review of the album:

I can't wait to hear what Journey fans think of "Coming Home" (sound byte:
http://soulsirkus.com/audio/cominghome.mp3 ). This feel good mid-tempo ballad is
the only track on the album which has a really obvious Journey flair, and for me
this is one of the best tracks Journey never released! From the opening bar,
it's Neal Schon in full on Journey mode, with that tell-tale soft guitar playing
a perfect match for the super soulful lead vocal. This is perhaps one of Jeff's
finest ever vocals and if I didn't know better, I would swear the soul of Steve
Perry had possessed Jeff. Even down to the seemingly adlibbed vocal expressions
and soulful delivery of the chorus. Amazing!

This is without doubt one of Jeff Scott Soto's finest ever releases. It also
ranks up there with the best Neal Schon has offered us over his illustrious
career. His guitar playing on here is simply fabulous and sees him cutting loose
more than anytime in recent memory.
Where the album will rank with individual fans will be down to what they expect
from the record and what they take away from it. On face value, World Play is
one of the grooviest hard rock records in a long time and stands alone as far as
style and content.
I have fears the album will not receive the promotion and attention it deserves
and could struggle to reach the fan base I know would be interested in it. The
production could definitely have been better – the rhythm section could have had
more impact, but any tweaking could have resulted in the album losing some of
its raw energy.
Absolutely essential for any fans of Schon and Soto and anyone who adores the
Hardline album. Bring on album #2.

Soto:
Highest Ground - This 1 is the 2nd set of lyrics I wrote for us, it details the
discomfort of being with someone you can't stand, in any situation whether it be
an acquaintance, bandmate or lover. In this case, it's about a bandmate, not
necessarily 1 of mine, that brought the 1 down who is now standing up & saying
they won't put up with it anymore.

New Position - The lyrics here are about someone I had high respect for at 1
time, would have given anything to work with - time goes by & the fire &
tenacity went along with it. Shortly thereafter, I get the request to do a
project with this person & all I can think is 'pathetic' - amazing how fine the
line is in admiration & disrespect.

Another World - This 1 is about the after life & crossing over, there are so
many that believe they're being watched over after someone passes & this song
describes their beliefs in this.

Soul Goes On - These lyrics are about the many negative aspects of life we've
been faced with lately from Sept. 11 to the war in Iraq. It's so hard to find
true contentment these days, but we form such a thick armor of skin that allows
us to see a light at the end of the dismal tunnel.

Peephole - Sammy Hagar wrote these lyrics for this 1 which was originally for
Planet US with Neal & Deen. I was going to re-write the whole structure of what
I would be doing in the song but couldn't get away from Sam's version everytime
I tried. I met him at Neal's birthday party & told him I thought I should just
keep it the way it is which he then explained the 'heaviness' behind the subject
matter. It's a true story about a little girl who was deformed & left for a
monster by her mother who raised her in a closet as an animal. The only light
this child saw was in the peephole of the door. Sam told me if I kept it as is,
don't just sing about it, know about it & translate the ugliness behind this
horrific story. It's the darkest, tragic thing I've ever sung about, you can
feel my anger in the performance.

Periled Divide - This is the 1 everyone asks 'what are you saying in the
chorus?'. It's about caught between right from wrong, a lie from the truth. So
many times in life, we're divided by telling the truth to avoid hurting someone
but the lie only hurts more in the end. The peril we go through making the
decisions that divide the path we choose that's simple enough, isn't it?

Praise - Well, enough with negative, dark, reality songs, it was time to hit
below the belt & the chorus says it all, 'I do declare, I wanna taste your
body', is there really any reason to continue detailing?

My Sanctuary - This is the voyeur song, the Peeping Tom, perv lyric! I wrote
this 1 after watching a movie called 'Happiness', a very disturbing movie which
at 1 point features the total perv calling someone & jacking off. We all have
our little perverses in life that take us beyond desire for someone to the point
of obsession - this is normal, right?

Friends 2 Lovers - This lyric is about something we've all experienced in our
growing years, having a friend of the opposite sex (or not, for some!) that
leads to harboring feelings for that person. There's a line you don't want to
cross as you know it could destroy the friendship but it's just as hard to see &
be with them everyday, watching them go in & out of relationships & feeling that
emptiness inside of never having the opportunity to take it to the next level.

Coming Home - This was the 1st song Neal & I wrote together, actually, he sent
me the music from home & I dove into it. I knew I had to make the right 1st
impression & after our discussions of wanting this group to be 'completely
different from Journey', I thought of course I had to start with this 1! After
it was done & before I let Neal hear my draft vocals, I apologized in advance -
I had to clear his mind & make him not think all I wanted to do was be a Steve
Perry clone but the melody, my tone, everything had the whole Journey overtone
to it. He loved it, thought it was great as it was so I was relieved he saw the
potential of the next ones we worked on instead of thinking I would turn every
tune into a potential Journey tune.

Close The Door - This is about 2nd chances & learning from the many mistakes we
bring upon ourselves. Sometimes in life you can meet someone who overwhelmingly
influences you to find yourself & even want to emulate their way of living. This
lyric is about wasting so many years doing it all wrong & having the chance to
right the wrongs.




regards,


Russ Blomstedt
http://blomstedt.ssr.be