The album begins with an absolutely amazing, sexy little rocking ballad/song of longing, called “Every Road Leads Home To You”. It’s a very sincere and instantly likable song, that would fit like a glove in a BJ album. Richie’s vocals are in good shape and a little lead, he lets rip, works wonders too.
“Sugar Daddy” is a little quirkier, more modern, grittier, grungier and them vocals come quite heavily processed, there are lots of na-na-na-na’s and a very cabaret like, sleazy atmosphere, but somehow, the song ain’t bad!
“Weathering The Storm” is a bluesy song that builds up nicely and explodes, with a beautiful, urgent and anthemic chorus.
“Burn The Candle Down” is a very raw, jam like composition, with mulch-tracked vocals, that however sound weird, because of the effect, used. I’m guessing, that unless this was done, completely live (which it sounds as if it might have been) and kept as is, a lead vocal, with some backups, would have worked a little better. Not to say it’s a bad track, it just sounds “different”.
“Taking a Chance on The Wind” has a more southern/country touch but also very strong pop sensibilities. None of the two trends dominates the song, which allows it to bloom, into a fantastic lead and then to come to a beautiful full-fledged conclusion.
“Nowadays” is another “raw” and possibly live recorded song as well. It’s an up-tempo rocker, with an interesting and slightly beatlesque vibe and an uplifting if not a little too simple chorus.
“Learning How to Fly (Broken Wing)” is another up-tempo rocker, that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Springsteen album, complete with a passionately sung chorus and great guitar lines.
“Forgiveness Street” is a very delicate, “wounded” blues-tinged ballad, with big slide melodies and an underlying sense of greatness. There’s some really nice guitar work here, but it’s mixed, comparatively low, to allow the vocals to shine. Great song though!
“Walk Beside You” is a very temperate and beautiful ballad, only Richie and an acoustic and minimal percussion for the most part really and it’s beautiful. The song picks up the pace, sometime around the middle and even has some electricity, during the build to its celebratory conclusion. This one, could have been a huge, BJ power ballad, with the proper orchestration and Jon’s vocals over it.
For “Seven Years Gone”, Richie opts for a deeper, but stronger vocal, tone. It starts as another “wounded” ballad but it’s also very powerful and in your face at the same time. Then around the third minute it totally, takes an inexplicable guitar hero direction then it mellows and then it fizzles out, with more beautiful guitars… but while I like almost every part of the song, I do have to say I’m quite puzzled about how the whole thing evolves past the third minute. I’m pretty sure I’d enjoy it more, had it been a little differently arranged.
“You Can Only Get So High” is a bit of a personal apology from Richie, possibly addressed to himself and the things/people that matter to him. It starts with only a piano and vocals, to later become, fully orchestrated. It’s sincere and really heartwarming, to hear the lyrics and ponder their meaning. Bravo.
“World” is a really, bizarre semi-acoustic piece, that “borrows” a rather large and central piece of its melody line, by Phantom’s “Think of Me”, which is a little odd, but still, it’s a nice “adaption”, with its “universal” poignant message ‘n all!
“Backseat Driver” is a jivin’ lil tune, in the vein of up-tempo ELO, that appears to be closing the album and while it’s a great piece of work, it feels a little odd, tacked at the very end of the album, after a whole bunch of slower songs.
You can read the whole thing here.
~ Hath
AND, in case that's YOU next to me under this lovely rock, you can download Every Road from Richie's website.
