Search - Talisman :: Genesis

Excellent album, now even better!

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 08/10/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Man, Jeff Scott Soto really gets around! By the time this album was released, the journeyman vocalist had already served time with Yngwie Malmsteen, Kryst the Conqueror, Eyes, Takara, Axel Rudi Pell, and let's not forget the Biker Mice from Mars soundtrack! The man is a workhorse, but it's always high quality work.



Case in point: Talisman's 1993 album Genesis. Nobody did melodic rock in the early 90's (or now, for that matter) like the Swedes, and adding a vocalist of Soto's caliber was just the icing on the cake. This is fantastic stuff, and very well written. It's very melodic, but fairly hard hitting as well. Think Pretty Maids or Pink Cream 69. It's hard to get past Soto's powerful vocal performance, but guitarist Fredrik Akesson really shines here as well.



Talisman incorporates the best elements of 80's AOR and early 90's "hair metal", and did so at a time when mainstream musical tastes no longer cared much for this kind of music. If you love bands like Journey, Foreigner, Bad English, Europe, Winger, and Bon Jovi, but have not yet heard Talisman, you need to pick up this disc right now. You'll want to kick yourself for not finding it earlier.



NOTE: In addition to the cover of Bad Company's Run With the Pack, which was previously available only on an expensive Japanese import, the 2003 reissue of Genesis features digitally remastered sound and a second disc full of demos, live tracks, and multimedia content. It's well worth replacing your older version. The weird thing is that the album covers are slightly different. You have to see them side by side to notice, though.

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