in some memorable guitar work and the songs themselves had melodies that would stick in your mind for days. This one has neither.

Always The band move forward and kick in with a more rocking song. This reminds me of Rik Emmett’s solo material.

Beautiful Goodbye This track starts off really mellow but after 2 minutes, it rocks out. It is a really different type of ballad. Even though I would have liked to hear this one closer to the beginning of the CD, I do think it also makes a nice ending to the album.

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